


Quietus

by AngeLhearteD



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Angst, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-04 01:30:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 552,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2904338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngeLhearteD/pseuds/AngeLhearteD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When first he laid eyes upon her, he thought her the very personification of spring. He watches, from the depths of shadow; waiting to steal her away from the land of the living. Waiting to make her Queen of the Dead. Hades/Persephone retold. SasuSaku.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_This story is inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Hades and Persephone; with Sasuke as the ruler of the underworld and Sakura as the spring-maiden he glimpses and falls in love with. I've always loved that particular myth, and thought it would be fun to rewrite it with a modern, Naruto-twist. Sasuke's dark, brooding persona fits the image of a dangerous and seductive underworld king perfectly, and Sakura is very much associated with innocence and spring._

This will be an AU story as a result. I will be trying to work in as many characters from Naruto as I can. If you favourite this work, I'd really appreciate it if you could kindly take a few moments to leave your thoughts about it. Reviews are gold and inspire me to write new content.

 **Synopsis:** _When first he laid eyes upon her, he thought her the very personification of spring. She was of warmth and light, a pure thing so unfamiliar to his cold, bleak existence. For two years he has watched her, from the depths of shadow; waiting to claim her, to steal her away from the land of the living. Waiting to make her Queen of the Dead. /Hades/Persephone retold. SasuSaku._

 _**Disclaimer:** _ _In case anybody forgot, I don't own Naruto, and am not profiting from writing this in any way. Believe it, people._

* * *

**Quietus**

_**By AngeLhearteD** _

_**Prologue** _

* * *

**~x~**

qui·e·tus (noun)

1\. Discharge or release from debt, obligation, or office

2\. Death or something that causes death, regarded as a release from life

3\. Anything that serves to quiet, suppress, or end an activity

* * *

**~x~**  
 _  
A keeper of souls, devoid of my own,_

_One starved of warmth and ravenous for it,_

_I watch, from the clutches of despair,_

_From depth of shadow, that world above,_

_The land of the living, which mocks me so,_

_Taunting with a vision of shimmering light,_

_Of loveliness so fair that I might seek to pluck it,_

_As a fruit just ripe from its motherly tree,_

_Though no deathly claim have I to it,_

_Naught but my own desire and need,_

_My craving to consume the air she breathes._

_I wait._

**~x~**

* * *

**_~x~_ **

**_In loving memory of:_ **

**_Hiruzen Sarutobi_ **

**_February 8_ _th_ _1937 - September 24_ _th_ _2011_ **

**_May his soul be accepted in peace unto heaven._ **

**_~x~_ **

The words engraved into the slab of granite held no semblance of meaning to him. They were the sentimental inscriptions of ignorant humans who knew nothing of the afterlife. Humans, who above all else, were masters at postulating theories to account for the things they didn't understand, in a futile attempt to hide their fear of the unknown. The wedge of rock bore a name that would eventually, over the merciless flow of time, be forgotten. Why, then, did mortals still insist on carving identities onto tombstones? He did not understand such superfluous human customs. The dead were precisely that - dead. And their souls did not always pass into heaven with the same ease that humans liked to make themselves believe. He knew it. After all, he was the governor of the dead, whose job it was to ensure that every soul was accounted for and ushered to its correct destination.

He could see the soul of the deceased man for whom an entire throng of people had gathered to pay their respects. It shone with a weak essence, but that particle of light was enough to dictate the soul's fate.

 _This way_ , he silently willed, and at his wordless command the essence of the man looked up to gaze upon him. Instead of being frightened, or overwhelmed, or any of the other things the majority of the newly-dead experienced, the man simply looked saddened and weary – as though he understood precisely who the raven-haired entity standing by the lone tree, invisible to the rest of the crowd, was. The old man instinctively knew _what_ he was – and with one final, heavy look about the tear-stricken faces, drifted willingly forward. A blink and the soul dispersed silently in the early autumn wind before it reached its caller. Time was of the essence. It had a boat to catch.

His work here was done. Dark, steely eyes, the colour of onyx, surveyed the pale, distraught expressions huddled about the grave with clinical detachment, a last, parting look at the swarm of mortals, as he silently speculated which amongst them would be next to depart the land of the living.

That was when he glimpsed it – a flash of colour amongst the bleak, shapeless blurs of grey and black that caused a strange and sudden stillness to befall him. Standing between a pale-blonde haired young female and a brown-haired young male was a girl, just coming unto the bloom of womanhood, with a creamy complexion and the largest, most captivating eyes he had seen on a human face in centuries. Eyes framed by lashes so long they seemed to tangle in places. Her dusky, shoulder-blade length hair was a peculiar shade of pastel pink, a hue he had never before spied amongst mortal women. She was clothed in the same black as the others – and yet something about her was vivid and unequivocally different.

He could see it, radiating so gently from her small, slender form - an aura of purity so apparent that it practically formed a tangible glow about her.

Her soul, he realized, unable to tear his gaze away from her; her soul was unblemished, untainted.

The prayers were coming to an end, and the crowd was beginning to disperse from its outer fringes. Soon she was the only one left standing by the grave, a single, white-rose held in the clutches of tiny, fragile fingers. Without warning, her sorrowful eyes lifted, looking straight in his direction. For a transient moment time suspended, and he had to remind himself that she could not see him – not unless he willed it – when her gaze lowered again and she placed the flower on top of the freshly covered grave.

"Sakura!"

Her head turned, startled at the call, as if she had forgotten herself for a moment. After casting one final lingering, mournful look at the gravestone, the young girl turned and hurried away.

He watched her go, her name reverberating deafeningly through his mind with all the chaos of a mighty battle drum summoning foolish warriors to their impending dooms.

Sakura.

_Sakura._

She was named after the spring.

* * *

**Author's note**

_Thoughts so far? Interesting? Complete fail? Not sure? Let me know! Next chapter is more than half finished, so it hopefully won't be too long before an update. Thank you for reading._


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

* * *

_When by Fate's design his eyes fell upon her,_

_T'was as if winter had burst to exalted spring,_

_And the warmth of the sun engulfed him for the first time,_

_A brief, fleeting respite from the cold,_

_That made his frozen being tremble._

_Thus began love's gentle thaw._

_And he thought that ne'er had he looked,_

_Upon true enchantment,_

_Until that moment._

* * *

"No. Freaking. Way. No _way_ am I doing that."

"It's compulsory."

" _Compulsory?_ It's completely unethical _!_ "

"It's a requirement to pass the module."

"Nuh uh. Majorly gross. I'm outta here, Forehead."

"Wait! Ino-"

"Sakura, do you _smell_ that?"

"But if we don't pass Biology-"

"What are you talking about? _You've_ already passed it. With flying colours. God, it reeks!"

"Okay, but if _you_ don't pass Biology-"

"I don't _need_ to pass Biology. I only joined this class because-"

"-of Shikamaru?"

"-because I took pity on my geeky best friend. I'm going to be a fashion designer. Or a florist like mother. Whichever. They're both colourful."

"But Ino-"

"I am _not_ going to dissect a sheep's heart! I mean, seriously? Getting any of that on my new sundress? Ew? Now excuse me while I go hurl up my breakfast."

Sakura Haruno watched in dismay as Ino Yamanaka dove swiftly out of the lab in a flurry of blonde hair and sweet, designer perfume. Her closest friend had been aware when she'd first chosen to enrol on the Biology course that the dissection of a sheep's heart was a mandatory requirement in order to pass the final module of the spring semester. Or _had_ she known at the time? Sakura suspected that Ino's mind had likely been solely fixated on Shikamaru Nara back then. She felt her spirits sink as her gaze travelled back to the military arranged rows of desks in the blindingly white science room. They were in their second and final year at college. Eighteen going onto nineteen. They had just over three months left before they graduated. They were so close to university. How could Ino give up on her now, after enduring Biology – which was certainly _not_ a subject she naturally excelled at – for a year and a half already?

Sakura sighed tiredly. She would just have to try, somehow, to convince Ino to change her mind later. Slipping into the lab, she was hit forcefully by the pungent smell of strong disinfectant – fused with the distinctive, unsettling odour of freshly thawed animal meat. It was an unpleasant combination, and Sakura thought that she couldn't blame Ino for hurrying out of the room; she was very much tempted to leave herself.

"Good morning, Sakura."

Sakura jumped, startled out of her thoughts by the sudden greeting. Her head snapped around to find one of her classmates smiling at her. Tall, lean Sai was an exchange student who had recently transferred from another college. Sakura would have considered him quite handsome, were it not for his alarmingly pale complexion. His skin was tinged with unhealthy pallor, which contrasted greatly with the black strands of short, neatly trimmed hair atop his head and his inky-dark eyes.

Ever since his arrival in town, Sai had rubbed many people up the wrong way with his peculiar manners – or, more often than not, complete lack thereof. He was a social misfit with a creepy habit of smiling emotionlessly at everything and everyone. Ino considered him 'majorly cute'. Sakura usually made a conscious effort to ignore him, but couldn't help from laughing internally every time Ino's hilarious attempts to flirt with him sailed cleanly over his head.

"Uh," she replied uncomfortably, before scolding herself for her impoliteness, and offered a bright smile back. "Good morning Sai! How was your weekend?"

"I dissected a sheep's heart in preparation for this session," Sai supplied, his smile unwavering.

"O-oh?" Sakura responded, straining to keep her own expression amiable in his presence. "Well that's… that's fascinating. I guess you'll ace this, then, huh?"

Sai's eyes slipped to the closest of the sheep hearts lying on a tile before them. "I wonder what it would be like to dissect a human heart?" he pondered aloud.

Sakura's smile promptly faltered. _What a weirdo_ , she thought, silently alarmed. Clearing her throat, she gestured to the desk at the front of the lab. "Oh look, there's Shikamaru! I'd better say hello. Good luck!" And she hurried away, relieved to approach someone who was relatively normal.

Shikamaru Nara was tall and slim in build. His brown hair was long enough to be scraped back into a ponytail, and small, silver earrings glinted in each of his earlobes. He certainly _looked_ like he didn't care about anything or anyone – which Sakura supposed was the reason why Ino swooned every single time he slunk by – but in reality he was more lazy than bad boy. Nothing seemed to motivate him, and Sakura had always been secretly envious of how someone so unenthusiastic managed to sail through exams without so much as studying a single page out of a textbook beforehand. Shikamaru was something of a genius – and one who got by with minimal effort.

"Hi." This time her smile was genuine. Shikamaru was chewing on a tooth-pick - which Ino swore was the cutest habit she had ever seen – and turned disinterested eyes to her.

"Sakura," he nodded, voice anchored with boredom.

"Ready?" she nodded to the tile before him.

Shikamaru released a heavy sigh. "This is going to be such a pain," he declared.

Sakura fought the urge to giggle at that. Shikamaru found most things troublesome. Even walking from lesson to lesson seemed to be too arduous a task for him to endure. Sometimes she wondered just what it was that her best friend saw in the lethargic young man standing beside her. She knew Ino and Shikamaru's parents were good friends, and they both came from reputable families. But was Shikamaru as well suited to Ino as she so ardently believed? He neither encouraged nor rejected Ino's flirtatious advances. Sakura wondered just what he really thought of the vibrant blonde, and had been plotting to figure out a way to find out for a while.

"Your friend isn't here," Shikamaru observed plainly. Sakura blinked, her eyes flying to his face in astonishment. Did he mean Ino? Was he indirectly asking about her? Hope crested within her; _of course_ he was asking about Ino. He had noticed how gorgeous she was. Ino turned heads all the time – she was that kind of girl. Why would lazy Shikamaru be any different?

"Ino isn't feeling too well today," Sakura covered, making a mental note to demand that her best friend buy her anko dumplings in exchange for the save. After all, she wasn't about to inform the object of Ino's affections that Ino couldn't even stomach a measly heart dissection.

Shikamaru's grey-brown eyes slipped away and he gave no response. Before Sakura could say anything else, their Biology teacher strolled into the room. Twenty minutes late, Sakura observed. She wondered how the tall, silver-haired man who took his place at the front of the class managed to keep his job when his punctuality was so terrible. Kakashi Hatake possessed a relatively calm disposition, although it was difficult to read the exact expression on his face as he was always wearing a lab-mask of some sort. In fact, Sakura was certain she had never actually seen him without it.

"Sorry everyone," he greeted. His lone, visible eye crinkled in what she imagined was a cheerful smile. Sakura had never worked up the courage to ask him just what had happened to his left eye, and why he always wore a black patch over it like a pirate. "I took a wrong turn."

How many times had she heard that unconvincing excuse? Kakashi-sensei got away with it because most students considered him 'cool'. Sakura settled onto the stool beside Shikamaru's, trying to ignore the smell permeating through her nostrils from the heart lying before her. She couldn't _wait_ to get the practical over with.

"So, you all know today's drill," Kakashi stated, in his characteristically resigned tone. As if he didn't really hold much hope that any of the teenagers sitting before him were actually listening to a word he was saying. Or as if he just hadn't had enough sleep the previous night. "Cut up the heart. Tear it to bits. Try and identify the chambers and structures you should all be acquainted with along the way and note them on the diagrams beside you. Preferably before you tear it to bits…" his voice trailed off as he directed a less than surreptitious glance about the room. "Ah. We seem to have some people missing." His eye stopped pointedly on Sakura, who was once again required to lie through her teeth for the sake of her best friend's education. She felt her stomach twist knots of dread when her teacher's gaze seemed to linger knowingly – as if silently communicating that he knew precisely why vain, spoilt little Ino wasn't present – before moving away to acknowledge the rest of the class again.

"Scalpels, surgical scissors, gloves and mirrors are all by your tiles," he informed them. "Sick bags at the back," he added jokingly, before winking amiably at Sakura. "Have fun."

Sakura's eyes dropped to the heart resting upon the pristine white tile before her and she drew a deep breath. Picking up the scalpel and scissors as though they were dining utensils, she set to quiet and methodical work.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Sakura burst out of the lab, relieved that the ordeal was over. She had scrubbed her hands repeatedly with disinfectant following the practical, but was certain she could still smell the heart on her skin. How was she ever going to fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor and mending bodies if she couldn't even handle one lousy organ dissection? How was she ever going to follow in her mother's footsteps if the smell of blood made her stomach feel queasy?

She was just as bad as Ino, really.

Her attention then diverted to her best friend. Ino hadn't told her where they would meet. The stretching corridors of Konoha's largest Academy for 15-19 year olds were bustling with students heading toward the quad and dining hall for lunch. Sakura didn't think she could eat much after the gruelling session she'd just endured. In fact, she was of a mind to just skip lunch all together and go straight toward the library-

Her train of thought was violently derailed as a hard arm closed about her shoulders, jerking her backward against a warm, solid body.

"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan! Lunch time! Gotta get to the hall before the ramen's all gone!"

"Naruto!" Sakura admonished, managing to wriggle out of his grasp. He pouted, feigning hurt, his large, cerulean eyes twinkling with mischief. Sakura rolled her own, immune to their endearing charm. Naruto Uzumaki had the well-toned body of an athlete which was remarkable given the colossal size of his appetite. His skin was heavily tanned in hue, offset by the shock of spikey, sunshine hair atop his head. He reminded her of the blond, hunky boys that many girls fantasised about meeting on beaches. Naruto had always been outrageously good-looking, but had spent the first few years at the Academy as something of an outcast. That had all changed the previous year when he'd single-handedly won _both_ the basketball and football tournaments for Coach Asuma's teams; he had placed the Academy back on the map as a major contender on the athletics scene. What Naruto lacked in intelligence he made up for in sport, and it showed. He was in great shape, and as his closest female friend, Sakura had become all too aware of the yearning, adoring (and often jealous) glances from other girls at the college.

"I told you not to sneak up on me again," she huffed.

"Jumpy, jumpy," Naruto grinned, waving his hands goofily in response, before gesturing in the general direction of the canteen. "Fancy some ramen?"

"If you're paying," Sakura shot back.

"Sure, I'll pay," Naruto said, and then a small, sly smile graced his lips. Sakura raised a wary, slender eyebrow. She knew that look, and it usually didn't bode well for her. "If I do, then it's a date."

She swatted him on the arm, causing him to howl melodramatically. She loved Naruto like the brother she didn't have, yet that had never deterred him from making half-hearted attempts at asking her out over the years. "Dream on!" she retorted. But she said so smilingly and allowed him to guide her to the lunch hall.

* * *

"I knew it; you really _are_ a pig," Sakura teased, as she found Ino seated snugly in the 'popular' corner of the canteen, ready to tuck into her extra light, lettuce-based salad.

Ino snorted less than graciously. "At least my appetite isn't as wide as your forehead."

Sakura stuck out her tongue, an action she knew to be quite beneath her eighteen years, but she really couldn't help it in Ino's presence sometimes. They had known each other since childhood, and were the most unlikely of friends. Beautiful, confident Ino was outspoken and daring. Sakura was meeker and more conscious of the opinion of others. She desperately wished she could one day acquire the same courage to speak exactly what was on her mind, instead of venting her anger internally. But she was only ever herself in the company of those closest to her, and she didn't think she had many whom she could consider true friends. She certainly didn't know half as many people as Ino did. And boys never seemed to fall over themselves to get her attention like they did with Ino, either. In fact, it almost seemed to Sakura that, with a few exceptions, boys preferred to steer well clear of her. Ino was always trying to set her up with someone – usually with disastrous consequences.

"Hey, Sakura," said the girl sitting on Ino's left. Tenten was slender with large brown eyes and brunette hair that was almost always twisted upon her head in cute little twin buns. She waved, fork in hand.

"Hi," Sakura smiled politely back. Then her eyes slid over to the pretty girl sitting beside Tenten. She had silky, waist length black hair which appeared to be tinged with blue in some lights. A straight-cut fringe fell just above eyes that were the palest of grey, like a cold winter's morning. Hinata Hyuuga hailed from an extremely prestigious and wealthy family, but was the quietest, most timid little thing Sakura had ever met.

"Hi, Hinata," she beamed. Hinata tensed, as though fearful of drawing attention to herself.

"G-good afternoon," she stammered back, offering a small, albeit nervous smile in return.

"So," Ino said, enviously eyeing the ramen and fries on Sakura's tray as her best friend took a seat beside her. "Do I even want to know how it went?"

"Kakashi-sensei noticed you were missing right away," Sakura replied, reaching for a fry. Unlike Ino, she could afford to eat without watching her weight, since she never seemed to put any on no matter how much she scoffed. But the chip she had been aiming for was snagged from her reaching fingers and popped swiftly into Ino's mouth. Baby-blue eyes blinked innocently back at her. Sakura sighed. Ino was always stealing her fries.

"Anyone else?" Ino probed, her eyes darting involuntarily in the direction of the table across from theirs. Riotous laughter drifted from it; a table consisting of good-looking, popular boys who were bantering and play-fighting with one another. And in the midst of the fray, was loud-mouthed Naruto, who always seemed to shine like a burst of sunlight.

A small smile touched Sakura's lips. "Shikamaru might have noticed too..."

Ino squealed delightedly, her eyes flying back to her best friend. "What did he say?"

"Just that you weren't there."

"So that means he was asking where I was, right? _Right?_ "

It was Tenten who tiredly replied, "Ino, will you just ask him out already?"

"I'm traditional. The guy has to do the asking," Ino answered. Glancing at Hinata as she said this, she winked, "Right, Hinata?"

The dark-haired girl's cheeks were immediately set ablaze with crimson, and Sakura elbowed Ino admonishingly for her teasing. Everybody knew that Hinata was madly in love with Naruto; so much so that she always looked as though she were ready to faint whenever he came within ten steps of her. Only Naruto himself seemed to be completely oblivious to Hinata's silent adoration – which was typical of him, Sakura thought. In the many scheming conversations they'd had to propel the two together, Ino had often commented that Naruto would definitely notice Hinata if she didn't dress in such baggy clothing. Then she'd promptly rounded on Sakura's sense of style; her usual attire of jeans and a T-shirt, Ino insisted, did absolutely nothing to flatter Sakura's own figure. Then the talk about Hinata would end with Ino vowing to take them both on shopping sprees and dress them like alternate versions of herself.

"And _you're_ one to talk," Ino was continuing at Tenten. "You've been drooling over Neji for just as long. Why don't _you_ ask _him_ out?"

Tenten raised her hands defensively, but her cheeks were now tinged a charming shade of pink. "It's n-not like that! We're just friends!"

"Yeah right," Ino dismissed. "I bet I can guess what you both really get up to during all those extra 'study' sessions-"

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, appalled at what her friend was implying. "Stop it!"

Ino huffed. Then she sighed. "Shika-kun is _so_ hot…" she remarked dreamily.

"So lazy, more like," a flustered Tenten muttered beneath her breath.

"Hey, speaking of hotness, Forehead, Hot-Brows is incoming. What a turn-on those are," Ino giggled. "Maybe you could thread them for him when you guys start dating?"

Sakura shot her a murderous glare. But before she could formulate a response, a shadow fell upon their table, and she looked up to meet the strange gaze of Rock Lee. He was a lanky-limbed youth who possessed a close-cropped hairstyle that always reminded Sakura of a mushroom whenever she saw him. Unfortunately for her, she bumped into him far too often for her liking. His clothes always seemed too tight and/or small for him, but his most distinctive features were his thick, fuzzy black eyebrows and his disturbingly circular-shaped black eyes.

"Sakura-san," he bowed, and Sakura wished that she could just disappear into a hole in the ground at that moment. Lee seemed to be nice enough, but he just wasn't her type. He always made her feel awkward with his chivalrous gestures and ardent promises that she would be the happiest girl alive if she only gave him a chance. The problem was, she had no intention of doing so, and Lee just couldn't seem to comprehend that.

"Hello, Lee," she greeted politely. Politeness had always been her undoing; if she only had Ino's ability to bluntly dismiss unwanted small-talk…

"Sakura-san, tomorrow, as you know, is Konoha's Spring Festival. It would be my great honour if you would consent to accompanying me to the fair at the park."

Ino and Tenten were giggling and whispering amongst themselves. Hinata looked apologetic and sympathetic. Sakura shook her head, irritated that her friends were finding her discomfort entertaining, but before she could answer, Ino had spoken up on her behalf.

" _Of course_ she'll be going!" she stated sweetly. Sakura turned her head to gaze at her in horrified disbelief. What in the world was Ino planning?

"We'll all go if Shikamaru comes along too," Tenten said, leaning over to raise her eyebrows pointedly at Lee.

Lee blinked in confusion. "I believe Shikamaru is not attending."

"Aw," Ino pouted, feigning regret. "Then I guess us girls aren't going either."

"Never fear!" Lee saluted eagerly. "I shall deploy the power of youth to convince him!"

Sakura had never quite been able to figure out what exactly the 'Power of Youth' entailed.

Ino folded her arms smugly and winked. "Then we'll see you there, Lee."

Lee thanked her and Sakura profusely, before hurrying back over to his table. Sakura frowned angrily and accusingly at Ino, who simply raised her slender, blonde eyebrows in response, as if she had done nothing wrong by raising Lee's hopes.

"What?"

"I wasn't _going_ to go. You know I volunteer at the hospital after college."

"Oh puh-lease," Ino rolled her eyes. "Will you lighten up and start acting your age for a change? Don't be so boring, Sakura! All the guys are going; it'll be fun!"

But Sakura didn't think so. Ino had Shikamaru, Tenten had Neji, and Hinata had Naruto. Who was _she_ looking forward to seeing? And although she normally cared very much for Ino's opinions, she didn't appreciate having her mind made up for her. Without a word, she rose from her seat, hauling her bag over her shoulder.

"Huh?" Tenten blinked up at her in surprise. "You've hardly touched your lunch."

"I'm not hungry," Sakura informed her. She ignored the way Ino's eyes narrowed at that and without another word, turned away and exited the canteen, the loud sound of Naruto's laughter echoing in her ears.

* * *

The remainder of the day crawled by at a snail's pace. When her final lesson was over, Sakura rushed out of the Academy's intricately carved iron gates, grateful that she was able to avoid bumping into any of her friends along the way. She headed straight toward Konoha Central hospital, where she volunteered for three and a half hours a day, four days a week. The walk helped to soothe her agitated mood; her home-town was a beautiful place, full of lush greenery and sprawling hills and mountains. The route toward the hospital led her through a long lane lined with blossom trees on neighbouring sides. They were just beginning to come into bloom in the early spring. Sakura had, since childhood, always felt sad when the beautiful pink trees surrendered their petals in the winter. It was one of the many reasons why she disliked the harshness of the punishing season, besides the fact that her body didn't tolerate cold well.

She took a deep breath, inhaling the earthy scent around her. She had always loved nature and particularly flowers. Ino's parents owned a floral store that catered to the highest circle of society. Sakura loved to visit it on weekends, and she and Ino had made their own exotic bouquets on many occasions. The thought of her best friend caused her expression to fall again. Sometimes the blonde could be so inconsiderate and selfish.

Sakura exited the end of the trail. The large hospital loomed across the road opposite her. As she stepped through the revolving front doors, she left all thoughts of college and bossy friends behind. The world of medicine was _her_ world; time seemed to fly when she was in the hospital, helping to nurse patients back to health. It brought indescribable joy to witness a sick person make a full recovery and great sadness when they did not make it. But death, just like life, was very much part of the profession she wished to join in the future. She just hoped that one day she could harden her heart to it.

After swiping her authorised visitor pass at the front reception desk and greeting the receptionists stationed there, Sakura checked the volunteer rota. She found her name listed under Yellow Wing – the Gastrointestinal Centre. Next to the wing was the name of the staff member she was currently shadowing – a silver-haired, bespectacled doctor by the name of Kabuto Yakushi. He was only seven years older than Sakura and politer than all the other doctors she had shadowed; at least he took the time to actually explain things to her. But he also possessed a dry sense of humour and asked her lots of questions about herself, which sometimes made her feel awkward in his presence. She could never quite decide whether he was merely being friendly or nosy. She hoped he wouldn't pry too much today.

As she made her way over to the ward, she was welcomed by many smiling faces. The staff and patients at the hospital knew her. After all, she was her mother's daughter. She made a quick stop at the female locker-room, where she exchanged her blue jeans and red T-shirt for a mint green medical uniform, anchored back her hair and locked up her valuables, before exiting to start work for the evening.

* * *

She got home at precisely quarter to nine. The sun had long since set, and she was relieved to step in out of the dark. As usual, she was alone. Her mother worked ludicrous shifts at the hospital; sometimes Sakura didn't get to see her for days on end. She missed her terribly, and although they would do their best to catch up for a few stolen minutes over the phone, it wasn't the same as spending time together. Sakura often worried that her mother would work herself into the ground, would only stop when she fell ill and collapsed. Luckily none of those things had yet to transpire, and Sakura marvelled at the endless source of energy her mother seemed to possess. In addition to that, she always looked just fabulous. It was as though the fatigue of twenty-four hour shifts never registered on her beautiful face.

Sakura headed straight toward the shower, where she stopped to examine her own reflection in the oval mirror mounted above the washing basin. A young woman with pale, coral-pink hair and large, apple-green eyes, framed by long lashes, stared back at her. She hadn't inherited a single feature from her mother. They looked completely unalike. Sakura had possessed awkward features as a child – a wide forehead that she had thankfully, by the grace of nature, grown into – and a small, button nose that was still very much the same. She freed her hair from its elastic band, watching as it cascaded down to her elbows in soft, silky waves, and wondered whether she was pretty; a thought every girl entertained when examining herself scrupulously in the mirror.

She had certainly never seen anyone with her hair-colour before – a miracle of nature, her mother always said – but _was_ she attractive? She knew that she wasn't stunning like Ino. She still felt like a little girl when she walked in her best friend's shadow. Ino was a sultry, seductive siren. Guys had fought and gotten hurt over her before, including ones that were more than a few years older than her. Ino delighted in the attention and power her feminine charms commanded – and Sakura found it too depressing to witness. Her overprotective mother had scared off the few boys who had turned up at her door with flowers and invitations to movies. Sakura wrinkled her nose unhappily, and the girl on the other side of the glass did the same. She couldn't be anywhere near pretty enough if nobody but Rock Lee had asked her to accompany them to the Spring Festival.

She turned away from her reflection with a discontented sigh, discarded her clothing, and stepped into the soothing hot shower.

* * *

An hour later, hair-dried, body-moisturised and satisfyingly full from the meal her mother had left in the fridge for her the previous night, Sakura sat at the desk in her bedroom, rewriting her Chemistry notes. Her bedroom had always been a haven –the elegant wallpaper was lavender and cream, and the furniture and décor had been specially selected to compliment the pretty colour scheme. Fluffy, cuddly teddy-bears she had never had the heart to throw out from childhood were sprawled on the bed. Her lavender curtains were drawn over an open window, the only source of light coming from the antique-looking stained-glass desk lamp to her right. Music streamed from her laptop, distracting her thoughts from the distressing scenes she had seen at the hospital.

The crescendo into the chorus was interrupted by her cell ringing. Sakura reached for her phone without lifting her eyes away from the sentence she was completing, succeeding in seizing the mobile on the third fumble. She lifted it to her eyes, and frowned lightly. Ino. She had been expecting another call, but wasn't sure she wanted to answer. Yet if she chose not to, Ino would just pester her all day tomorrow. Sighing in defeat, she accepted the call, lifting the phone to her right ear.

"Yes?"

"What is your problem?" Ino's voice demanded from the other side of the line. "Did I kill one of your patients or something? Why haven't you been answering any of my calls?"

"I was at the hospital," Sakura replied, swallowing thickly. As an afterthought, she added what she had been trying so hard _not_ to think about, "And one of my patients _is_ dying."

"You- oh." Ino stopped abruptly for a moment. Then she said, much more quietly, "Sorry."

Tears filled Sakura's eyes. She tried to push them back, but she had always been hopeless at _not_ crying. That was how a five year old Ino had first discovered her, after all – weeping in the playground at school, after being teased by older kids for having a big forehead. Ino had always picked Sakura up. But this time, Sakura wasn't sure she could feel better. She had known Mr. Arakawa for four years. She'd been following his case for seven months. He was just thirty-six years old, and dying from a rare, incurable disease. He had two young children, and a loving wife who wept by his bedside every day; a wife who pleaded with the doctors to do something, anything to help her husband – anything to stop him from leaving her side. Mr. Arakawa had never smoked or touched alcohol in his life, and had always enjoyed a healthy diet and lifestyle. He had never hurt anybody. Life just wasn't _fair._

"He's not going to make it," Sakura began in a small voice. "Doctor Yakushi says he could pass any day now. Mr. Arakawa's wife made me promise to look after him. How am I looking after him by letting him die?" She choked off, stifling a sob.

"Oh, geez," Ino sighed heavily. "Give me ten minutes to wash this conditioner out. I'll be right over."

"No," Sakura sniffled, shaking her head. "It's okay. I'm just- I'm just tired."

"Look," Ino began, her voice taking on a gentler tone. "You can't save everyone, Sakura. That's something you're just going to have to accept if you really want to be a doctor. You can't beat yourself up over it. You understand that, right? Sometimes, death is just meant to be. Right?"

Sakura was silent for a moment. Finally, she managed a wobbly, "Right."

"It's funny, isn't it?" Ino was musing on. "Here I am taking so much time over my hair, but one day it'll go grey anyway, so what's the _point?_ That is, if I even live that long."

"I-Ino?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

"Oh, never mind. Listen. I'm sorry, okay, if I upset you earlier. I told Bushy Brows that you'd be going, not that you'd be going _with_ him. And if he bugs you, I'll get rid of him. You can't go to the hospital in this state, anyway. So, will you come?"

Sakura wiped at her damp eyes. She still felt miserable, but Ino _had_ apologised. Perhaps a break would do her good. And she believed that her friend would scare Lee off if he did give her trouble. "Yeah," she croaked. "Sure, I'll come."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come over?" Ino asked, open concern in her voice.

"I'm sure," Sakura said, clearing her throat. "I'm going to bed now anyway. Thanks, Ino. See you tomorrow?"

"I'll pick you up at eight," Ino replied, and after wishing each other a good night, the girls hung up. Sakura's eyes returned to the Chemistry notes. Suddenly, she didn't feel like writing anymore. She couldn't stop thinking about Mr. Arakawa and how his kids would grow up without their father. She reached out to close the cover of her laptop, and switched the desk-lamp off. Then she crawled into bed, and soon fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

* * *

The window was open. The same way it was each and every night, regardless of the season. He kept to the shadows, the gentle night breeze ruffling the raven feathers of his long black cloak. His eyes fixed intently upon the partially closed frame. The music had stopped and the light within had blinked out. She had fallen into slumber.

Silently he stepped forward, invisible to the human eye. Flickering effortlessly out of existence, he alighted atop the tree outside the house, easily maneuvering his way to the branch that stretched just above the window to her room. In another swift, graceful motion, he had slipped through the opening. The sweet fragrance of strawberries instantly enveloped him and for a moment he was lost in it. As he drew noiselessly closer to where she lay, he was once again overwhelmed by conflicting thoughts and feelings. And underlying his frustration at consistently failing to define precisely _what_ it was he thought and felt, was a raw and inexplicable need. He had spent nearly all of two years struggling viciously against it in an attempt to shut it out, to shun her from his mind. Fighting to stop his thoughts from transforming into actions; actions that would surely damn them both.

_Sakura._ His gaze, so accustomed to darkness, followed the delectable curve of her neck, the softness of her jaw. Her freshly-washed hair was braided, and his fingers itched to unbind the long tresses, to feel the silky locks against his cold, calloused skin. It was a senseless desire, and he was certainly _not_ ruled by senseless things.

He had spent a long time mulling over Sakura, knew that his fixation was more than just a physical craving to claim her body. It was maddening and disturbing, how often she intruded upon his thoughts. But the undeniable purity of her soul mesmerised him. He could see the light within her, even in the pitch blackness. He had watched her from the shadows beyond human perception, witnessed myriads of emotion shining through her expressive eyes. Happiness. Confusion. Sadness. Fear. And beneath it all, a great wistfulness and longing.

She appeared all the more innocent in sleep. Something about that innocence had called to him from the first moment he had set eyes upon her, drawing him in like a moth to a blinding flame. She was like an ever-changing canvas of dazzling colours, shifting hypnotically before him. His eyes, which had known nothing but black and grey and dimness for so long, were powerless to look away. And he despised her for it.

How many nights had he spent, watching curiously over her as she slept, as if her face contained all the answers he sought? Watching, in fascination, the way her soft mounds rose and fell with every breath she took? Listening to the sound of her slow, steady breathing?

She was a fully grown woman now, and he knew he had to decipher just what it was about her that made her so vexingly different to other mortal women – but he could not do so here. He was a death deity, tied to his own world, an underworld which he was bound, by blood, to rule. He was not of the sort to waste time over pleasantries. He had made up his mind - he would wait no more. _Tomorrow._ Tomorrow he would rise to the surface. And he would pluck her as a flower, before her body and soul could wither on the earth.

He raised a hand, the hesitancy underlying the action at war with his characteristically self-assured nature. She was so slight, so delicate – how could he reach out to her without maiming and destroying, without stealing the very life from her veins? The awful power that flowed through his cursed blood was terrifying – how would she react when she discovered who - and what - he was? He brushed the thought off nonchalantly; her feelings were irrelevant. He did not care for them. As his cool fingertips inched closer to her warm cheek – close enough to touch for the first time – she suddenly stirred, and he reflexively snatched his hand back, as though he had been scalded by the deepest fires of hell.

In the blink of an eye he had vanished through the window, leaving behind no trace of his visit.

* * *

**Author's note**

_Phew. An arduous, introductory chapter, meant to give readers a glimpse into Sakura's normal life. Life is going to get abnormal pretty fast for her soon though. Please let me know your thoughts, everyone.Reviews are gold and motivate me to continue._

_Thanks for reading._


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

* * *

**~*~**  
 _  
She was the apple of Demeter's eye,_

_One most cherished and adored,_

_A child of springtime,_

_And to shame she put,_

_The dancing wood-nymphs and dryads,_

_Her beauty incomparable,_

_Save only to the Sun,_

_A maiden of light,_

_Precious, beloved,_

_A daughter of life,_

_From the heavens above.  
_

* * *

She had been dreaming of a vast, flourishing verdant meadow scattered with carnations of every hue beneath the sun. In her hand had been a single stem from the red variety – which she'd supposed had to mean something given the context – when the pleasant sequence had been rudely interrupted by an incessant, echoing ring. It had been easy to ignore at first, until it swiftly exploded into a riotous din. The shrill, intrusive sound was adamant that it would tear her from the warm, blissful embrace of slumber. Sakura groaned and lifted her left arm – _why did it feel so damned heavy?_ \- and lashed blindly out at the source of the noise. A loud clatter informed her that she had successfully knocked the flower-shaped alarm-clock from its pedestal atop her bed-side table. _Good,_ she thought, feeling strangely satisfied with her first accomplishment of the day. It would survive, for it was a sturdy contraption that had seen many worse a fall. She was just about to roll over and somehow try to recommence her dream, when her mobile phone, inspired by the clock, began to ring in turn.

"Mmnooo!" she whined, burying her face more deeply into the warm, soft pillow in protest. She didn't _want_ to get up. She didn't want to face a new day. And she certainly didn't want to go to the festival and- just what _had_ she been thinking when she'd selected that theme as her incoming call tone? It was the stupidest, most aggravating tune she had ever heard.

She cracked an eye open to glare at the silver-coloured cell, channelling murderous thoughts at it. Fumbling for the handset, she aligned the screen with her sleepy, squinting eyes and scowled at the caller ID.

_Ino-Pig._

"What?" she grumbled in greeting.

" _What?"_ Ino's voice shrieked at the other end of the line, so loud that a wincing Sakura had to physically remove the phone from her ear for a moment. "What do you mean _what?_ I'm out the door. I'm stopping to get us a skinny coffee along the way so don't bother stuffing your face at home, okay? You'd better be up!"

Before Sakura could manage a word the line abruptly disconnected. She blinked groggily; Ino could be so charming sometimes. 07:30AM, her cell phone screen displayed. She had overslept by fifteen minutes already. Had she truly been so exhausted that she'd failed to hear the alarm-clock's first ring? She already knew the answer to that question; after all, the clock was built to become progressively louder after every five-minute snooze interval. With a heavy sigh, Sakura hauled herself out of bed. How was she so tired when it was only Tuesday? She usually had no problems getting up early. In fact, she loved nothing more than waking at the break of dawn, when the world was still under the hushed veil that accompanied nightfall.

Rubbing tiredly at her eyes and stifling a yawn, Sakura headed straight to the bathroom, where she scrubbed the remnants of sleep from her face before progressing to cleaning her teeth. When she was done, she padded back into her bedroom and over to her cream and lavender painted wardrobe, flung open the heart-knobbed doors and stared blankly at her clothes. She knew everybody was heading straight to the festival after final classes of the day were over. What had she worn to the event the previous year? Nothing spectacular or she would have remembered. So there was no reason to dress up, she reasoned. It wasn't like she even _had_ anyone to impress anyway, and she really wanted to head to the hospital afterward, even if only for an hour, to check on Mr. Arakawa. The thought of him further dampened her spirits. She didn't _care_ how she looked. Reaching out, she snagged the first two items her eyes had rested upon and threw them hurriedly on.

She then walked to the ornate dressing mirror, where she hastily unbound her hair and smoothed the coral locks down with a brush before securing them back again with a green elastic band. Grabbing a grey cardigan and her shoulder bag, she made her way downstairs to the open-plan kitchen for a glass of water. As she passed the refrigerator, she paused at the note scrawled in neat, elegant handwriting on yellow sticky paper, stuck on top of all the other reminders.

_Have fun at the festival. Don't stay out too late._

Sakura smiled at her mother's message and felt the same twinge in her heart whenever she dwelled on how much she missed her company. She had always wondered how her mother came home so quietly during the night, and how she never seemed to hear her when she did so. But evidence of a visit would always pop up around the house in the form of a fresh vase of beautiful, cheerful flowers which always seemed to last far longer than average bouquets, dinner in the refrigerator or little notes left about the place. Sakura's thoughts turned to the brief text her mother had sent her the previous day; that she'd be returning from work early someday during the week. She just hadn't specified exactly when.

Swallowing down her glass, Sakura opened the fridge and beamed at what she saw. A fresh plate of syrup-coated dumplings sat prettily before her. She felt her mouth water hungrily and clasped her hands together in delight. Her absolute favourite! How could Ino expect her to resist? She quickly grabbed the small sticky pad and pen lying on the counter beside the fridge and scrawled her happy sentiments upon the paper.

_Thank you for the dumplings! I love you mother. Always._

She decorated the note with hearts and a little drawing of two stick people, whom she hoped her mother would recognise as being representative of the two of them, before sticking it on top of the message that had been left for her. Then she took a dumpling from the top of the pile and popped it into her mouth, sighing blissfully. She was just reaching for a second when her eyes stopped on another item that had not been in the fridge before she had gone to bed the previous night. Chewing on her treat, Sakura curiously reached out and raised the top of the square shaped white box to peer inside. Her eyes widened at the sight of rich, ripe pomegranate seeds gleaming like garnet jewels within. Her mother had even gone out of her way to buy her a supply of her favourite fruit – sweet and fresh and ready peeled for her to enjoy!

 _Sorry Ino_ , Sakura silently apologised to her best friend, lifting the carton out onto the counter. She'd save the unhealthy dumplings for later. Grabbing a small bowl, she transferred four big tablespoons of seeds and tucked in contentedly. As she sat on one of the elegantly shaped stools by the rectangular table in the middle of the pine-furnished kitchen, her gaze moved thoughtfully to the stained-glass window behind the sink. Golden, early morning sunlight streamed through, throwing an array of pretty colours wherever the beams impacted. Sakura scraped the last of the fruit from the bowl and rose to the sink. She had just placed the washed crockery onto the silver drying rack when the chiming of the front doorbell alerted her to Ino's arrival.

Giving her mouth a quick rinse, Sakura yanked her cardigan on and hurried over to open the door. Ino stood in the sunshine, holding two cardboard cups of steaming coffee, looking as fabulously pampered as ever in a soft, just-above-knee-length purple and white flower-printed dress and cute, matching ballerina flats. A purple elastic band with a large flower attached to it kept her waist-length, pale blonde hair anchored smoothly back from her face. Her outfit was perfectly accessorised with an elegant little handbag and designer jewellery. Sakura grimaced as her best friend's eyes trailed critically over her. She knew exactly what Ino was about to say.

"Sooo, Sakura. Going for the scruffy student look on Festival Day? Nice."

Sakura's eyes moved to her clothing. She didn't look scruffy – did she? "I look normal-" she began to defend, before she was impolitely interrupted by a disapproving tut from Ino.

"Precisely; you look _normal._ And today is _not_ a normal day. You've made absolutely no effort to-" she broke off abruptly, pursing her lips in a way that Sakura recognised meant business. "You know what? To hell with first class – there is no way I am allowing you to set foot into college dressed like _that_. Not today. In!"

Sakura's lips parted in dismay as Ino pushed one of the cups into her hands and breezed past her into the house. "But Ino, we'll be missing Kurenai's presentation on optical illusions, and I've been looking forward to that since-"

"I'm sure she'll repeat the class for you. Just get Hinata to ask her; she's like her favourite student," Ino dismissed.

"But I feel comfortable in this. I don't _want_ to dress up-"

Ino whirled on her, flowing blonde mane nearly whipping Sakura in the face as she did so. "You know what, Sakura?" she demanded. "You know what your problem is? Mother Nature has given you _so_ much, and you make zero effort to work it. Do you know how _frustrating_ that is?"

Sakura stared at her, shocked. Ino looked genuinely upset – as if Sakura's disinclination to dedicate copious amounts of time on her appearance was a crime of sorts. But Ino was rallying on before Sakura could speak a word.

"Do you think maybe _once_ in your life you could doll up just a little? It's Festival Day. There'll be lots of hot guys. And you're going to score with one of them!" With that, Ino kicked her shoes off and headed up the wooden stairs to Sakura's bedroom.

Sakura sighed and trailed after her, sipping on her coffee. She knew she would require a great deal of caffeine to survive the day, and couldn't wait until it was over. Joining Ino who had taken the liberty of rummaging through the contents of her wardrobe, Sakura protested, "But I don't _want_ to score with any guys. You know my mother would probably scare them all off anyway."

"Sakura, you're eighteen," Ino replied, as if that fact somehow solved everything. "Remind me to come over and reinvent your pathetic wardrobe," she added, throwing out different items onto the chair by the vanity table. "Now where _is_ it?"

"Where's what?" asked Sakura, nonplussed. The pile of clothes on the chair was growing steadily bigger. Surely Ino didn't mean for her to try them all on?

"The cute skirt and cardy we bought together in the last sale, remember?"

"Huh?" Sakura stared blankly. She couldn't recall the items.

"You know, the- oh! Here's one!" she pulled a piece of clothing triumphantly out and Sakura was hit with instant recognition. The dipped hem, layered white skirt was made of light-weight polyester. It was perfectly floaty in appearance – and perfectly spring. She'd fallen in love with it at the last sale, but had never gotten around to wearing it.

Holding onto the skirt, Ino rummaged some more before lifting another hanger from the rack. With a flourish she produced a pale pink, pearl buttoned cardigan and held it over the skirt. " _This_ is your outfit," she declared. "You're going to look totally hot. But really Sakura; price tags still on? Shame on you!"

"I don't know, Ino," Sakura said, eyeing the items with uncertainty. When she had been much younger, she'd loved dressing up with Ino. Her mother had lavished clothes of every colour upon her, but then Sakura had discovered books, and a love of reading had overtaken her love of fashion, much to Ino's dismay. She still enjoyed window shopping, but avoided buying things she didn't deem necessary – again to her best friend's sorrow. Ino was extravagant, buying anything and everything she wanted. Sakura, in contrast, preferred to be sensible – even when she knew her mother would never hesitate to buy her anything she wanted.

"You've got amazing legs and you never show them off. The skirt is perfect for that. And you've got a pearl necklace that was made for this outfit. And the peep-toe, pink flats and that pearl hairband Hinata got you for your last birthday. Hurry up and change so I can accessorise you!" She shoved the clothes into Sakura's arms and relieved her of her coffee. "Tell me when you're done!"

Sakura released another heavy sigh as Ino exited the room. She reluctantly peeled off the clothes she had selected and dutifully put on the ones Ino had chosen. "Finished!" she called, just wanting to get the whole Ino-the-personal-stylist thing over with.

Ino burst back in and clapped her hands excitedly. "Sit down," she ushered her friend toward the vanity chair and Sakura made a protesting sound when her hair was swiftly freed from its elastic band. Ino stroked a brush down her coral locks, remarking that her friend really didn't wear her hair loose often enough - while Sakura watched her work in the mirror. When Ino was done, side-strands of Sakura's hair had been plaited and secured at the back with a golden clasp to form a princess braid, with the remainder flowing freely down her back. Taking a step back to admire her handiwork, Ino smiled proudly. Sakura didn't see just how pretty she was; as pure and clean as a fresh spring morning. Ino casually suggested make-up, to which Sakura resolutely shook her head.

"Just a little blush! And maybe some lip-gloss? You'll look like a doll!"

"No," Sakura glared at Ino's own flawlessly made-up face. She wore the natural-look so well; but Sakura hated caking her complexion with cosmetic products. "You know I hate all that stuff."

Ino rolled her eyes in defeat, knowing full well that her friend wouldn't budge on the matter. It wasn't like she really needed the coverage, anyway. "Fine, fine; just put this necklace and watch on and grab those shoes and you're done. Oh, and you have a white clutch don't you?"

"What, the really old one?"

"It's vintage. We'll make the last half-hour of class if I speed. And Sakura?" Ino added as Sakura took out the small, gold-chained handbag that Ino had specified.

"Yeah?"

"You look totally hot. Let's date."

Sakura met her best friend's gaze, and burst out laughing.

* * *

Twenty minutes after departing the house, they stepped out of Ino's bright metallic purple convertible and into college, swiftly making their way over to one of the many lecture theatres, where Kurenai Yuhi, a Physics teacher, was giving a presentation about optics and optical illusions. The girls slipped into the hall, taking the first seats they found to be available, and no sooner had they sat down, Sakura heard an appreciative whistle. Kurenai paused, and Sakura tensed, casting an accusing glance at Ino, who shrugged, and blinked her baby-blue eyes innocently as if to say, ' _don't blame me'_.

"Now," Kurenai slowly resumed, "optical illusions occur as a result of the visual deception we discussed earlier…"

Sakura slowly turned her head in the direction the sound had come from to find an unfamiliar guy grinning their way. At Ino, she knew, but when she looked over to her friend sitting three seats away from her she found that Ino was busy texting on her mobile, oblivious to the attention. Sakura glanced back to the guy, who, still smiling, offered a wink. At _her._ Sakura quickly averted her gaze. This was precisely one of the reasons why she _hated_ making an effort to dress up. She didn't _want_ to be noticed by sleazebags like the one who was currently ogling at her.

"Your eyes are tricked into visually perceiving something that is different to what actually, objectively, exists."

Sakura tried to concentrate on what Kurenai was saying. She had always found optical illusions fascinating, and had been looking forward to the lecture for months. But it was impossible to focus when she could feel the guy staring at her and whispering to his friend beside him. God. She was going to _kill_ Ino.

"Let's look at some examples. What do you see in this image? Examine it for a few moments before answering. Think about what your first impressions are."

Sakura's attention was finally fully captured by the image that was at that moment displayed upon the large projection screen. _A flower_ , her mind instantly supplied. It was a flower of some kind.

"It's some kind of candle-stick," she heard the brown-haired girl beside her murmur.

"Any ideas?" Kurenai called after another minute. Hands shot up, eager to share their thoughts. Most people, like the girl seated next to Sakura, believed it was a candle-stick. A few others suggested other interpretations, all to which Kurenai smiled mysteriously and shook her head. Sakura wished she could raise her hand and answer, but knew there was no way she would be seen at the very back. And she certainly didn't want to draw hundreds of pairs of eyes onto her.

"Not quite. Let's leave that tricky one for later. If anybody thinks they can figure it out, come and tell me when the presentation is over. Now, what about the next one?"

* * *

Just over fifteen minutes later, the lecture was over. Ino rejoined her, commenting on how boring it had all been, and how she couldn't wait for the day to be over. Sakura barely heard her. She hurried down the stairs to the bottom of the theatre, joining the queue of people who had surrounded Kurenai's desk. Kurenai was a pretty, thirty-something year old woman with dark, wavy hair and vivid brown eyes that almost seemed to possess a red-tinge in certain lights. She was well liked by students and always insisted that they addressed her by her first name. Sakura waited impatiently for her turn to come around. When it finally did, Kurenai greeted her with a soft smile.

"Hello, Sakura."

"Hi Ms. Yuhi- I mean, Kurenai," Sakura greeted politely.

"Did you enjoy the presentation?"

"Oh, yes, very much!"

"Are you here to tell me what the first image was?"

Sakura blinked, surprised. How had she known? "Oh- has anybody else guessed correctly?"

Amusement played on the teacher's face. "Not yet, but I have a funny feeling that's about to change…"

"Was it a flower?"

"Possibly. Which kind?"

"A narcissus?"

Kurenai's smile widened. "You have a good eye for decoding optical illusions, Sakura."

Sakura grinned, pleased with herself. "Will the slides be available on the network? I'd really like to look through them again later."

"Of course," Kurenai nodded. "Check in an hour or two; I should have them up by then."

Thanking her, Sakura made her way back up to where Ino was chatting with Tenten and Hinata at the top of the stairs.

"Wow Sakura," Tenten greeted smilingly. "You look so pretty."

"Doesn't she?" Ino gushed. "You should've seen what she was wearing _before_ I made her change!"

Sakura linked arms with a startled Hinata, muttering, "Let's go," beneath her breath, as Ino filled Tenten in on all the details of Sakura's 'miracle transformation'. They exited the lecture theatre and had only managed to take a few steps when loud, boisterous laughter filled the air. The instant rigidity in Hinata's posture caused a concerned Sakura to glance at her friend. Hinata's cheeks were stained with a pretty blush, and her breathing had quickened.

 _She really has got it bad_ , Sakura thought, biting her lower lip sympathetically. She wished there was something she could do to help.

She paused at the thought, throwing a glance back over her shoulder at where Naruto was goofing around with Choji Akimichi and Kiba Inuzuka. He never even looked Hinata's way; what was the matter with him? Could he not see how gorgeous, sensitive and kind-natured Hinata was?

She and Ino had adopted the subtle approach to little effect. Perhaps it was time for a drastic change in strategy. Feeling uncharacteristically bold, a determined Sakura gently unlinked her arm from Hinata's, and pulled Tenten forward to take her place by the flushed girl's side.

"I'll be right back," she answered to her friends' questioning looks, and slipped away, joining the group of rowdy boys. Two of them were polite enough to acknowledge her presence.

"Hey, hey!" dark-haired, wild looking Kiba grinned. "It's Sakura! _Hello_ , Sakura!"

"Hi Sakura," Chouji, a brown-haired, heavily built youth greeted whilst munching contentedly on his snack. Sakura stared blankly at the large crisp bag. It was far too early in the morning to be eating all _that,_ surely?

Naruto, who had turned red in the face from laughter, spluttered at the sight of her, his cerulean eyes widening comically as if in disbelief. "W-wow, Sakura-chan. You look really-"

Sakura grabbed him by his arm before he could complete the compliment. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure. See you there, losers!" he called to his friends.

"Later, idiot!" they laughed back, whistling in a manner that made Sakura wish she possessed the strength to lift something of significant weight to throw at them.

"What's up, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, as Sakura guided him away from the stream of students changing classes and toward a quiet part of the corridor.

"You're going to the Festival today, right? Have you asked anybody to go with you?"

Naruto blinked at her. Then a smile, devious began to play on his lips. "Are _you_ asking me to be your date, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura resisted the urge to smack him across the back of his sunshine head. "No you idiot!"

"Aw," Naruto pouted theatrically. "You wound me, Sakura-chan."

"Naruto," she sighed. "You've noticed, right? You must have noticed. Not even you can be that oblivious-" she broke off, noting the blank look her friend was directing at her, and sighed heavily again. Alright, so maybe Naruto really _was_ that clueless. She considered the best way to reveal the news to Naruto, juggled a few options in her mind, before settling on blurting out frankly, "Hinata likes you."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked again in confusion. Then he echoed, as if he had no idea who she was talking about, " _Hinata?_ "

"Yes," Sakura said, tapping one of her cute peep-toe flats patiently against the ground. "She _really_ likes you Naruto. Why don't you try talking to her?"

Naruto's eyes widened at her for a moment, before slipping quickly away. He looked– what _was_ that look on his face? Abashed? Guilty? Sakura wasn't at all certain.

"Naruto?" she questioned.

"I can't," he mumbled, so unusually quiet that Sakura strained to hear correctly.

"What?"

"I can't talk to her, Sakura-chan," he repeated, still refusing to meet her gaze.

"What? Why _not_?" Sakura asked, dumbfounded. She hadn't known what to expect when she'd impulsively decided to confront Naruto about Hinata, but it certainly wasn't this dejected, resigned response that she was getting. What in the world was stopping him?

"It's-" Naruto hesitated. "It's kind of complicated, Sakura-chan."

"Oh," Sakura's expression walled off completely. "You're seeing someone else."

"N-no!" Naruto's eyes flew back to her and he held his hands up defensively. "N-nothing like that!"

Sakura frowned, frustrated, and folded her arms. "Well, then what _is_ it?"

Again, Naruto seemed to falter. He rubbed at the back of his neck, the way he always did whenever he was nervous, or shy, or embarrassed – probably all three at that moment, Sakura silently observed – and finally disclosed, "It's- it's just- Hinata doesn't really know me, and, well..." his voice trailed off.

Sakura shook her head, her expression softening. That was his only objection? Was he somehow fearful that Hinata would change her mind once she got to know him better? She hadn't realised that Naruto had such a sensitive side.

"Naruto, you're _such_ a goofball," she told him. He winced, looking thoroughly ashamed of himself, which prompted Sakura to quickly add, "But you're a _nice_ goofball. And Hinata sees that. Just talk to her. What have you got to lose?" She checked the watch on her wrist, and gasped. She was nearly fifteen minutes late to her Maths class! Had she really been standing with Naruto for that long?

"Look, just think about it," she said hurriedly. "I've got to get to class. See you later?"

"Sure," Naruto replied. In her rush, Sakura failed to acknowledge the uncharacteristically quiet tone to her friend's voice. She also didn't notice how, long after she'd rounded the corner of the corridor, a subdued Naruto remained in place, his eyes glued dejectedly to the floor.

* * *

He watched silently from atop his majestic black stallion as the long, elegantly shaped wooden ferry slowly approached the shoreline. As it drew nearer, it broke through the enveloping mist to reveal a cloak-shrouded, shadowy form holding a slender oar. Huddled forlornly on board behind the figure were seven spirit bodies. Two were women, weeping quietly together, one a middle-aged man clasping a wide-eyed, frightened little boy in his arms, one elderly couple, and another even younger child. They came in regular droves, humans from all walks of life. Death did not discriminate. It was the one certainty, the one constant, the event everyone experienced – some much sooner than others.

The boat drew to a smooth, noiseless stop by the gravelly bank. A tall, orange-haired, burly built man guided the souls carefully off board, whilst a ruby-haired young woman supervised, arranging the new arrivals to join two separate lines. Both attendants were cloaked in midnight black robes, the colour of his own. In one swift, graceful motion, he dismounted, giving his steed a single, reassuring pat as it snorted in protest.

"Stay, Aethon," he commanded. The horse dutifully stilled. He ignored the bewildered stares of the deceased as he made his way over to where the cloaked figure on the boat stood at attention.

"How many are unable to pass?" he questioned curtly.

The ferryman bowed his head respectfully. The hood concealed a gaunt, ravished face and hair the colour of scarlet red. "Five hundred and seventy three are at this moment bound to wander the shores, Great God. They have no payment to offer for their passage."

"How many children?"

"Sixty two, to be precise," the ferryman answered.

"Ferry them here. Your coins will be ready."

"But what of their parents, Great God?"

His eyes narrowed. "They will remain," he replied, and turned dismissively away, signalling that the brief conversation was over.

"Yes, Great God," the ferryman bowed lower, and turned to begin the long journey back through the rivers that formed the boundaries between the living world and the dead.

He remounted his steed, ignoring the pleading cries of the souls who were queuing to board two other, larger wooden boats on the other side of the island-shaped coastline; one black and lined with skulls, the other pure white with feather carvings. The queue leading to the black boat was significantly longer than the white one. More attendants stood about, strongly built, black-leather clad bearded men armed with whips and clubs, who were ready to prevent anybody from leaving their assigned queues.

"Please Mighty Death God! Please have mercy upon us!"

"I want to join that other line! Get out of my way!"

"Get back, scum!" an attendant snarled, and a harsh lashing sound echoed through the air, followed by an agonised shriek.

"My son! My son is getting on the white boat. Please let me go with him! Please!"

"Mother! Mother, don't leave me! _Mother!_ "

He had heard enough. "To the palace," he quietly instructed Aethon, who snorted and began to canter obediently forward. The anguished screams and howls of the dead were soon lost behind him and the thunderous pounding of hooves became all that he could hear as his steed tore through the red-blossom lined path leading up to his abode. Upon reaching it, he dismounted again, leaving his horse in the company of three other imposing black steeds – and stalked broodingly up the black-marbled steps into his resplendent dwelling place.

He needed to think. If he wanted to execute his plan correctly, _flawlessly_ , then timing was of paramount importance. He knew that Sakura would be at the Festival. She attended every year. And he knew that she went in the company of a large group of other humans. He had to be careful. She was of a caring, giving nature, which meant that many other people cared about her in turn. They were bound to notice her disappearance.

 _She_ would notice her disappearance.

His expression darkened at the thought of Sakura's 'mother'. He knew how precious Sakura was to the woman. And for that reason he could not risk being detected or seen when he snatched Sakura away. He could not risk being foiled – because then, he knew, he would lose any chance of luring her into the Underworld forever. Sakura's mother would lock her away, beyond his reach and influence. He would lose.

And he _despised_ losing.

He would have to find a way to separate Sakura from her friends, somehow. _Yes._ That was what he would do. Isolate her for just long enough to seize her, quickly and quietly, without witnesses. Without anybody – especially not _him_ \- seeing. And when they _did_ finally realise that Sakura was missing… by then it would be far too late.

A small, smug smirk touched his arrogant lips. By nightfall, she would be his.

* * *

The lunch hour, usually so mundane and uneventful, was buzzing with excitement. Everywhere she went Sakura heard students talking eagerly about the Festival. It was set to be the biggest and best ever. Sakura wondered how that was even remotely possible; the previous year's event had been pretty spectacular. How in the world were the organisers planning to outdo themselves this time around?

Sakura's feet were transporting her automatically toward the lunch hall, but she hesitated as she approached it. Did she really want to spend such a beautiful, sunny afternoon cooped up indoors? Besides, she knew that Lee was likely prowling the entire expanse of the canteen looking for her – to pledge his ardent, undying love, no doubt – no, she decided, she definitely didn't feel like eating inside. She would purchase a sandwich from one of the stalls by the quad and eat in peace and quiet beneath the cool shade offered by one of the freshly blooming trees.

After purchasing her food, Sakura made her way over to the quietest, unoccupied tree. Settling comfortably beneath it, she opened her satchel bag and pulled out the latest novel she was reading; a bittersweet love story between a mermaid and a human, based loosely on an ancient fairy-tale. Sakura loved myths, folk and fairy-tales. They had always fascinated her as a child and continued to do so. Her mother had told her such wonderful stories over the years, speaking animatedly as though the worlds from which the tales were wrought were very much real, and Sakura had lost herself in the magic of them. They would always leave her feeling wistful for something she couldn't quite describe.

' _Chapter 9'_ , she began to read, biting contentedly into her sandwich. ' _Young Lumina swam silently, careful to avoid detection from the grand white palace's sentry. She knew that if she were to be discovered she would be greeted with great vexation from her father the King once she returned home._

_Home. Why did she feel as though she no longer belonged beneath the calm of the gentle, azure waves? Why did she feel as though her heart was tied with an invisible thread to the golden shore upon which she now gazed? She knew the answer, of course. Her Prince. Not a day passed without her thoughts turning to him. Longing tore at her very soul, the need to see him, to be close to him, to touch him. The thought of touching caused her pulse to quicken. He had yet to see her true form. How would he react, she silently wondered, if he knew that his saviour had been inhuman? Would he accept her? Or would he be afraid and view her as little more than an abomination of nature? She chewed anxiously upon her lower lip. But she was of God's creation also. Surely he would not turn her away?_

_Perhaps he would be curious. As she swam closer to the jagged rocks protruding from the coastline, a strange certainty filled her. Yes, he would be curious; curiously entranced by her flowing silver hair and her large, imploring violet eyes. Perhaps, by human standards, he would judge her to be beautiful?'_ Sakura giggled, fully engrossed in the main character's thoughts. Lumina was such an adorable, inquisitive little thing – how could her handsome prince _not_ fall for her? Just as she was ready to turn the page and read on, a shadow fell over the book. Sakura blinked, directing large, confused eyes in the direction of the light's obstruction – and her heart gave a little jump.

Sai was standing over her, wearing a black shirt that looked, as usual, a little too small for him. Even beneath the sun's glorious rays he seemed deathly pale.

"Excuse me," he said politely, evidently noticing the way Sakura's body instinctively tensed. "Am I intruding?"

 _Yes_ , Sakura thought, but what came out of her mouth was an equally as polite and chirpy, "Not at all!"

She watched, surprised and a little puzzled, as Sai took a seat beside her beneath the shade of the tree. His eyes moved to the book in her hands, and he nodded pointedly at it.

"You enjoy folktales?"

"Oh," Sakura glanced down, feeling oddly embarrassed at having been caught reading such a fanciful story. "Um, not really, I mean- maybe sometimes? Just occasionally." _Okay, just shut up right now_ , she told herself. _This is Sai. He's weird. You don't even care what he thinks._ Her inner voice was much more outspoken and headstrong than her outer persona, and Sakura often rued that she couldn't switch the two around.

"I do too," Sai disclosed, causing Sakura's lips to part in astonishment. "Perhaps that is how it all started," he added thoughtfully, his inky-black gaze turning up to the sky, as if the cloudless, endless blue somehow offered all the answers to all questions he had in mind.

"I-" Sakura began uncertainly, not sure whether she really wanted to understand what he was talking about. Something had always felt- _off_ \- about the dark-haired young man sitting beside her. She had never quite been able to put her finger on it, however. Perhaps she had just never taken the time to get to know him? Maybe Sai was just misunderstood.

Wasn't that what Naruto had once been, also?

"How what started?" she ventured to ask.

In response, Sai dug into his own rucksack. There were two small dolls attached to the zip, she noted – funny how she had never noticed before – one with dark hair, the other, silver. Were they supposed to be representations of real people, she silently wondered? She watched as Sai took what looked like a medium sized sketching pad out of the bag. He flipped it open, silently showing her some pages, and Sakura caught her breath. Inside were the most beautiful, vibrant creations. Had he truly drawn them? She already knew the answer. Her eyes moved to him, as she wrestled with internal awe. Who knew that strange Sai possessed such a wonderful talent? Sakura was overcome with curiosity, and the need to scrutinise the splendour of his work up close.

"May I look?" she asked.

Wordlessly, Sai passed the sketch-book over to her. "Wow," she breathed, as her eyes took in the rich, strong colours strewn across the pages. Pictures of lush green valleys, flowing, cobalt waterfalls, pretty cottages and all kinds of beautifully captured animals leapt out from the pages. "This is amazing. You could set up your own art exhibition."

When she was greeted with more silence, Sakura glanced at him. He was watching her with a look that made her newfound appreciation wane considerably. Sai, who was always smiling blankly, was certainly not smiling now.

"I believe the last page is for you," he informed her softly. Alarm whispered through Sakura's veins, but her fingers were somehow glued to the rough-textured paper. Swallowing, she flipped to the last page, and stared confusedly down at the picture before her eyes.

A beautiful meadow, littered with flowers of every colour. She was all at once reminded of the vivid dream she'd awoken from that very morning and caught her breath. It was just a coincidence, she tried to reassure herself. But Sai was watching her intently, in a way that made her stomach form strange, inexplicable knots of dread.

"Do you recognise it?" he questioned her, his tone still perfectly polite.

Sakura shook her head, keeping her eyes fixed onto the beautiful pastel piece. But it _did_ look familiar. It looked almost exactly like the field she had dreamed about.

"That's funny," Sai mused, as if he were talking to himself. "Usually, the pieces produced during a nocturnal episode mean something."

"Nocturnal episode?" Sakura repeated, growing more startled by the second. What in the world did he mean?

Sai seemed to catch himself, and then he _did_ offer his characteristic, empty smile. It did little to reassure Sakura. "Ah, allow me to explain. Sometimes I wake up to find that I have drawn something during the night. Except that I never remember doing so."

Sakura stared incredulously at him. She had heard of sleep-walking before, but _drawing_ in sleep? Drawing things that he claimed were somehow connected to people he barely knew? It was too odd, too strange. She politely held the sketch-book out for him to take back, but he shook his head.

"Please keep the drawing. I feel, somehow, that those flowers- they are connected to you, Sakura."

Sakura didn't want to keep the drawing. And she most certainly did _not_ want to talk to weird Sai anymore. She deposited the sketch-pad in the space between them and hastily gathered her things. "I've got to go," she said senselessly. "Thank you for sharing your drawings with me, Sai."

She rose and hurried away, without looking back.

* * *

Sakura couldn't get the thought of the picture – or Sai – out of her mind during her last two lessons of the day. Instead of paying attention in her final Literature class, she found herself comparing the meadow he had drawn to the one she had dreamed about. Were they truly identical? Did it really mean anything if they were? She loved myths and magic, but she drew a firm line at the supernatural. It was just a crazy coincidence. Why was she even _dwelling_ over it? A poke in her lower back made her jump, and she whipped her head around to glare at Ino, who raised her eyebrows questioningly. When Sakura merely shook her head, Ino mouthed, _'Ten more minutes!'_ and winked. Sakura turned back to the passage she had supposedly been studying, but the words refused to sink in. Why couldn't she concentrate?

She outwardly flinched again when the bell signalling the end of the day rang shrilly outside the lecture room. Dumping her things back into her bag, Sakura silently pushed her chair back in.

"Whoo! Festival time girls!" Ino declared, clapping her hands together enthusiastically. She grabbed Sakura's arm and dragged her out into the corridor, oblivious to her best friend's discomfort. She chattered on about the plans for the afternoon, but Sakura barely heard them. Her eyes were searching the swarm of students, looking for something – or someone. Was Sai coming to the Festival too? Sakura desperately hoped not. She debated whether to tell Ino about what had happened, but one glance at the excited blonde next to her made her stem the thought. She didn't want to burden her friend with her insignificant troubles – not when they were just about to head off to the Festival. It hadn't even _meant_ anything. She resolutely decided that she wasn't going to think about it anymore.

They met the boys at the car-park. Naruto was seated in his outrageously coloured orange and black convertible boasting the private plate: _KYUUB1_. He'd always evaded requests to explain the meaning behind his odd choice of vehicle identification number. In the car with him were Shikamaru, smoking idly on a cigarette with the sleeves of his pale blue shirt rolled up, Kiba, Lee and Choji – who was significantly restricting the amount of space in which the other two young men had to move.

"Geez, Choji, maybe if you didn't eat so frickin' much, I'd actually be able to breathe back here," Sakura heard Kiba sneer.

Choji continued to munch on his popcorn, oblivious to his friend's complaints.

Ino sauntered over the car, stopping pointedly at Naruto's side. "Hey boys," she greeted flirtatiously. "How about a race to the park?"

"You're on!" Naruto grinned wickedly, as Sakura, Hinata and Tenten took their seats inside Ino's car.

"What are the stakes?" Shikamaru asked coolly, exhaling smoke. He kept his eyes ahead of him, which only made Ino more determined to get him to look at her.

"That'd depend on how high you'd like them to be," she purred. Shikamaru's gaze flickered briefly onto her at that, before returning to admire Neji's car before him. He gave no response. Ino was just silently marvelling at how extremely sexy Shikamaru was, when Tenten honked impatiently at her.

"Hey! A good way to win would be to leave before them? C'mon, Ino!"

"Heh," Kiba smirked. "Ladies first. We'll beat you either way."

"You are incorrect," Shino Aburame, another oddball who always wore sunglasses and possessed an unhealthy fascination of insects, remarked from Neji's car. "Why are you incorrect? Because we will arrive there first."

Neji Hyuuga, Hinata's aloof cousin, directed a haughty look Naruto's way – before purposefully revving the engine of his dark-blue sports car and speeding out of the parking area. Sakura heard Tenten sigh beside her, and suppressed an amused smile. So much for the two just being friends. She knew the brunette was hopelessly smitten by tall, dark and handsome Neji – even if he did have social issues. A screeching, indignant Ino hurried back to her car, dove in and turned on the ignition, eager to beat Shikamaru's ride at least. The drive to the Festival's location went by in a fast, adrenaline rushed merge of colour, laughter and deafening pop music.

* * *

**Author's note**

_I had to split the chapter up here for ease-of-reading purposes, as it was getting really long (approaching eight thousand words). Please leave your thoughts about this, keeping in mind that I'm still building up Sakura's normal life here, in anticipation of it coming crashing down – quite literally. Lots of exciting events will be kicking off in the Festival next chapter, including Sakura meeting a certain somebody, so watch this space! I won't reveal exactly when she's going to be snatched, but it is coming up soon._

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter III  
**

* * *

**~*~**  
 **_  
_** _Be still,_

_O treacherous heart o' mine,_

_Cantering at the first glimpse of temptation,_

_Of perfect seduction,_

_In a form so wrought in sin,_

_Against which my human folly cannot defend.  
_

* * *

The girls had to circle the Festival venue five times before finally securing a parking space. Ino triumphantly declared that they had beaten the guys, for none were in sight at their designated meeting spot, but her friends barely heard her. They were far too distracted by the impressive sight before them. Hinata released a little gasp as they approached the Festival's admission gates, wrought with elegant, gold-painted leaves.

"Whoa," Tenten exclaimed. "This is even bigger than last year!"

"There are s-so many people!" Hinata breathed in awe.

She was right. People of all ages, young and old, populated the area. A great proportion of them were children, who were attending with their families. Some had even brought their pets along to join in the festivities. Pretty paper lanterns and banners were strung beyond the gates, rustling gently in the early spring breeze. The oddly enchanting sound of fairground music drifted through the air, mingled with laughter and chatter. _The sound of happiness_ , thought Sakura. Anticipation had finally hit her, much later than it had registered with everybody else, and she felt little butterflies flutter excitedly within the cage of her stomach. She was suddenly a child all over again, and couldn't wait to discover the attractions on show.

"Tickets!" Ino, who had managed to reserve some for them before they'd even officially gone on sale, distributed a golden, leaf-shaped slip of paper to each of her friends. Sakura felt as though she were holding a pass to a magical wonderland in her hands. The colourful sights, pleasant sounds and delicious smells wafting ahead of them offered the promise of a captivating evening to remember.

 _Ino's right_ , Sakura silently admitted to herself. She had been far too worked up lately. She owed it to herself – and everybody else – to relax and unwind a little. She wasn't going to think about anything other than having a good time. No patients. No bizarre conversations with peculiar guys at lunchtime. Just for one evening, she was going to be a care-free eighteen year old.

"Guys incoming," Tenten alerted them, checking over her outfit which consisted of a cute, white polka-dotted yellow halter-neck top and knee length, stone-washed cropped jeans. Her hair, tied up in signature buns, sported matching yellow ribbons.

Ino released an excited little squeal. "Hello hotties," she murmured beneath her breath. Aloud, waving triumphantly as the group of boys, headed by Neji and Shikamaru, drew closer, she called, "Hey slow-pokes! We ladies have been waiting for fifteen minutes already. I told you we'd win!"

Hinata, who was dressed to occasion in a soft lavender cardigan paired with cute, calf-length, cropped white trousers and lavender flats, glanced nervously at her. Surely they had only been standing around for five minutes? But perhaps she was mistaken.

Neji made a point of completely ignoring her and breezed elegantly past them, heading straight toward the gates with Lee and Shino in tow. Tenten gazed longingly after them and Sakura stiffened when Lee suddenly caught sight of her. She'd managed to successfully avoid him at college, but she knew that further evasion was impossible.

"Sakura-san!" he shot over to her in a flash. "You look as radiant as the most youthful of flowers!"

Ino attempted to disguise her amused laughter behind a tactfully timed round of coughing.

"O-oh, that's very kind of you," Sakura replied, feeling awfully embarrassed when Lee continued to stare at her.

"Hey, hey, everyone!" Naruto exclaimed, rushing forward to shove Lee aside and wave his ticket pointedly at the girls. "What're we standing around here for? Let's go!"

They drifted toward the gates and didn't have to wait long to be admitted in by fairground staff clothed in bright green uniforms bearing the same leaf insignias. As they stepped into the park, Sakura gazed around in awe. Stalls of every size and colour lined the branching walk-paths before them. Bright candy, hot food and beverages, stuffed toys and other treats were on sale. Excited children were queuing by the game stands, coins in hand, waiting to have a go at winning the prizes on offer. All manner of performers stood stationed between the stalls, including musicians, clowns, origami and balloon artists, jugglers on cycles and fire-dancers.

"This is gonna be so awesome," Kiba grinned, eyeing a video-game contest stall with a very pretty brunette assistant on standby.

Popular fairground rides were placed at regular intervals around the large expanse of the park. Dainty tea-cup rides, daring mini-rollercoasters, wacky fun and scary horror houses, chaotic bumper-cars, twisting helter-skelter slides, wobbly walkways, soaring flying pandas and chair-o-planes, towering giant wheels and drop-towers, shooting targets and fishing galleries, and Sakura's personal favourite, pretty, rotating carousels. Small tents had also been set up about the area, housing other attractions including face-painting, jewellery and flower making, manicures and fortune-telling. As Sakura looked right toward the lake, she caught a glimpse of elegant swan boats available to hire for twenty-minute slots. Couples of all ages were queuing, holding hands, kissing and embracing. She felt a twinge of wistfulness, which she promptly quelled. So _what_ if love hadn't happened for her yet? She didn't need to get all sentimental over it, even if she _was_ still secretly hoping to be swept off her feet.

Unfortunately for her, Lee had noticed the direction in which she had been staring, and informed her that he'd be honoured to take her on a romantic boat-ride. Sakura politely refused, explaining that she got terrible motion sickness. Ino saved her from any further discomfort by linking her arm through hers and drawing her back.

"Where to first, ladies?" she questioned.

"The fun-house," Tenten exclaimed. "It looks even crazier this time!"

The guys were already dispersing, heading toward different attractions. Ino linked her other arm through Tenten's who in turn linked to Hinata.

"The funhouse it is," Ino smiled.

* * *

Sakura couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun. They roamed between the attractions and rides, trying out as many as the queue-times allowed, laughing and screaming and posing for photographs with each other and the fairground operators and performers along the way. One of the handsome fire-dancers displayed an open interest in a mortified Hinata, much to the amusement of her friends. Even Sakura silently enjoyed all the flirting that was coming her way from unfamiliar guys – some cuter than others, but none cute _enough_.

Ino had won an adorable stuffed zebra and Hinata a cute, tawny pony from the lucky dip gallery. Tenten had won a goldfish in a bag, and Sakura, who had yet to win anything, was secretly envious. At least she had eaten candy to her heart's content, she inwardly reasoned, though she wasn't exactly sure how she was going to sleep that night after consuming so much sugar.

"C'mon, we have to try and win more stuff. Let's-" Ino broke off, gasping. "Shoot-For-A-Lady gallery!" She pointed at a ridiculously painted board with a winking, blonde-bombshell who Sakura thought looked an awful lot like an older Ino. "Eeee! There's Shikamaru and Naruto over there! Come on!"

They made their way over to the crammed attraction. Naruto noticed them, and grinned.

"Hey, hey!" he said, "Guess who was just here? Asuma and Kurenai!"

"No way!" Tenten's jaw dropped.

"Oh, _puh-lease_ , everyone knows they're so totally together," Ino dismissed. Then she batted her eyelashes innocently at Shikamaru. "Are you guys thinking of playing this game?"

"Yeah, the gun model is so cool," Naruto exclaimed. Then he hesitated, his blue eyes flickering over to Hinata. "Uh… since you girls are here- Hinata? How about it?"

Now both Ino and Tenten's mouths lowered. Poor Hinata looked like she was ready to faint – from horror or delight, or perhaps both – and could only manage a muffled little gasp in response. Sakura briefly met Naruto's gaze and smiled a small, knowing smile. So he had considered her words, after all.

"Whatever, I'll shoot," Shikamaru sighed, holding up a coin. He was called forward by the stall supervisor straight away.

"Yes sir? Which fine lady will you be shooting for?"

Shikamaru inclined his head toward Ino in response, who, unable to contain her delight, squealed excitedly.

"A fine lady indeed," the staff member winked, loading the gun with fresh pellets.

"Don't get too excited," Shikamaru muttered beneath his breath. "It doesn't mean anything."

But his words did little to dampen Ino's happiness. He took hold of the gun and with a toothpick in mouth, aimed for the moving targets. He managed to hit all nine in succession, smack in the middle. Sakura had never heard Ino cheer so loudly.

"Which prize would the lady like?" the supervisor asked. Ino, of course, pointed to the largest teddy-bear, a pink one holding a giant heart.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as she was handed the oversized stuffed toy. She latched onto his arm adoringly, informing him that he was the best shooter in the world, which earned an unconvinced snort from Naruto. Shikamaru brushed off the attention, muttering that women were so troublesome. But secretly, he kind of liked the way she was hanging all over him.

"Next, sir?" Naruto stepped up, and jabbed a thumb toward Hinata.

"That's the one!"

Sakura firmly gripped onto Hinata's arm to keep her from toppling over. Tenten did the same on the other side as Naruto took his aim. He hit the targets even faster than Shikamaru had. Sakura gaped at him in surprise. Where had Naruto learnt to shoot like that? Even the stall supervisor was blinking, visibly impressed.

"That's the fastest time yet! What's your name, sir?"

"Naruto," he replied simply, and pointed to the bunny-eared stuffed toy holding a giant flower, almost as large as the bear Ino had selected. "That prize for the lady!"

He was handed the outrageously cute toy, and held it out to Hinata. "Heh. Hope you like it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and flashing a dazzling, disarming smile at her. Hinata's blush intensified, and she stammered her gratitude, insisting that she couldn't possibly accept such a wonderful gift.

"Oh geez, I'll take it for her," said Tenten smilingly. "Nice shooting there, Naruto."

"Let's go to the Haunted House next," Ino suggested.

"H-haunted h-house?" Hinata stammered.

"Don't worry; Naruto will protect you," Ino winked, causing the dark-haired girl to flush an even more impossible shade of red.

"There's Neji!" Tenten suddenly exclaimed, spotting his familiar head in the crowd. She had been looking for him all evening. "I'll meet you guys there!" She deposited the bunny into Hinata's arms and hurried after the object of her affections.

They headed toward the attraction. Sakura hesitated when they reached the skull emblazoned entrance. She'd never enjoyed it inside and hated the way people jumped out at her from behind corners. Glancing at Ino latching onto Shikamaru and Naruto walking besides a tense Hinata, she knew that she was the odd one out. A quick glance at the sky informed her that sunset was falling upon them. How had the wonderful evening flown by so fast? The spring dance and lighting of lanterns at the central square were due to start at seven forty-five. It had just gone past seven-thirty. The Haunted House attraction would last fifteen minutes at least, and she really didn't want to miss the start of the ceremony.

"You guys go ahead," she told her friends, "I'll save you places at the central square."

"What?" Ino protested, frowning. "But Sakura-"

"It's totally fine," Sakura assured her. "I don't want to miss the start; it's my favourite part of the Festival, and I really want to light a lantern this year. I'll see you there."

"We don't want you to go alone, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied, looking oddly serious.

Sakura smiled. "It's just a two minute walk from here. I'm sure I'll bump into the others there. Have fun!" She winked at Hinata and waved, drifting away before they could object any further. A quick glance back revealed that they were disappearing inside the spooky attraction. Sakura released a sigh of relief. Alone at last.

She made a quick stop by a waffle stall and purchased a hot, sticky caramel-topped treat – even more sugar – and headed contentedly toward the square. People had already assembled, seated upon the circular, wooden benches relaying around the central platform upon which wreathes of flowers were arranged and young women dressed in flowing white-gowns were preparing ribbons and paper doves to distribute to children.

Biting down on her waffle, Sakura peered around, straining to find a familiar face. She couldn't see any of the others. She sat down at the outermost bench, knowing she would be easier to spot if she remained at the fringes. After finishing off her treat and wiping the remnants of sticky caramel off her fingers, she began to engage in one of her favourite activities – people watching.

"What do you make of the festival?" an unfamiliar voice asked from beside her. Startled, Sakura glanced to her right to find a guy about her own age sitting two places away from her. He had softly-curling, sandy-blond hair that fell into his large hazel eyes and was dressed casually in a white T-shirt and light blue, knee-length shorts. His left cheek dimpled when he smiled at her.

 _He's cute,_ Sakura thought, all at once feeling extremely self-conscious. Was her hair alright? She hoped it hadn't been too windblown after all the dizzying rides she'd been on. The stranger was attractive, in a boy-band kind of way. Realising that he was still waiting for an answer, Sakura replied, "Oh! It's been wonderful."

"Best one yet, I reckon," the guy replied. Sakura's eyes were suddenly drawn to the elegant, ornamental cage placed on the ground by his feet. Something flapped within – what _was_ that? He noticed her curiosity, and looked down in turn. "Oh, this? I won it at one of the attractions. Don't really know what to do with it though…" his pleasant voice trailed off, and he glanced back at Sakura thoughtfully. Smiling again, he reached down, plucked the cage off the ground, and offered it to her. "You like doves?"

Sakura loved doves. She stared at him, wide-eyed, unable to quite believe that he was truly offering it to her. "R-really?" she asked. "You want _me_ to have it?"

"Sure," the guy replied smoothly. "I don't want it, and you're the prettiest girl I've seen around here all afternoon; it's only right that you have it."

Sakura felt heat creep into her cheeks as she accepted the caged bird. "Thank you so much," she said softly, staring through the bars at the beautiful, pure-white dove within. It seemed so distressed, and she silently promised to set it free the moment she found an appropriate spot.

"I'm Kenji," the guy offered after a moment. "Call me Ken."

"Sakura," she replied, meeting his gaze and smiling. He seemed like a nice guy, certainly a nice enough guy with whom she felt comfortable enough to disclose her name.

Kenji opened his mouth as if to say more, when voices suddenly yelled out to him.

"Hey, Ken! Over here!"

"Get your ass over here, man! We've been looking for you!"

Cringing apologetically at her, Kenji explained, "Sorry; that's my uni crowd."

University? So he was older than her. Sakura silently found herself wondering by just how many years. But his friends were calling to him, and she nodded in understanding. "It's okay. My friends will be here any moment, too."

" _Kenji!"_ Three boys and two girls were standing from the benches three rows ahead of them, waving eagerly.

"Guess I'd better join them before they scream the stage down," he grinned. "Uh - will you still be in this spot after they light the lanterns?"

"I was hoping to light one myself," Sakura admitted.

"Nah, we tried to buy some, but they're all sold out," he informed her. Sakura's shoulders fell in disappointment, even though she knew it was her own fault for failing to acquire one in time. She ought to have arrived much earlier. Well, she supposed she would just have to save her wish for the following year. Or maybe she could wish on the dove she had been so sweetly given, when she released it back into the sky.

"I'll still be here," she beamed up at him as he rose from his place. "Thank you so much again for the beautiful dove."

"Hey, you're totally welcome, Sakura," he replied, looking very pleased. "See you later?"

She nodded, and watched as he moved away to join his friends, disappearing from view as he took a seat beside them. He really _was_ cute. She couldn't _wait_ to tell Ino where she'd gotten the bird from. Then she wondered where in the world her best friend was, and why it was taking her so long to arrive. Had they somehow gotten lost in the creepy Haunted House?

The announcer's voice interrupted her thoughts as he spoke up over the microphone. Sakura turned her attention to the stage, where the Festival's chief supervisor, an elderly, kind looking man, was signalling for quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; welcome to Konoha town's annual Spring Dance and Lantern Lighting event. We trust that you have enjoyed today's festivities and the attractions on show. Please remember that this is the final show of the evening and that the admission gates will be locked at 9PM sharp, so please make your way immediately toward the exit following the releasing of the lanterns." He cleared his throat a little, before continuing, "Without further ado, it gives me great pleasure to present the Spring Dance, performed by this year's finest calibre of talent. May your springtime be filled with joy and may divine blessings rain down upon you all!"

He stepped off the platform, and candles burst into existence as the beautiful, enchanting sound of flutes and windpipes filled the air. Sakura sighed as the young women skipped onto the decorated stage like graceful spring-nymphs and began to perform their elegant ribbon dance. It was all so magical, so very lovely. They moved in flawless coordination with one another, each one of them playing their part to perfection. Silence had fallen over the crowd, each and every person in attendance entranced by the display on the stage. At length the dance began to enter its final stages, and Sakura experienced the same nostalgic wistfulness that she always did when it came to an end, knowing that she would have to wait another year before witnessing the spellbinding event again. As the thunderous applause for the dancers died down, one of the pretty young women, with flowers laced through her flowing, autumn-coloured hair, announced that it was time to light the lanterns.

Sakura watched tiny sparks of flame light before her as people kindled their matchsticks and lit their purple, white, orange, pink and red lanterns. In unison, they began singing the spring hymn to an ancient goddess who Ino always remarked nobody even believed in anymore. It didn't matter, Sakura always defended. It was a great tradition that had been going on long before any of them had been born, and it added to the almost sacred atmosphere of the event. The hymn drew to a close and people lowered their heads, making their private wishes. Sakura took the moment of collective silence to make her wishes also.

_Please let Mr. Arakawa pull through, somehow._

_Please let me be a better, stronger person than I was last year._

_And please let there be someone special out there for me, who will love me unconditionally until the end of my days._

She knew the last one was frivolous, silly, a fanciful, left-over notion from childish, girlish fantasies, back when Prince Charming _had_ existed. Rocketing divorce rates were proof of that; it was a rarity to find one's true soul-mate, let alone a lifelong partner _._ She sighed as the lanterns were released and floated gently and soundlessly up to the darkening sky. For a moment, her heart felt as though it were soaring with them, before she was grounded once again by the movement of the townsfolk around her as they began to stream slowly and steadily out of the square. 20:30PM, her watch informer her when she glanced down, and still no sign of Ino or the others. She rose slowly, clutching worriedly onto the white bird-cage, and looked around. It was difficult to see anybody clearly in the growing dimness. She expected Kenji to make his way back to her at least; perhaps he would be able to help her locate her friends. But ten minutes later she was still alone, and there were hardly any people left in the square, save for clean-up staff and a few families with kids who were reluctant for the day to end.

Sakura dug into her clutch-bag and pulled out her cell. There were no missed calls or texts. She frowned lightly, confused. How strange. Then she noticed the flat bars - her cell had no reception. Probably the result of all the static and radio interference from the machinery around the place, she silently reasoned, which likely accounted for her phone displaying nothing. _Perfect_ , she huffed to herself. Just how was she supposed to contact them now?

The distressed beating of wings against iron bars made her remember the trapped bird. She would just have to head to the place where they'd parked the car and meet Ino and the others there. But first things first; she needed to release her poor feathery friend. She finally trailed away from the square, still keeping half an eye out for anyone she knew whilst seeking a good spot to let the dove fly free.

Trees. She needed a place with trees. Festival attendants were closing up stalls and locking down rides. One of them politely reminded Sakura that the gates were closing to the public in fifteen minutes and that she should make her way over to the exit immediately. She nodded, waited for him to turn around again, before diving down the first path that steered her out of his line of sight.

The stalls lining the area she had wandered into had already been cleared, and no other employees were about. Ahead of her were trees. And just beneath the cluster of tall oaks was something else that caused Sakura to forget all about the anxious dove for a moment. The most beautiful carousel horses she had ever laid eyes upon were dancing up and down along a wide, rotating circular platform. The lights were fully illuminated but there didn't appear to be anybody in sight who was actually operating the ride. Sakura almost laughed aloud in bewilderment. How in the world could they have left the ride _on_? Had the operator consumed too much sake?

The strangely haunting yet mesmerising melody lured her forward, drawing her closer to the delightful attraction. How had she failed to notice it earlier? A sudden, strong longing tugged at her heart; she hadn't ridden on any of the carousels since they'd arrived. She knew her friends considered it childish; they didn't appreciate the timeless beauty and simplicity of the ride. Gold and bronze, red, emerald, cobalt and silver glinted off the rainbow-coloured lights and a dazzled Sakura felt the urge to mount one of the delicately constructed, graceful horses. Just for a minute. She would ride just for a minute, and then she'd hurry back toward the exit.

"Off you go," she whispered to the dove, lowering the cage to the dusty path and unclasping it, giving it a gentle shake to encourage the bird out. It hopped through the open-door, stumbling a little in its eagerness to escape, before spreading its wings and taking swift flight into the sky. Sakura smiled happily after it. Then, leaving the cage upon the ground, she walked toward the carousel and with one final look around to make sure that she really _was_ alone, she stepped onto the rotating platform and onto an exquisitely crafted, porcelain white horse, decorated with finely-painted flower reigns.

Sakura sighed with pleasure as the familiar, lulling motion of the ride transported her back to carefree, childhood days. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the enchanting tune and rested her right cheek against the cool metal pole, enjoying the gentle sensation of being lifted and lowered in the air as the painted horse moved in time with the overhead crank from which it was suspended. Soon she began humming softly along to the music whilst fondly recalling distant days when her mother had taken her to the fair often - though the memories were fuzzy and she could not reconstruct them too vividly.

She only became conscious of the fact that the ride had been gradually slowing down when the circular platform hissed to a complete stop. Her eyes flew open, and she blinked in surprise, turning her face to discover why the carousel had halted when the music was still playing. What she saw caused her heart to leap into her throat and her lips to part in stunned bewilderment.

Standing with one fingerless glove-clad hand resting pointedly atop the ride's square-shaped control panel was the most striking youth she had ever laid eyes upon.

His tall, fine form was illuminated beneath the carousel roof's interchanging lights. _Oh, God_ , Sakura thought senselessly, staring down at the stranger with wide, startled eyes. He was gorgeous. _No._ He was _beyond_ gorgeous. He was simply breath-taking. Beautiful, even. His silky hair was black as a raven's wing, spiking wildly and in different directions at the back, framing his face at the sides and falling enticingly into his eyes at the front. Irises the colour of smouldering, steel-flecked charcoal looked up at her beneath lashes so dark and sooty, they almost seemed to weigh his eyelids down. His handsome, aristocratic features boasted an angled jawline and a straight, perfectly sculpted nose. Wilful lips were set in a firm, unyielding line. They looked proud – as though they were more inclined to scowl with disapproval than smile with any form of acceptance. And there was certainly nothing friendly about the way the stranger was looking at her. But Sakura chose not to dwell on that fact, then. She couldn't stop her stupid, mindless staring. She couldn't help herself. He was without doubt the best-looking guy she had ever seen, anywhere.

Something glinted in his left ear – an earring of some kind, she registered distractedly. It further heightened the rebellious air that he was pulling off so effortlessly. He was dressed entirely in black, a simple shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbows, regular jeans with a silver belt and leather boots. Something about his stance, about the way his head and lean, smoothly muscled body were poised, screamed elegance and grace.

And that was when Sakura's mind, playing catch-up, finally decided to note the precise _manner_ in which he was regarding her. Or glaring, rather. A very irked glare which clearly conveyed that if she did _not_ dismount from the horse at that _very moment,_ he was going to leap up and drag her off the ride himself.

The thought of those hands grabbing her caused her heart to quicken. The stranger hadn't spoken a word to her yet, but the power and piercing intensity of his heavy gaze caused a shiver to race along her spine. She had never held anybody's stare for so long. And she had never even dreamed of eyes like his.

He raised one dark brow at her continued, unashamed gaping, and Sakura felt heat pool rapidly into her cheeks.

" _I'msosorry_ ," she blurted in a barely coherent, embarrassed rush, her body spurned into action at last as she slipped clumsily off the horse. He was obviously one of the Festival attendants, a guy around her own age, or maybe a year or two older, who, after changing out of uniform, had come back to check the area one final time, only to discover a strange girl riding on the carousel way after closing time. Good God. No wonder he was irritated. What had she been _thinking?_ Mortified, Sakura edged nervously off the platform, nearly stumbling from it in her eagerness to make a hasty retreat.

The stranger continued to watch her silently, depressing another button which caused the music to switch abruptly off, before slowly retracting his hand from the control panel. She thought she caught a glimpse of a tattoo running along the underside of his arm, but couldn't make out precisely what the ink depicted from her distance. The plunge into silence heightened her anxiety and the tips of Sakura's little fingers began to tingle, the way they always did whenever she felt unnerved and disconcerted. She didn't know exactly _what_ it was about the young man standing before her that caused such a profound sense of uncertainty to whisper through her body. Perhaps it was his unrelenting, cryptic silence. But she had always trusted her instincts before, and now they were positively _screaming_ at her to leave.

"I-I'll go now," she stammered. He was definitely the most nonverbally-intimidating person she had ever encountered. He made Neji Hyuuga's ice-cool demeanour seem almost comical. And he _still_ seemed displeased, as though her apology was nowhere near enough. Perhaps he hadn't heard it over the melody? Sakura could feel his gaze burning into her as she turned away from him and began hurrying down the path toward the park's exit, willing herself to _not_ , under any circumstance, look back over her shoulder again.

* * *

Predator-like eyes tracked her movements as she walked away from him. Her body was tense and nervous, and he had read the bewilderment in her features when she had first looked upon him all too clearly. He had made an impression. A faint smirk touched one corner of his lips. Just as he had intended.

She had informed him that she was departing. He did not think so. _Now,_ he knew. Now was the time, the place. He had ensured that none of her friends were around. Nobody would see her. Nobody would hear her scream.

His eyes slipped away from her form to rest upon the dusty path beneath his own feet. He blinked, and at his will the smallest, shallowest of cracks formed on the ground's surface. His gaze travelled up along the path, and with it, so too did the cracks, zigzagging like erratic bolts of lightning, growing in depth until parts of the earth began to fissure. Softly. Silently. So as not to alert her. Not until it was far too late for her to even realise what was happening. When his eyes caught up to her ankles, the ground beneath her would split, and then-

"Sakura!"

His gaze jerked up abruptly, his focus rudely broken, and he stepped swiftly back. At his command the fractures in the ground relapsed and melted from sight, and the lights from the carousel behind him winked out, enveloping his form in darkness. He watched, with narrowed eyes, as two figures ran hurriedly up the path – one, a slender, blond-haired female, and the other a tall, pale-skinned young man holding some manner of book in his hands.

A sketch-book, he discerned a split-second later, and fury flared like a tumultuous tornado within him.

* * *

Sakura blinked in surprise as Ino came to a halt before her. Behind her was Sai, who stared at her with wide, black eyes.

"Ino?"

"Where the hell have you _been_?" her best friend demanded. "We've been looking _everywhere_ for you!" Giving Sakura a quick hug, she added, "We were so worried. We tried calling you a hundred times but we couldn't get through. Naruto's been going _crazy._ He's refused to let the staff close the gates until we found you."

"I was at the square," Sakura frowned. "I waited for you guys at the back row."

"Eh?" Ino exclaimed, thoroughly baffled. "We came to the square and we sat at the back row, but we couldn't see you anywhere." She then glanced gratefully up at Sai. "We met Sai at the exit. He's the one who suggested looking over here. You're a hero, Sai," she added, smiling flirtatiously at him.

But Sai's gaze was fixed firmly onto Sakura. "Are you alright?" he questioned, looking intently at her as if he expected her be anything other than fine.

"I'm okay," Sakura replied. So Sai had attended the Festival after all? She noticed the sketch-book in his hand, and averted her eyes uncomfortably, reminded of the strange conversation they'd had at lunch. But it seemed, at that moment as though the exchange between them had happened a long time ago, rather than earlier in the afternoon. Then she remembered the carousel, and the guy, and glanced back over her shoulder to find that the lights were switched off and the young man in black had vanished.

Once more, Sakura was overcome by puzzlement. The path, blocked off by the cluster of trees, was essentially a dead end. She hadn't even heard the stranger leave. Which way had he headed?

She turned back to the pair standing before her, and noticed that Sai was also gazing toward the carousel. His expression had changed. He looked- she couldn't quite identify the expression on his face. Her attention was drawn away from him when Ino took her by the arm, and tugged gently. "Let's go! Everybody's waiting."

"Wait-" Sakura tried to turn back to Sai. He was still staring at the darkness of the trees, and was completely unresponsive to her. But Ino steered her firmly away, filling her in on how they'd spent positively _ages_ searching for her, and how she believed that she'd finally struck gold with Shikamaru in the Haunted House, of all places. Her incessant talking derailed Sakura's lines of thought, and as she was strung along, she didn't stop to wonder just why Sai wasn't following them. At the time, distracted by Ino's lively chatter, she simply forgot.

* * *

Sai listened to the conversation growing fainter as the two young women walked away. Soon the world became silent again. He released the lightest sigh of relief. Sakura was alright. He wasn't certain precisely what it had been that had spurred him to arrive at the park just as the Festival had been coming to an end. But he'd been drawing idly after returning home from college, and when he'd sat back to regard his work, had found himself staring at a sketch of a carousel.

He'd overheard Naruto telling Shikamaru that the carousel was Sakura's favourite ride. And before Sai had even stopped to consider what the drawing might mean, he'd unchained his bicycle and raced, at blinding speed, to the Festival - only to discover that Sakura was completely unharmed. There was nothing in the darkness ahead of him. Just a stationary, harmless carousel and a bunch of trees. Sai shook his head slightly. He was still learning how to pair emotions with appropriate words and actions. It was difficult, but he knew that he had to find a way to suppress the subconscious paranoia he'd seemingly come to develop over Sakura's safety. Why would she be in any kind of danger? What did a sketch of a flower-field and a fairground ride prove? He had no evidence, other than a misplaced hunch which had compelled him to keep an eye on her over the last few weeks. But he wasn't really needed. Naruto was doing a good enough job on his own – or at least he _had_ been.

Sai's gaze lowered as he pondered Naruto's uncharacteristic slip. It wasn't like him to turn a blind eye to Sakura's whereabouts. Surely he could have located her quite easily if he'd just chosen to-

His train of thought was abruptly and violently derailed when a vice-like grip closed around his throat. Before he could lift his eyes to discover what was happening, he'd been jerked roughly forward, with enough speed to make him stumble. The darkness blurred around him and the next thing he was aware of was his back slamming aggressively against one of the trees with such might that the very air was knocked out of his lungs. He stared, winded, as the invisible force that had assailed him materialised from the shadows, taking physical form.

A heartless, malevolent, frightening gaze. Hair the colour of blackest midnight. An electrifying, unmistakeable essence of danger, so suffocating and overwhelming in its intensity that it was almost a tangible thundercloud, an aura so chilling that it caused the surrounding air's temperature to plummet considerably.

 _No._ Crippled with terror, Sai could only stare back into eyes that had narrowed to form furious slits. Luminous, deep crimson bled into onyx irises, revealing the true extent of the fury that was simmering within.

"You were warned," the voice was like silk-wrapped steel, smooth on the surface, yet icy cold and ruthlessly hard underneath.

"G-great-" Sai's stuttered attempt at speaking was choked off by the crushing increase in pressure upon his windpipe.

"You were warned not to interfere."

Sai's heart pounded sickeningly within him. The death deity. The ruler of the Underworld. Was this the answer to the inexplicable sense of peril he'd been experiencing lately? Was this the reason why he had cycled to the Festival without even sparing his actions a second thought?

Was Sakura's mortal life in danger?

His breath caught sharply in his throat when the face before his drew intimidatingly closer, leaving mere inches of space between them.

"And what are you doing now?" his assailant intoned, before answering his own question with a succinct, emphatic and menacing, " _Interfering."_

"F-for-g-give me, Great G-God," Sai struggled to articulate. The coldness of the air was chilling him to the bone, making it difficult for him to think, and speak, clearly. "I-I d-did not know-"

In response, the deity stepped back and hauled him forward with one hand, blinding blue-white electrical energy crackling into existence in the palm of his other. In a movement too fast for Sai's mind to comprehend, his legs had been kicked from underneath him and his right arm – his drawing arm - twisted mercilessly behind his back. Forced helplessly onto his knees, Sai's mouth parted in a silent scream of agony as freezing electric energy was sent coursing through the arm that was trapped painfully behind him. It jagged through his body, making him convulse. His vision began to cloud over as he felt his racing heart palpitate irregularly within him.

So this was how it ended. He had been saved from the clutches of death once before by the mercy of another, beneficent god. This time, however, it seemed there would be no escape for him.

But the deity standing over him had other intentions.

"You live on my whim," he hissed, sending another screeching, blindingly painful jolt of electricity through Sai's body. "Speak a word, interfere again, and I will end your existence. _Do not forget, messenger_."

His arm was released roughly, and Sai collapsed, gasping, onto the ground, his face cold and clammy with perspiration. He heard a violent tearing sound, managed to turn his pounding head enough to find that his fallen sketch-book had been ripped open, and one of the pages torn out.

The picture of the flower-field - the picture he had shown to Sakura – was lying crumpled on the path, burning. Sai watched, trembling, as the unearthly, black flames rapidly devoured the paper, reducing it to nothingness in a matter of seconds. The air around him gradually warmed once more, informing him that he was alone again.

Relief at the knowledge stole away what little strength he had left. Lowering his swimming head to rest against the dusty ground, Sai closed his eyes and fell into the merciful clutches of unconsciousness.

* * *

After dropping Hinata and Tenten off at their respective houses, Ino finally pulled up outside Sakura's driveway. Turning down the volume of the pounding stereo player, she released a dramatic sigh.

"What a day. I'm totally beat!"

"Yeah," Sakura agreed, stifling a yawn with the back of her right hand.

Ino smiled at her. "I really think Shika's the one, Sakura. It just feels so- I don't know – _right_ when I'm with him. And after today, I really think that maybe he likes me too."

"Of course he does," Sakura indulged her best friend. "He'd be crazy not to."

"You really think so?" the blonde bit her lower lip hopefully.

Sakura shook her head in amazement. Ino was always so confident and sure of herself. She couldn't quite believe the uncertainty that her friend was exhibiting. It was obvious to Sakura at least, that Shikamaru was certainly unopposed to the idea of getting to know Ino better. He'd even let her hang off his arm. What further evidence did she need?

"What, you think I'm just feeding your ego, here?" Sakura teased.

Ino stuck out her tongue in response. Then she regarded Sakura thoughtfully. "So you _really_ didn't meet anyone at all today? So many guys were staring at you, you know. We're alone now. You know you can be honest with me."

"They were probably staring at this," Sakura grinned, pointing jokingly to her forehead.

"Sakura," Ino frowned, failing to find the gesture funny.

Sakura sighed, and hesitated for a second when, completely unbidden, the image of intense dark eyes flashed vividly through her mind. Shaking her head to dispel it, she thought briefly of Kenji, the nice guy who had given her the caged dove. Was there a point in telling Ino about him? It was unlikely that she would see him again, if he was already in university.

"No," she answered. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Ino pouted unhappily. "You know, I really don't get it."

Sakura glanced at her. "Get what?"

"I don't get how you're still single. It's a total injustice. An outrage. What is _wrong_ with guys these days?"

"It's no big deal, Ino," Sakura said, rolling her eyes at her friend's melodramatic words. "Besides," she pointed out. "You're single too. Although, probably not for long."

Ino chuckled at that. "Stop it; you're making me go red like Hinata!"

Grinning, Sakura nodded toward her front door. "Want to come in for a bit?"

"No," Ino replied. "I need to get back home and soak in a bath, and then try and somehow finish typing up that Literature paper for tomorrow. Good thing I've had so much sugar today. I'm so high I could fly!"

"That's not the only thing you're high on," Sakura replied suggestively, and Ino gasped, hand flying over her heart as she feigned shock.

"Sakura Haruno!" she admonished, before bursting into a fit of girlish giggles. Laughing, Sakura got out the car, grabbed her college bag from the back seat before wishing her best friend a good night. With a final wave, Ino turned on the ignition again, pulled out and drove off into the night.

Sakura let herself into the house, sighing as she closed and locked the door behind her. She had meant to check in at the hospital, but it was far too late for that now. She worriedly hoped Mr. Arakawa was doing okay.

Yawning, she looked around the place. First, a quick shower, and then she'd have a light snack before bed. Her stomach growled in protest. Alright, so maybe she would cook something up instead. She knew she would have to leave the dumplings to the following morning; she'd consumed far too much sugar already. Trudging up the wooden stairs, she stopped by her bedroom, throwing her bag to the floor before grabbing a fresh change of clothes, her bathrobe and a towel. Then she stepped into the bathroom, walked up to the mirror, and regarded her reflection thoughtfully.

Once again, dark eyes drifted through her mind. _God._ The carousel guy. Why couldn't she get the thought of him out of her head? So what if he'd been drop dead gorgeous? She was even less likely to encounter him again than she was Kenji. But that didn't stop her from wondering what his name might have been.

 _Mr. Tall, Dark and Sexy_ , her mind casually supplied. No. That was much too mundane. _Mr. Watch-me-melt-ice-with-my-super-hot-stare._ _Mr. If-you-don't-get-your-butt-off-the-horse-right-now-I'll-move-your-butt-for-you._ Sakura giggled as she turned the shower on and began to undress, entertaining a variety of names, ranging from the common to the thoroughly outrageous.

None of them seemed to fit as well as Carousel Guy. So that was the name Sakura assigned to the handsome stranger, who, despite immensely unnerving her with his unfriendly glaring, she sort of lamented that she'd probably never see again.

 _Oh well_ , she thought. Maybe she _would_ bump into Kenji again sometime. It wasn't impossible. What had happened to him anyway? Her thoughts scattered as music filled her mind and she was humming to the tune of the carousel before she knew it.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, after blow-drying her hair and treating her tired body to generous dollops of deliciously rich cocoa-butter lotion, Sakura headed downstairs to the kitchen and opened the fridge, purposefully refusing to look at the dumplings sitting temptingly before her. What did she fancy _apart_ from those mouth-watering treats? Something warm and preferably healthy. Deciding on a vegetable stir-fry, Sakura grabbed the required ingredients and set them on a plate by the sink. After rinsing the vegetables, she sliced them and switched on one of the cooker's hobs, pouring a little oil into a large wok as she set the correct heat level. Then she walked over to the compact stereo her mother liked to keep in the adjoining lounge and placed the CD she had retrieved from her bedroom into the CD tray. A few seconds later, music began to stream out of the speakers. Smiling, Sakura cranked the volume up and moved back to the kitchen, hips swaying to the tune of one of her favourite songs.

* * *

The curtains had not yet been drawn, and one of the small, upper windows was open, allowing deafening music to blare out into the night. The words that streamed through the air drew him closer to the window. Peering curiously through the white net veil, his gaze bypassed the contents of the room immediately before him and locked instantaneously onto her. She was in the kitchen, clothed in a sky blue, baggy top which looked too large for her petite frame and pale yellow shorts that reached halfway down her slender thighs. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, but even so casually dressed she was beautiful. His eyes followed the feminine curve of her legs as she danced in time to the music. Her movements were graceful. To him they were bewitching. His jaw clenched as he once again rued his previous, missed opportunity. If it hadn't been for that pathetic, so-called _messenger_ and the air-headed blonde female who always seemed to be glued to Sakura's side, he would have already transported the girl singing within to his abode.

' _The world around me is crumbling,_

_Between my very fingers,_

_Blurring the boundaries of dreams and reality,_

_And I no longer comprehend the meaning,_

_Won't you leave me alone?'_

He blinked. The music was strange and foreign to his ears. She enjoyed such brash-toned, unrefined nonsense? It did not even begin to compare to the beautiful instruments and melodies that filled the halls of his twilight palace. But the words were permeating through his ears despite his internal dislike of the tune.

' _It is a sin to pine deeply for that which is forbidden. But if you are no longer around, what reason, then, do I have to exist?'_

He watched, entranced, as Sakura, leaving her meal to cook unattended for a few minutes, twirled into the lounge like a playful nymph. She picked up what looked to him to be a white, oversized, fluffy monstrosity, and began to perform a spontaneous waltz with it, singing enthusiastically along to the chorus of the song.

' _I've tried to run but there's no escaping it,_

_The deep depths of your ardent love,_

_I want to drown in you._

_So take me away, to that secret place,_

_And let me be buried in the sanctuary of your arms.'_

The sweetness of her voice. The light, so tantalisingly visible, in her face. The feminine charms of her body. They sang out to his senses in a way no form of divine music ever before had. Need washed over him, stronger than ever before, overwhelming enough to drown out all manner of reason. Cresting frustration caused his hands to tighten into fists. It made no manner of sense. And like the words to her ill-chosen song suggested it _would_ be something of a sin, to abduct one who was living to the dwelling place of the dead. But she was a human enchantress who had doomed herself by drawing the attention of an immortal god. It was her fault, all her own. He was not accountable for what he was about to do.

Raising his hands, he slowly unclenching his angry fingers. Pressing his palms briefly together, he closed his eyes, focusing on the creation he had in mind. As he slowly separated his hands again, a swirl of dark purple magic formed between his fingers, and with an elaborate flourish, burst into the shape he willed.

His eyes moved back to Sakura's still dancing form.

' _When I stumbled upon that red thread, it wound tightly around me, like your arms, and my fate was sealed.'_

He moved soundlessly toward the front door.

* * *

Giggling, Sakura settled her favourite cuddly bear back onto the couch.

"Thanks for the dance," she winked at it. Delicious smells were wafting from the direction of the kitchen, informing her that her meal was ready to enjoy. A quick glance at the time revealed that it was approaching ten thirty. She wasn't sure how she was going to drag herself out of bed the following morning. Taking a step toward the kitchen, Sakura then paused at the sound of the doorbell chiming. She wasn't sure how she managed to hear it over the blaring music.

' _As tumultuous as the wind,_

_Is your love for me,_

_How can I hope to tame it,_

_When you cause my heart to tremble so?'_

"But tell me your wish and I will do my best to grant it," Sakura sang along as she padded over to the front door. Who could it be, calling at this time of the night, she wondered? Peering into the small peep-hole, Sakura frowned lightly when she found nobody standing on the other side.

Unbolting the locks but keeping the security chain attached, Sakura peeked curiously through the partially open space. There didn't seem to be anyone there. The illuminated front yard was silent; the only sign of movement came from the early budding flowers swaying gently in the cool night air.

 _That's weird_ , thought Sakura. Then she shrugged it off. Maybe someone had called at the wrong house and realised their mistake right after they'd pressed the bell. She lowered her gaze, ready to close the door again, when her lips parted in surprise. Resting on the top of the four steps that led down the front path was the single stem of a flower. The most beautiful flower she had ever seen, a flower that almost seemed to glow beneath the front lights. But of course that was impossible. She had to be seeing things.

She hesitated, her mother's firm warnings echoing through her mind.

_Never open the door when you're home alone, Sakura._

_Don't open this door to anyone you don't know._

_Stay safe. If you're not sure who it is, don't open the door._

But the flower. She _had_ to look at it. She wanted to know which family it belonged to, and there was no way of finding that out unless she took a closer look.

 _Alright,_ she told herself firmly _. Unchain the door, grab it, then slam it shut again._

Feeling a little nervous that whoever had left the stalk was still lurking about outside, Sakura slowly unchained the door and poked her head cautiously out, looking left and right and up the front yard. There was nobody in sight. She quickly scooped up the stem and with a final look around, closed the door, locking it securely again. Then she looked down at the flower in her hand, and gasped softly.

The outermost petals were a pale, soft purple colour, gradually blending into a gentle peach in the middle. Astonishingly, the lilac edges were lined with what appeared to be silver. Had someone had them exclusively hand-painted? They must have, for she'd never before seen such an exquisite looking, natural bloom. It looked like a rose, possessed thorns like a rose, yet it wasn't. And the scent – incredible sweetness drifted up to her nose. She had never smelled anything like it.

' _It is a sin to pine deeply for that which is forbidden…'_ the music on the stereo was repeating.

Raising the flower, she inhaled deeply. It smelled _so_ good. Just the sort of feminine scent she loved. Then she found herself smilingly wondering just _who_ could have taken the trouble to deliver it to her. Somebody shy – or else they would have stuck around and given it to her in person.

Wait until Ino heard that she had a secret admirer – if it wasn't somebody playing a prank on her.

It needed to be put it in water. Sakura began to move toward the kitchen once again, knowing that her vegetables were now likely overcooked, when the walls suddenly blurred before her eyes.

"Huh?" she blinked. Her vision thankfully cleared, but when she took another step forward, the walls began to tilt.

She caught her breath, alarmed. What in the world was the matter with her all of a sudden?

* * *

He watched intently with widened eyes. The flower was having an immediate effect, causing her to sway unsteadily on her feet. In another moment she had sat down on one of the couches, clutching a hand to her head.

 _Sleep_ , he silently willed. _Sleep, now, Sakura.  
_

* * *

Her eyelids suddenly felt strangely heavy. What was going on? Her thoughts were becoming sluggish, scattered, even as she tried to find the strength to stand again. The music thumping around her was slurring, becoming gibberish, incomprehensible, as Sakura struggled to fight against the peculiar sensation that had befallen her.

She needed to- to call… someone…

The room spun violently again as she toppled sideways onto the couch, lost in a sudden, deep slumber. Her right hand loosened, relinquishing its hold of the bloom. The flower dissolved into the air before it hit the ground.

* * *

He slowly released the breath he hadn't even realised he had been holding. _Now._ He wouldn't waste another minute. Stepping away from the window, he moved swiftly to the door and disappeared straight through it, reappearing effortlessly on the other side.

His heart pounded as he walked forward, every step drawing him closer to where she lay huddled on the sofa. The rising, final crescendo of the chorus pulsated through the room, echoing the escalating storm within him.

' _I've tried to run but there's no escaping it,_

_The deep depths of your ardent love,_

_I want to drown in you.'_

He walked slowly around the couch, his eyes locked onto her deeply slumbering form. Unable to look away. Unable to focus on anything else but how very pure and vulnerable she looked, lying there with sleep flushed cheeks, like a child of spring.

' _Take me away, to your place,_

_Away from the flow of time and space,_

_Quivering touches and stolen kisses,_

_Your silence speaks volumes to my soul,_

_As we lose ourselves in the endless, forbidden deep._

_So take me away, to that secret place,_

_And let me be buried in the sanctuary of your arms,_

_I don't want anything else but the endless deep,_

_Of your eyes, as you pull me deeper,_

_Into the plummeting depths of your love._

_Take me away…'_

So engrossed and fixated had his attention been on her, that he failed to sense the distinctive aura which had appeared outside the walls of the house until it was right upon the doorstep. He tensed, caught uncharacteristically off-guard, head whipping around to stare in the direction of the luminous essence. That presence. _No._ It could not be-

Yet it was unmistakable. The sound of keys in the door heralded the person's arrival. In a whisper, he had disappeared. A second later, the front door opened.

Sakura's mother stepped into the house.

* * *

**Author's note:**

_Dun dun dun! Somebody was very nearly caught! How annoying to be foiled twice on the same day. Someone's going to be pissed next chapter lol. Was that exciting enough for everyone? xD This ended up being nearly ten thousand words long, which is crazy. I was reluctant to split it again though, because that would have interrupted the flow._

_Please let me know your thoughts on this. As promised, Something Tangible will be update next, and then I'll be free to work on this after that's done, so the next update for this might take a while. Thank you for reading everyone._


	5. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV**

* * *

_The night falls like a shadowy curtain,_

_As the darkness in the catacombs of his mind,_

_And no solace in silence can he find,_

_One loveless, damned,_

_With stains of blood,_

_Upon his hands.  
_

* * *

The deafening screech of electricity reverberated about the cavern, illuminating the pitch-black area with an eerie, blue-white glow. A split-second later a blinding stream of lightning shot out and struck the jagged walls with enough force to cause the ground to tremble, sending large rock formations and debris flying. The natural matter sizzled in the air, disintegrating into harmless pieces of stone and dust even before it landed.

He had been denied. Not once, but _twice_ on the same day. It was utterly inconceivable, how he had failed to acquire her. How he was forced to wait once again. Patience had never been his greatest virtue. The blue energy in his hand swelled, mirroring his internal wrath as he slammed his fist into another section of the wall, glaring resentfully at the crumbled ruins he'd already created. He paid little attention when the rock-face began to crack and fissure, before proceeding to collapse around him. Electricity surrounded his body like crackling armour, spiking erratically outward, slicing cleanly through the falling boulders like hot knife edges cleaving through butter.

" _Sakura,_ " he hissed, chest heaving with rage and suppressed longing as he recalled her form, dancing so enticingly before his eyes. He had been _so close_. How had he been foiled? Her _mother_ was never at home. That she had chosen that very night of all nights to return… were the Fates making a mockery of him? Livid with frustration and loathing, the lightning snaking along his arm flared even more menacingly as he entertained the idea of demolishing the entire cavern. After all, it would not be the first one he had destroyed.

The crunching sound of feet trudging over shattered rock remains caused him to tense.

"Hey," a familiar, loud voice exclaimed a moment later, "there you are!"

His face darkened considerably. He was decidedly _not_ in the mood for company, especially not from other snooping, impudent deities who spoke far too much for their own good.

"I'd ask you how life is," the intruder continued conversationally, "but that'd be quite a paradoxical thing to say to the king of the dead, right? Haha. Whoa," the voice added, a hint of mild surprise registering in its distinctive tone as its owner finally appeared to register the full extent of destruction around them, "is this target practice or are you just having a really sucky day?"

"What do you want?" he bit out icily, pointedly keeping his back turned.

"Oh, you know, the usual; a chat about the birds and the bees and the- shit!" The intruder cursed, barely managing to avoid being impaled by a spiking bolt of lightning that had been directed swiftly toward him. "What the _hell?_ You just get more and more hospitable every time I visit, don't you?"

He did turn at that, directing a chilling, crimson eyed glare at the tall deity standing by the cavern's entrance. White hair had adopted the same blue glow of the electricity crackling from his clenched fist.

"Ooh," his visitor exclaimed, grinning toothily. "You're scary." Then he shrugged, wisely sensing that he had already outstayed his non-existent welcome. "Actually, I'm here about a ship that's gotten stranded in my part of the woods. It's leaking waste that's hazardous to the denizens; do I have the go-ahead to drown the people on board? If not, you'd better let me know which lives I should spare, because-"

"None," was the curt response.

The white-haired deity blinked, visibly surprised. "Huh? You want me to drown _everybody_ on board? But some are kids with mothers, _praying_ mothers-"

_Mothers._ His eyes narrowed hatefully at the word. He stalked forward, the electricity in his hand hissing swiftly out of existence as he stepped around the incredulous deity. "Leave," he instructed flatly, exiting the cavern. He had already given his answer, and was not inclined to change his mind. Mercy was another quality that had never been his strongest trait – it was certainly not something that came with the job.

"You sure you want to punish innocent people just because you've had a shitty day at work? These are human lives we're talking about."

The words, which urged reconsideration, fell unheard upon a heart of stone as he flickered swiftly and silently out of sight.

* * *

She had sensed it even before she had stepped out of the car - a cold, ominous presence that had set her skin prickling and her heart racing at the thought of any harm coming to the child within the house.

It had taken every last ounce of her willpower and composure to _not_ tear the front door from its hinges as she'd hastily unlocked the security bolts and chains and stepped in to find… Sakura curled safely on the couch, slumbering deeply despite the racket that was blaring out of the stereo system, and the distinctive smell of burning drifting from the kitchen. The presence that she'd been certain she'd felt had vanished. She had stopped the music and hurried over to the stove, switching the hob off and frowning distastefully down at the charred remains of the meal in the wok. It wasn't like Sakura to leave things unattended. Turning her attention back to her daughter, she reached out, trying to rouse her. But Sakura remained sleeping as peacefully as a new-born babe and no matter of noise or splashes of cold water woke her.

It didn't take her suspicious and overprotective mind long to add the chilling aura and Sakura's state together to arrive at an extremely troubling conclusion – something, or _someone_ , had placed some manner of an enchantment upon the child. Frowning with concern, Sakura's mother crouched down by the sofa and reached out to stroke her daughter's flushed cheek affectionately.

"Wake up, Sakura," she gently willed. "Wake up and tell me what has happened to you."

Her only response was the sound of steady, deep breathing.

* * *

The black orb illuminated at the brush of his fingers, its thick, smoky haze clearing to reveal two figures. One was Sakura, still lost in the deep induced sleep he had set upon her. The other was her mother.

_How sentimental_ , he thought, one corner of his lips lifting to form a contemptuous sneer. The protective mother, guarding the child like a golden lioness. His eyes narrowed as he watched her fruitless attempts to rouse the slumbering girl. She had thwarted him from physically taking Sakura, but there was one place even she couldn't intrude upon, a place that edged the outermost boundaries of his realm. Sleep was a state not far from his dominion of death. He possessed the ability to influence that state - when he was the one who instilled it.

His sneer melted into a sinister smirk at the realisation that there was still another way for him to possess Sakura - albeit non-physically - that night. She was vulnerable and unprotected in her unconscious state, and when he finally permitted her to awaken, she would remember nothing at her mother's questioning – just as he had already ensured that she had no remaining memory of finding the flower outside her front door.

Closing his eyes and placing his hand firmly atop the orb, he reached out with his mind.

* * *

The cool night breeze ruffled through her loose hair, caressing the bare skin of her arms and legs as she cycled leisurely along the path. Though she was clothed only in a white summer dress, she didn't feel cold. Veering to the right, Sakura inhaled deeply, enjoying the unrestricting freedom of riding out alone. It was nice, she silently told herself, to be free from watching eyes for a change.

_Have you ever wondered why everyone is so protective of you?_

The thought entered her mind suddenly, giving her pause. For a fleeting moment she had the strangest sense that it didn't belong to her. She shook her head. Of course that was ridiculous. Who else would it be?

_Don't you ever tire of being watched? Don't you wish you could… escape?_

Her feet stopped pedalling and she came to a stop beneath one of the many lamps that lined the park's footpaths. Why was she asking herself such things? She was happy with her lot in life. She had friends who cared deeply for her, a mother who doted upon her.

_It isn't enough,_ whispered the same doubting voice in her mind.

In response, Sakura began to move again. She didn't want to think negatively. She was so grateful for everything she had. The path led her around a cluster of trees, and she realised that the faster she cycled, the less thinking she did. Soon she found herself at the top of a gently sloping hill, and removed her feet from the pedals, laughing delightedly as gravity took over, sending the bicycle speeding into descent. The breeze became a whipping wind that sent her hair trailing like a pale banner behind her. Finally she reached the bottom, sighing as she came to a gradual halt. And that was when she heard it.

The music.

Its effect on her was instantaneous - and terrifying. Her pulse quickened, and she felt a strange quivering in the depths of her stomach. There was no mistaking it - she would recognise that haunting melody anywhere, anyplace, anytime. Gripping tightly onto the handlebars, Sakura edged forward on the bicycle, in the direction from which the music was coming. As she passed a children's wooden climbing frame, her eyes widened, her hopes and fears confirmed. Sitting prettily at the end of a path blocked off by a huddle of trees was the carousel ride from the Festival.

But what was it doing there? The Festival was over for another year. It made no sense. And where were the rest of the rides and attractions? Sakura stared in bewilderment. To her astonishment and confusion, she saw children and families queuing to get onto the ride. A little boy smiled up at his father, proudly holding up a golden coin as though it were a precious treasure.

But the carousel was free. Hadn't they already paid for the admission tickets? It was only the side attractions and stalls that required money. Sakura had scarcely realised that she had dismounted her bicycle and was moving closer. The eerily beautiful music, coupled with the scene of families crowded around in an otherwise empty park at night made goose-pimples surface on her arms. She wasn't so sure that she found it so enchanting anymore. A part of her was uncertain. Afraid, almost. And when her eyes came to rest suddenly upon the boy in black, nothing could have prepared her for the intensity of her heart's reaction. It broke into a wild gallop within her chest as she watched him accept the coins from excited children who hurried onto their favourite coloured horses. Parents were getting on too, looking equally as thrilled.

Sakura stepped back, greatly unnerved. She didn't want that bottomless black gaze to fall on her again. She was just about to turn away, when something warm and solid caught hold of her left wrist, tugging her insistently forward. Sakura gasped, looking down to find a brown-haired little girl blinking up at her with huge, blue eyes.

"Hey, Miss? Could you ride with me? I'm scared to go alone!"

Sakura stared down at her in puzzlement. "But- your parents-"

The little girl shook her head sadly. "They don't want to go with me," she pouted.

Sakura looked back to the carousel. She had to be dreaming. This was too bizarre, too uncanny, and yet, it felt so decidedly _real_. She could smell the hot food some of the parents were eating, she could feel the wind stirring her hair and the music was seeping through her ears, into her very soul. And when she reluctantly allowed the little girl to lead her forward, and the carousel guy turned to look at her again, she knew that she couldn't be dreaming. Her mind had lied. He was even more beautiful than she remembered.

She could feel the child's eyes rising hopefully to her face as the young man in black held out his left hand expectantly. The tattoo she'd thought she had glimpsed the first time around was definitely there. A dragon, she identified initially, before realising that it was in fact the image of a snake inked onto his skin. She didn't know why that caused her heart to pound faster still as she raised her eyes to meet his. Perhaps it was the underlying knowledge of what a serpent represented in many great religions and mythological tales; temptation and sin. And, _oh, God,_ Sakura thought, as the piercing intensity of the stranger's gaze burned into her; how his dark eyes enticed.

It took her multiple attempts to speak. Feeling wholly pathetic, she finally managed in a near-whisper, "I'm sorry I- I don't have any money…"

In response, displaying no regard for personal boundaries, the carousel guy's hand reached out, and before Sakura could realise it, he had snagged the necklace from around her neck. Her hand flew to her throat in alarm. That was the necklace her mother had given to her years ago; a crystal shaped pendant which she had told Sakura would help to protect her from the maliciousness of others.

_You don't want to be protected from him_ , a small voice in her mind whispered to her, startling her further. She pointedly ignored it, and held out a hand to him in turn.

"Please," she entreated. "My mother gave that necklace to me. Please may I have it back?"

"Come on, Miss!" The little girl was tugging on her other hand with surprising force.

"No, I need my necklace-"

The young man dangled the chain tauntingly before her, his eyes watching closely for her reaction. She tried to snatch it back, but the child, displaying sudden, inhuman strength, succeeded in dragging her away and onto the carousel's platform. Sakura stared in shock, her discomfort rapidly escalating, as the child pointed adamantly at the black horse before them.

"Get on that one, Miss!"

"No," Sakura shook her head. The horse had red eyes. It unnerved her. "Please let go of my hand."

"Get on it!" the little girl, who no longer appeared so cute and innocent, insisted. She even stomped her foot petulantly on the ground for effect.

" _No_ ," Sakura glared back, yanking her hand out of the child's. What a spoilt brat! It was little wonder that her parents hadn't consented to riding with her. The girl's blue eyes swiftly welled up, and then she released an ear-splitting scream.

"Oh dear," one of the adults on a yellow horse winced, giving Sakura a pitying look as the still crying child was swung up and placed on a red horse beside the black one by another parent. "You'd better do as she says. The journey is about to start. You have to get on a horse if you want to go to the other side."

Sakura blinked at the blonde-haired woman. _The journey? The other side?_ What was she even talking about?

"I don't-" she was cut off when the platform beneath her feet creaked and with a sinister hiss, began to move. Sakura's eyes flew back to the carousel guy, to find that he was still watching her intently.

_I won't get on_ , she thought out stubbornly to him. He raised an eyebrow, as if he had somehow managed to guess her thoughts. Then his eyes lowered pointedly to the wooden platform, and Sakura, her stomach constricting with dread, followed his gaze. What she saw caused her to shriek and clamber swiftly onto the only vacant horse. Thick smoke had enveloped the base of the ride and within the grey depths were glowing embers that soon burst into flame.

Horrified, she looked to the little girl, who was laughing delightedly, showing no fear of the fires burning beneath them. "I knew you'd ride, Miss! Isn't this fun?"

No. It _wasn't_. Sakura felt like she was trapped in an awful nightmare. But as hard as she pinched herself, she just couldn't wake up.

' _You're in my territory_ , _now,_ ' an unfamiliar voice, as smooth as velvet spoke in her mind. She turned her head, trying to locate the boy in black again, but the ride was starting to speed up, and the horses began to rise to impossible heights. Soon the carousel was moving incredibly fast, sending Sakura's hair whipping blindingly across her face and everything began to blur around her. She gripped on for dear life, sobbing to her mother that she was sorry. She never should have gone out on her bicycle after nightfall.

The unsteady jerking of the horse was the only warning she received before its pole abruptly unhinged from its crank and sent a screaming Sakura plunging toward the fires below.

Except that the flames didn't touch her. She fell into a void, as black as night, as black as the carousel guy's eyes. For a while her body seemed to float, suspended in mid-air, until her feet touched solid ground again. Trembling and hugging herself in a vain attempt to calm her frightened nerves, Sakura strained to see in the darkness. But it was impossible to make anything out.

Without warning a spotlight illuminated above her. Squinting, Sakura looked up to find that it was shining down from a great distance high over her head. She felt strangely exposed and vulnerable beneath its blinding glare. All around her was emptiness – nothing but mist and shadow. Releasing a shaky breath, she squeezed her eyes shut and began to pray, clasping her hands tightly together, hoping for a miracle. Hoping that she was somehow stuck in a horrible nightmare, rather than the dreadful reality she had somehow walked – or cycled – into.

She lifted her head and slowly opened her eyes once more. Nothing had changed around her. The sudden sound of music surrounding her nearly caused her to jump out of her skin in fright. She recognised the tune.

The carousel melody again.

Sakura released a choked sob. What was _happening?_ She turned around and around like a jewellery box figurine, expecting something to come leaping out at her from beyond the fringes of light at any moment.

Silently and softly, the boy in black stepped out of the misty shadows. Sakura felt her legs turn to jelly as he stalked forward towards her, with all the grace of a deadly predator. And Sakura, frozen in place by the smouldering intensity of his gaze, felt unnervingly as though she were helpless, cornered prey. She somehow knew, without having to even attempt it, that running from him would be foolish, a waste of her energy. He looked like he had the ability to catch her before she even took a step.

"Who-who are you?" her voice, a pathetic whimper, wobbled precariously as the carousel guy began to circle purposefully around her. Like a hunter closing in for the kill. Sakura was shaking so violently that she could scarcely think straight. Did she really want to know his identity?

In response, a cool hand clasped her arm and she was tugged swiftly around to face him. He pulled her closer, his impossibly obsidian gaze drawing her in, and it took Sakura's overwhelmed mind a moment to figure out what was happening. And when she did, her feet were already moving in perfect time to his waltz; as if she knew the exact steps to the dance he had chosen to share with her. Her mother had taught her how to waltz as a child, but she hadn't danced with a human partner in years. There was no way she could have possibly anticipated the correct steps to the melody. But her body seemed to be moving on autopilot, beyond her brain's conscious control.

The music was having an odd effect on her. Instead of trying to pull away from him like she knew she should, Sakura instead felt herself relaxing into his light hold. Midnight eyes regarded her aloofly down the barrel of an aristocratic nose as the stranger maintained a perfectly poised, regal posture. They waltzed smoothly across the space, gliding out of the light and into the darkness of the shadows.

' _You asked who I am.'_

The voice in her mind was sensuous, commanded her instant attention. A shiver ran down her spine and Sakura opened the eyes she hadn't even realised she'd closed. The carousel guy had somehow communicated to her without opening his mouth. She exhaled shakily, as he rolled her out for a turn, before reeling her slowly back in to him. They stopped dancing, and Sakura's breath hitched when the boy in black's lips drew closer to her face.

_Oh, God_. Her heart thumped erratically within her. _He's going to kiss me…_

But he didn't. She felt the warmth of his breath hovering just over her right ear, as he whispered into her mind, ' _You will know me. Soon.'_

Then the hands encircling her upper arms relinquished their hold, fingertips trailing down along her skin, leaving tingles in their wake. The stranger stepped back into the black mist, seeming to melt into it, and Sakura was left alone again, wondering whether she had imagined dancing with him. But her right ear still tingled, and she knew she had not.

The light above her abruptly blinked out. She looked up, alarmed – when the ground suddenly gave way beneath her feet, causing her to plummet, screaming, into an endless abyss. As she fell, an invisible force seized her by her shoulders, shaking her violently.

'Sakura!' Her name resonated deafeningly around her, repeated over and over again.

_No,_ she thought hysterically, trying to fling the oppressing force away. _No, let me go!_

She felt something brush across her cheek, the coolest and lightest of touches. A single word spoke in her mind, and somehow she heard it even more clearly than the voice that was booming around her.

' _Awaken.'_

Her disorientated mind didn't understand the command. But the instant it was uttered, she felt a violent pulling sensation. Like her very soul was being drawn from within her, back up through the void.

" _Sakura!"_

* * *

With an air-starved gasp, Sakura's eyes flew open to meet the wide, tormented gaze of her mother. Her heart pounded uncontrollably within her and for a few seconds, she couldn't speak. Her mother's hands on her shoulders relaxed, but they didn't let go. Honey-coloured eyes, darkened with concern, watched her silently, intently.

"M-mother?" Sakura finally managed to utter groggily. Her head hurt, and she felt terribly thirsty. Her mother seemed to sense her need for water – as she always seemed to know when her daughter required something – and reached for the glass by the bedside table. As Sakura slowly sat up and gratefully accepted it, she realised that she was back in her bedroom. They sat in silence while she gulped the cool, sanity-restoring liquid down. Soon her heart-rate had calmed and her head cleared enough for her to meet her mother's probing gaze steadily. She was still dressed in outdoor wear, prompting Sakura to wonder just when she had arrived home.

"What time is it?" she asked, handing the glass back.

"Just past two," her mother replied. After a brief pause, she added, "Sakura. I came back home three hours ago to find you sleeping on the sofa and food burning on the stove. What happened?"

Sakura stared at her as she struggled for recollection. What _had_ happened? Slowly the required information trickled through the lingering haze in her mind. Ino had dropped her off, and after taking a quick shower, she'd gone downstairs to prepare herself a late night meal. She'd put some music on and had been dancing around to it, when- she frowned lightly as her brain drew a sudden blank. When _what?_ She couldn't remember anything after that.

"I…" slowly she shook her head. "I must have fallen asleep…" her voice trailed off confusedly. It was the only possible explanation – the emotional excitement of the day must have truly caught up with her and she'd collapsed out of pure exhaustion. But her mother looked equally as perplexed. She couldn't understand how her daughter could have fallen so deeply asleep with such ear-splitting music cranked up to near-full volume.

She reached out, placing the back of a hand lightly against Sakura's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever," she remarked. "But you were having a nightmare. Do you remember what it was about?"

Once again, Sakura regarded her with puzzlement. "I don't…" she hesitated, "I don't remember having a nightmare."

"Sakura," her mother leaned forward, placing her hands firmly onto her shoulders again. Looking deeply into her eyes, she willed, "Please try."

Sakura scoured her mind, but she couldn't recall anything. Her thoughts felt strangely scattered and empty, as though she might have been forgetting something, something very important, but she couldn't for the life of her seem to remember just what it was.

"I'm sorry, mother," she raised a palm to her aching head. "My head hurts," she croaked.

Her mother's lovely features softened. She raised a hand to the top of Sakura's head and stroked tenderly over her hair. Sakura felt some of the tension begin to ease. It was funny; she thought absentmindedly, how her mother's touch always wrapped her in an instant blanket of safety and security.

"Don't worry," her mother's firm voice assured her as she settled back into bed. "I'm here. Rest, now."

The fingers on her head were comforting. Soon the pain had vanished and an incredible sense of well-being settled over Sakura. Settling peacefully into it, she closed her heavy eyes once more.

* * *

He averted his gaze to the black-tiled floor as his hand trailed away from the orb. Visiting her in the realm of sleep had been a mistake. He had known it the instant his mind had brushed against hers. Fire burned through him at the lingering image of holding Sakura's dream-self in his arms. He had nearly forgotten that it was make-believe. It had felt almost real. _Almost._

She would recall nothing, of course. She could only remember if he willed it. Perhaps, when she was away from that damned woman who was now watching so protectively over her, he would permit Sakura to recollect fragments from the dream. It was only just that he tortured her thoughts in exchange for the years of turmoil she had inflicted upon his own mind.

She'd asked for his identity. Sweet, innocent Sakura still had no idea who and what he was, what he was capable of doing. What he intended to do to her once he had her trapped in the darkness of his world. A deep craving gnawed away within him and he slowly exhaled, his eyes rising to rest on the wispy forms that had materialised by the towering, arch-shaped onyx doors leading into the square-shaped room that housed the black orb. Two curvaceous, winged female figures, wild-eyed and eager to please him, had been drawn to his silent call.

No more mistakes. He vowed that he would take Sakura the following day. Regardless of the cost, the casualties, and the consequences – he would allow nothing and nobody else to stand in his way. And for any fools that dared to interfere with his will again – death would fall swiftly and mercilessly upon them.

He met the bright gaze of the tallest harpy, who inclined her lavender head toward him and offered a flirtatious smile.

"What is your need, Great God?"

He stared each of them stonily in the eye, before curtly responding, "It is time for you to repay your debt."

* * *

He had been quietly minding his own business, as was his usual custom, when the phone on the table next to him rang. He ignored it at first, his eyes glued to the words on the page he was reading. When it continued to ring insistently, he flicked a nonchalant glance at the cell's flashing screen.

_Tsunade._

He raised a mildly surprised eyebrow at the caller ID name, before snagging the phone swiftly from the table.

"Yo," he greeted casually.

"Kakashi," the voice on the other side of the line spoke. He instantly recognised the tone and reluctantly lowered his book.

"What's happened?"

* * *

When Sakura next opened her eyes, sunlight was streaming into her bedroom through a gap in the curtains and a delicious smell was wafting in through the open doorway. Stomach growling, she sat up, glancing over at the time. 7:00 AM, her clock dutifully informed her.

She heard padded feet walking down the hallway, and looked up as her mother stepped into the room, holding a tray loaded with breakfast. Sakura felt a surge of warmth; it was a rare treat to see her mother in the mornings, and rarer still that they sat and had breakfast together. But she never held her accountable for it. After all, her mother was a very successful and busy woman, who worked hard to preserve lives. Something Sakura desperately hoped she could also do, even if only half as well, in her future.

"Good morning, Sakura," her mother greeted, placing a light kiss atop her head. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was still dressed in her silk night-robe. Hope crested within Sakura.

"Good morning, mother. Are you off from work today?"

"Yes," her mother nodded. Then she noticed Sakura gazing hungrily at the tray, and, with an amused look, held it out to her. "I take it you're hungry?"

Sakura gratefully accepted the tray; her mouth watered at the sight of the traditional breakfast which she often, in her haste to leave in the mornings, elected to skip altogether. Miso soup and steamed rice stared invitingly up at her and her mother, who had pushed the curtains open to allow glorious sunlight to grace the room, watched as she began to tuck contentedly in.

"Did you sleep well?"

Sakura was so ravenous that she forgot to swallow her mouthful before answering, "Yes, thank you." Realising her bad manners, she covered her mouth and looked apologetically at her parent, who merely offered her a wry, knowing smile.

"That's good," her mother paused, before adding, "You can rest at home today."

Sakura blinked huge, apple-green eyes at her. She felt a twinge of guilt; as delighted as she was to see and spend time with her mother, she hoped that the beautiful woman watching over her hadn't taken a day off just for her sake, even when she already knew that was the precise reason why.

Shaking her head, she replied, "I'm alright. I have a Literature paper that's due in second period; I can't skip college today."

"I'll drive you in second period," her mother replied firmly.

Sakura swallowed her food, shaking her head again. "Really, mother, I'm fine. I was just a little tired last night. And I really can't afford to miss any classes; we have exams in two months, and I need to get into that university. Ino will be here at eight. She'll drop me back, too."

Her mother still looked unconvinced, but Sakura could sense her resolve wavering. Finally, she said, "What time does your final class finish?"

"Four twenty," Sakura answered.

"I want you back home by five at the latest."

Sakura nodded. "I'll come straight back," she promised.

Her mother looked satisfied. "So," she said, pulling the vanity table's chair up to Sakura's bedside and reaching for her own bowl of soup. "How was the Festival?"

Memories of the previous afternoon swelled vividly into Sakura's mind. Smiling, she replied, "Oh, it was so wonderful! It was even bigger and better than last year's. They had new attractions too. Like a wobbly walkway. Ino fell seven times," she giggled. "I only fell twice," she added triumphantly, looking to her mother for approval. Her mother winked, as if to say, ' _of course you outdid Ino. You're my daughter.'_

At least, that was what Sakura _hoped_ she was silently conveying.

"And a Shoot-For-A-Lady gallery; Shikamaru and Naruto had a go at that."

Her mother snorted, unimpressed. She had always thought very little of men. "Who did they shoot for?"

"Shikamaru for Ino, and Naruto for Hinata."

Her mother's slender eyebrows shot up. " _Hinata?_ " she repeated, looking greatly surprised.

Sakura grinned. "They're so cute together." Then she blinked, and corrected, "Well, they aren't _actually_ together yet, but I think he might like her…"

A brief, unreadable look passed over her mother's face. It was gone in an instant, as she casually enquired, "And you? Did you meet a nice boy?"

"No, no," Sakura laughed nervously. "Not me."

"Sakura…" her mother tilted an eyebrow at her. Her daughter had always been a terrible liar.

"W-well," Sakura amended, "There was a guy who gave me a caged dove. I released it. I'll probably never see him again; he's at university, you see…" her voice trailed as she recalled the mysterious guy she had met at the carousel. Should she mention the handsome stranger to her mother? She opened her mouth to do so, but her mother was already speaking.

"There will be plenty of time for boys," she stated, waving her hand dismissively. It was what she always said when she wanted Sakura to forget about someone she deemed wasn't worth thinking about any further. Which were most boys, really.

"Yes," Sakura replied softly, her gaze lowering to the cleared plates on the breakfast tray. For some reason, the memory of dark, intense eyes refused to budge from her mind.

"Well," her mother said briskly after another brief pause, rising to take the tray from her. "You'd better get ready."

Sakura thanked her as she left the room, and pushed the bed covers back. Stretching her arms over her head, she smiled at the sunny sky outside. Today would be a good day; she just knew it.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Sakura stood scrutinising her reflection in front of the mirror. She wasn't wearing her usual combination of jeans and a T-shirt, and felt a little uncertain as she looked over the ensemble she'd had to dive deep into her wardrobe to find - a pale green, short-butterfly-sleeved top which matched the colour of her eyes and a flowing, feminine, cream skirt that reached just above her knees. Stepping into pale-green flats, Sakura reached up to lift her hair behind her head. _No,_ she frowned, smoothing the strands back down. Leaving the coral locks loose complimented the outfit better.

_Maybe I should just change back into what I normally wear_ , she considered. But the chiming of the doorbell informed her that it was too late for her to do so; Ino had arrived. Sticking her tongue out at her reflection, she grabbed her bag, a pile of books she had meant to return to the library a week earlier, and a cream cardigan and began to make her way along the landing to the stairs.

"Mrs. Haruno!" She heard Ino exclaim in surprise when her mother opened the door. "Wow, it's so good to see you! You look great!"

Smiling, Sakura skipped down and joined them at the door. Ino was always raving about how formidable and stunning her mother was and lavished compliments upon her whenever they met.

"Sakura!" Ino's eyes widened admiringly as she looked her friend over. "No jeans? For the second day in a row? Are we setting some record here?"

Sakura giggled. Sensing her mother's lingering eyes, she turned to look adoringly up at her.

"Movie night when we get back?" she asked hopefully.

Her mother's expression softened and she nodded as she reached out to run her fingers through Sakura's glossy hair. "Remember – be here at five sharp."

Sakura beamed and placed a light kiss on her mother's perfumed cheek. Then she skipped out the door.

"Ino," Sakura's mother called, just as Ino was ready to bid her goodbye. "May I have a quick word?"

"Sure, Mrs. Haruno," Ino replied, before calling back to Sakura as she got into the car, "Give me a sec, Forehead!"

Sakura's mother met Ino's blue-eyed gaze firmly. "You dropped Sakura off after the Festival, correct?"

"Yes," Ino nodded.

"Was she alright?"

Ino blinked, confused. "She was fine. Why?"

Sakura's mother glanced at where her daughter was sitting in the passenger seat, fiddling with the radio. "Sakura was a little… unwell overnight. Please keep a close eye on her today."

Ino looked back at Sakura also. Then, turning to her best friend's mother again, she smiled, "Don't worry, Mrs. Haruno. I'll look after her."

"Promise me," Sakura's mother said, her face and tone so abruptly severe that Ino's lips parted in surprise. "Promise me that you will _not_ let her out of your sight today."

Ino shook her head, and it took her a few attempts to speak. The fierceness she had glimpsed in the woman's eyes had internally startled her. Finally she replied slowly, uncertainly, "Sure, I… I promise. Is everything okay, Mrs. Haruno?"

"Fine, fine," Sakura's mother dismissed curtly, waving a hand. "Go on, now, or you'll be late."

Ino nodded, hesitated for just another moment, before turning back to the car.

"Bye mother!" Sakura waved, beaming joyously as Ino turned on the ignition and began to perform a U-turn. "I love you!"

Her mother smiled, waved back, and watched as the car drove off down the street.

_I love you too, child,_ she silently answered. _More than you could possibly know._

* * *

To Sakura's pleasant surprise, Naruto was waiting for them at their regular parking spot.

"Hey, Naruto," she smiled, as she stepped out of Ino's car. "What're you doing here so early?"

Naruto offered a sheepish grin and replied vaguely, "Heh, I was around so… lemmie get that for you, Sakura-chan," he swiftly plucked the books she'd been carrying out of her arms. Sakura blinked at him, before offering her thanks. They walked into the main building, taking the winding corridor that would lead them toward the Academy's library.

"Ugh, what is _wrong_ with Tenten?" Ino scowled, raising her phone to her ear as they arrived at the revolving doors stationed outside the quiet study area. "She keeps calling and hanging up!"

"She's probably out of minutes," Sakura suggested.

"Like I have any left," Ino complained, looking appalled by the injustice of the fact.

Sakura rolled her eyes in response. It was only Ino's own fault that she talked so much. "Be right back," she informed her, and the blonde nodded, watching as they stepped into the library. Sakura joined the short queue to return items, and began searching for her student card.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, as she rummaged through the contents of her bag.

"Hmm?" she answered distractedly.

"Are you… feeling okay today?"

Her gaze lifted to meet his. They were a darker shade of blue than normal, mirroring his internal concern. Sakura raised her eyebrows. Ino had asked her the very same thing in the car. Suspiciously, she scowled, "Have you all been talking to my mother, or something?"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he rapidly shook his head. "N-no! Why would I talk to your- I just- it's just-" he spluttered, but like Sakura, Naruto wore his heart on his face and was a terrible, unconvincing liar. Sakura sighed deeply. Her worried mother had probably told her friends to keep an eye on her for the day; typically overprotective, as usual.

_Don't you ever tire of being watched?_ A voice whispered in her mind. _Don't you wish you could… escape?_

She was filled with a sudden, inexplicable sense of déjà vu; as though she had thought the very same thing somewhere before. But she couldn't recall where and when. Her mind felt strangely blank.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto was staring at her with wide eyes. "What's wrong? Are you-?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Really. You don't have to worry about me, you know."

Naruto offered her a tentative smile and Sakura turned away from him, trying not to pay too much attention to the dubious look in his eyes. As she stepped up to the scanner and returned her books, she considered what her mother might have said to Naruto and Ino.

' _Sakura wasn't well. Please look out for her.'_

' _Look after Sakura today. She was sick.'_

Sakura frowned lightly. She knew her mother intended well, but the truth was that she _hadn't_ been sick. She'd been completely fine. There was no need to kick up a fuss over nothing. Sometimes she felt like she was shielded a little too much.

_Who am I kidding_ , she told herself. She _always_ felt like people – her mother especially – were trying to wrap her up in cotton wool. Naruto tried to make casual conversation as they rejoined Ino outside, but Sakura's thoughts were distracted. She was suddenly starting to remember things… images she couldn't quite place. They walked to Biology class, where Naruto parted ways with them, and as she stepped into the lab, she immediately noticed that Sai was absent.

Sakura wasn't sure why she felt disappointed. Maybe it was because she had been secretly hoping to see and talk to Sai. She felt bad about the way she'd abruptly left him at lunch the previous day. Sitting down at her usual place and listening to Ino's flirtatious exchanges with Shikamaru, she allowed her gaze to wander over to the open window.

Music began to drift through her mind, blocking out the voices surrounding her. Something flashed across her memory – cool hands clasping hers. A warm breath ghosting over her right ear… She blinked, alarmed to feel the skin of her ear tingling. What was the _matter_ with her? She was so preoccupied with what was going on in her head that she scarcely noticed Kakashi's uncharacteristically early arrival, barely heard as he began to discuss the results of the dissection, looking pointedly at a guilty Ino as he did so. The images were floating before her – a black horse. The necklace she always wore around her neck, dangling before her eyes. A bicycle. Spotlights. But they never connected to form an intelligible memory.

"Forehead? Earth to Forehead. _Sakura!_ "

Sakura jumped, startled, as Ino jabbed the end of a pencil into her side. She turned to her right to find her friend staring at her, her mouth open.

"Geez; what is _wrong_ with you today? You didn't even make any notes!"

"Huh?" she blinked stupidly down at her blank writing pad.

Ino's expression hovered somewhere between incredulous and exasperated. "Lesson's over!"

Sakura's eyes flew to the clock on the wall and she gaped at it in shock. Ino was right. The class _had_ ended. And for the first time in her life, Sakura had no idea what the lesson had been about.

She gathered her things, and felt eyes on her as she pushed her stool back beneath its desk. _Kakashi,_ she realised with embarrassment, and made a point of avoiding the teacher's probing gaze. How disconnected and lost in her own thoughts had she been, to not even be able to recall the contents of the lecture? Sakura felt thoroughly ashamed of herself. But as she turned to follow after Ino, her eyes stopped on a familiar figure and her breath hitched. Sai, who had likely arrived late, for he'd been sitting at the back of the lab rather than in his usual place, was slowly depositing his notebook back into his bag. He looked even paler than usual - deathly pale - and his shoulders were hunched, as if he wished to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. Sensing that he was being watched, his eyes lifted dully, meeting Sakura's tentative smile for the briefest of instances, before darting quickly and evadingly away. Then, before she could think of calling out to him, Sai had shouldered his bag and hurriedly exited the lab. Sakura stared speechlessly after him. Was she being paranoid, or had he just deliberately avoided her?

"Ah, Sakura?" She flinched, her eyes flying to the left to find Kakashi staring down at her. "A quick word?" Sakura threw a glance at Ino, hoping her friend would bail her out – but Ino was busy talking to Shikamaru, and seemed oblivious to Sakura's need of her.

Sighing, Sakura walked over to her teacher's desk at the front of the lab.

"Now, it's not like me to pry," Kakashi began with another of his signature, resigned sighs, "but I couldn't help noticing that you seem a little distracted today."

Sakura hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "I don't think I slept well last night."

But she _had_. Hadn't she? However, she couldn't think of any other reason to account for her absentmindedness. What else could she tell Kakashi? That she had been far too busy paying attention to the nonsensical images in her head to focus on the lecture he'd been giving? Disclosing such a ridiculous thing would earn her an even greater reprimand for certain.

"How was the Festival?" Kakashi's tone changed, becoming more conversational. Sakura released a breath, directing a surreptitious glance up at him. He wasn't angry at her?

"It was…" she replied, perplexed by his abrupt change of subject, "nice," she finished.

"Full of characters, I bet?" he winked at her.

Sakura blinked. "Uh, yeah…" she trailed off, and then offered him a nervous little laugh. "You- you're not mad that I didn't make notes?"

He waved her concern away. "We all deserve a break every once in a while. You included."

While Sakura was still trying to figure out what that meant, Kakashi added seriously, "Sakura. _Is_ everything alright?"

Suspicion filled her. Kakashi, too? No - he was simply expressing concern over her uncharacteristic inattentiveness. And he was looking at her so earnestly, so kindly. Silently conveying that she _could_ talk to him about what might be troubling her, if she so wished.

She offered him a genuine, bright smile. "I'm fine. Thank you, Mr. Hatake."

"Yes, yes, well, off you go," her teacher nodded, brushing off her gratitude. Sakura followed Ino and Shikamaru out the room, and the remainder of the day's lessons passed with little incident.

* * *

The morning's strange images and not-quite-there memories thankfully didn't bother Sakura again, and by the time their final classes were over, she had all but forgotten about it. She spilled out of the main building with her friends, laughing uncontrollably over Naruto and Kiba's lunchtime antics.

"D-did you see Chouji's face?" Tenten managed in between fits of chuckles.

"When Kiba got to the last noodle-bowl-" Sakura gasped.

"Forget Chouji, did you see how distraught _Naruto_ looked?" Ino asked, and the girls burst into a fresh round of giggles.

Sakura wiped at her eyes, straightening as she cast a glance at Hinata, who wasn't certain whether to look distraught or amused. Feeling a pang of sympathy for the dark-haired girl, Sakura elbowed her teasingly in her side. "Don't worry," she winked, "I'm sure Naruto didn't starve to death-"

" _-much_ ," Tenten latched on, grinning.

Hinata released a distressed little gasp at the very idea.

"Oh, Hinata," Ino rolled her eyes, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her an affectionate squeeze. "You're _so_ adorable."

"Training today," Tenten reminded them, referring to sports practice. "You're coming to watch the team, right?"

" _You're_ only going to watch Neji train," Ino pointed out, prompting their brown-haired friend to blush tellingly.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed defensively. "But it'd be fun to hang out!"

"Uh huh, right," Ino grinned. Then, seriously, she said, "Sorry, we can't stay today. Princess Forehead here has to be back home by five, and I've got an appointment with my hairdresser at five-thirty. Maybe Hinata's free?"

"O-oh, I'm sorry," Hinata stammered apologetically, secretly rueing a missed opportunity to watch Naruto train, "but I'm afraid I have to work on my paper…"

"Fine," Tenten huffed, as they neared the car park. "I'm heading over to the field, then. See you no-lives later!"

"Have fun checking out Neji's butt!" Ino called loudly after her, causing Sakura to slap a hand over her mouth in a desperate attempt to muffle her laughter, whilst Hinata blushed profusely. A scarlet-faced Tenten, who had scarcely managed to take five steps away from them, whirled and shook a threatening fist at a cackling Ino.

"You're so bad, Ino," Sakura gasped, as she took the front passenger seat in her best friend's car. Ino secured her seatbelt, and grinned.

"Isn't that why you love me?" she winked.

"Oh, get over yourself, Pig," Sakura teased affectionately.

"Only if you get over me first," Ino bantered back, as she pulled out of the car park. Sakura turned on the radio and they began to sing to a popular song that was being aired. At least, two of them did. Hinata just quietly sat at the back, content to listen to them.

Sakura glanced down at her watch. 16:39PM, it informed her; plenty of time to get home. She smiled at the thought of spending a rare evening with her mother. Which movie were they going to watch together? They could share the delicious dumplings that she had failed to finish the previous day. Sakura's mouth watered just thinking about the tasty treats. She couldn't _wait_ to get home and enjoy their gossipy catch-ups.

Ino rounded the corner to the right which led out to the main road, and immediately hit her foot down on the brake, causing the car to jerk to a sudden stop.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" she screeched, staring at the long line of cars jammed along the entire length of the street in dismay. Sakura's expression mirrored her friend's as her incredulous eyes followed the rows of traffic. People were honking and had rolled down their windows, waving angry fists. Sakura even saw a man leaving his van altogether to check out what was happening ahead of him.

"What is it?" Hinata asked softly, straining to peer past their shoulders.

"Gridlock. There's no way we're making it out of there for another hour at least," Ino answered, disgust dripping from her voice. The car behind them honked impatiently, and Ino began to perform a hasty U-turn in response. "No _way_ am I missing my appointment," she exclaimed.

"Which way are we going?" Sakura questioned, as Ino began speeding back in the direction they had come from.

"This route my dad once showed me."

" _Once?"_ Sakura echoed dubiously.

"Relax, Forehead! It's on the nav," Ino tapped a perfectly manicured finger at the illuminated navigator on the dashboard. "It'll take us a little longer than usual to get back, but it's better than being stuck in that mess for ages."

Shrugging, Sakura sat back in her seat again. Soon the navigator began leading them through winding roads that were unfamiliar to her. The streets became narrower and narrower, until they eventually found themselves driving through the outskirts of a small forest.

"What the _hell?_ " Ino exclaimed, as the navigator instructed her to continue straight. "I don't remember these trees. What's up with this heap of junk?" She poked at it, trying to check the address again.

Sakura's eyes moved to her watch. 16:55PM. She was definitely going to be late. Grabbing her cell out of her bag, she speed-dialled her mother's number and waited for her to pick up.

" _Where are you?"_ her mother answered on the second ring. No 'hello'. No 'how are you'. Just _where are you._

"Hello, mother," Sakura greeted. "I'm with Ino and Hinata. The route we usually take home is jam-packed, so Ino's leading us through a…" she shot a pointed look at her best friend, before finishing, "…short-cut."

" _How much longer will you be?"_

"Tell her we'll be there in about twenty," Ino replied distractedly, jabbing her finger at the navigator's touch-screen again. "Why won't this thing respond?" she muttered.

"About twenty minutes," Sakura replied, wincing as she anticipated her mother's less than pleased reaction. When she was met only with a brief silence, Sakura rushed, "I'm sorry, I know I promised by five, but-"

" _It's alright,"_ her mother's voice calmly replied. _"Just get back safely. Call me if you're going to be any later – I'll come and meet you somewhere."_

Sakura nodded, and closed the connection, releasing a sigh of relief. "What's wrong?" she asked, when she noticed that Ino was scowling at the dashboard.

"It's this stupid thing!" Ino cried, taking her eyes off the road for a few seconds. "It keeps telling me to go right, but there isn't a right! This has to be wrong. I'm so going back-" she broke off when the car suddenly jolted forward, sending her veering to the left, the steering wheel spinning so violently that Ino almost lost control of it. The girls screamed, fearing the worst, when the car slammed into something on Ino's side. After dipping unstably, it came to a complete stop.

"Shit," Ino swore; her blue eyes were wide and glazed over with shock. Swallowing thickly, she managed, "You two okay?"

"What the _heck_ , Ino-" Sakura slowly released her breath, heart pounding uncontrollably within her. She had thought, for a horrible moment, when the car had rocked to the left, that it was ready to flip over. Apart from the seat-belt digging into her abdomen, she was shaken but unhurt.

"Wh-what happened?" Hinata squeaked from the back.

"I don't- I must have hit something." Ino opened her door and climbed gingerly out. Lowering her head to examine the extent of the damage, she groaned, "Oh, my poor baby! My dad is going to be _so_ mad!"

Sakura got out in turn, followed by Hinata. They walked around to find that the right side of the car had fallen into a mini-ditch. As if that wasn't bad enough, the front tyre had somehow burst upon impact with something sharp.

Sakura's hands flew to her cheeks as she surveyed the damage with horrified eyes. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed in dismay, realising that she was going to be much, much later than twenty minutes. "My mother is going to _kill_ me!"

* * *

Her words echoed faintly through the orb. He smirked darkly at the irony of her statement. It wasn't her mother she had to fear.

She was alone in the company of two other females who could not protect her, stranded as they were in an unfamiliar wood, far from any aid. She was essentially defenceless.

Perhaps the Fates, after inflicting him with centuries of injustice, were finally on his side after all.

"Master…" two child-like voices spoke in unison. He didn't need to turn around to know that the harpies had taken on the form he had requested of them.

Without taking his eyes off Sakura, he commanded, "Go."

With a great flap of their wings, the harpies vanished.

* * *

"This is just great," Sakura muttered sarcastically underneath her breath. So much for getting home early. She was half leaning, half sitting against the bonnet of Ino's car. She'd called her mother again to inform her of their new and less than fortunate development, and this time her mother _had_ been suitably furious. ' _Give me the address,'_ she had barked down the phone. Sakura had been close to tears, when Ino had snatched the cell off her and apologised profusely, saying it was all entirely her fault and that they weren't actually sure _where_ they were, but that it was okay because she'd called her father and he was on his way, and she wasn't going to let Sakura out of her sight.

Sakura had frowned at that. It was bad enough that Ino had gotten them stranded _without_ her friend referring to her like she was a wayward child. Now they stood around, waiting for Ino's father to locate their car on his tracking system.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" Ino glared, catching Sakura's words. "You think I _meant_ for this to happen?"

Sakura sighed, and rubbed stressfully at her forehead. "No, of course not; look- I'm sorry. Let's just stay calm."

"A-at least it's still light," Hinata attempted to comfort them. Sakura glanced at her, and smiled despite herself. They could always count on Hinata to see the best in even the very worst of situations. She eyed their surroundings again. All around them were thin, unsightly trees that had yet to taste the first bloom of spring. Beyond the trees were tangles of branches and undergrowth. The narrowing path ahead was overruled with grass and upturned roots. It was little wonder that the car had been unable to squeeze through the space.

Sakura turned her face up to the sky, inhaling deeply. It was perfectly blue and cloudless, but another glance down at her watch informed her that it would only be daylight for another hour and a half at most. She reached into the car, pulled her bag out, and opened it, searching for something to eat.

"Hey," she said, as she found an apple and a chocolate bar. "Anyone hungry? I've got some stuff here…"

"I think I may have some water," Hinata said, moving to the back to retrieve her own bag.

Ino's phone rang, and she raised it quickly to her ears. "Hello, Ava? Yes, I know I said five-thirty- yes, _I know_ , but-" she paused, eyes narrowing at the stream of complaints her hairdresser was hurtling at her on the other side of the line. "Listen, how much do I pay you? I'm _always_ on time. My car's stuck in a ditch. _A ditch!_ Don't try to act like you're booked for the rest of the evening – you're my personal hairstylist!"

Sakura sighed heavily as she listened to her best friend's indignant arguments, her eyes trailing idly over the trees in front of her – when a sudden movement caught her attention. She straightened, instantly alert. Had she just _imagined_ seeing something blinking back at her?

_I'm losing it_ , she thought, shaking her head. There was nothing to be found in the undergrowth before her.

"I am telling you, my car is stuck in a ditch!" Ino was raving down the cell, her back turned to Sakura. "What, you think I'm not telling you the truth? I mean, really? Look, I'm here with two other people- Hinata!" she beckoned the startled girl to her side. "Tell this impossible woman where we are!"

Hinata flinched as Ino pressed the phone against her ear. She listened as a foreign-accented woman spoke far too fast for her to understand, and tried to stammer that Ino was right.

Sakura stepped forward, her eyes wide. She _hadn't_ imagined it. There really _was_ something there – and when she inched closer, and discovered just what it was, her mouth parted in astonished surprise. Peeking out from between the trees were two young children – one blonde haired and blue eyed, and the other, red-haired and black-eyed. They were staring uncertainly at her, as if ready to bolt the second she placed a foot wrong. Sakura cast a glance back over her shoulder, at where a flustered Hinata and an angry Ino were trying to calm the upset hairdresser down. Afraid she would startle the kids away if she called to her friends, Sakura stepped slowly forward, so that she was right on the edge of the path.

"Hey," she whispered. The children watched her with large, curious eyes. They were sweet-featured, two little girls, around five or six years old, with softly curling hair and freckled noses. They wore identical white dresses, frilly and pretty. "What are you doing way out here?"

She wondered whether there were houses nearby. Surely there had to be; how else would two children be wandering around the area alone? The girls exchanged tentative looks and then one of them – the red-haired one – stepped forward, closer to Sakura.

"You know what, I don't care. You want to be someone else's hairstylist, go ahead!" Ino was practically screeching down the phone.

Sakura stared. The child's black eyes were so dark that they appeared to be devoid of pupils; of course, that was virtually impossible- her thought was unpleasantly interrupted when the blonde-haired girl suddenly jumped forward and yanked on the strap on her shoulder, snatching the bag away and running off into the undergrowth. Her companion giggled and quickly followed after her.

"Hey!" Sakura protested, rushing in after them without giving her actions a second thought. Her study books and notes were in that bag – she couldn't afford to lose it, not when exams were so close on the horizon.

Hinata, who had heard Sakura's surprised call, glanced back to find her friend's coral head disappearing into the trees. Her lips parted in concern, and she reached out, tugging insistently on Ino's arm.

"And don't expect me to give you a good reference, either!" Ino was raging. "It's just a stupid haircut!"

"I-Ino…" Hinata whispered, still tugging.

"Yeah, that's right, good luck finding another client! You know, you could avoid _all_ of this if you just agree to – _what,_ Hinata?" the blonde's head whipped around to glare at her friend, who merely pointed in the direction in which Sakura had disappeared. Ino turned, frowning, and swiftly forgot all about the conversation she was having. Lowering the phone slowly away from her ear, she uttered uncertainly, "Sakura…?"

* * *

Sakura weaved through the trees, keeping her eyes fixed on the children who were squealing and laughing ahead of her.

"Hey, give it back! Please!" she called, hoping politeness would work. It didn't. The little girls, delighted with the chase, merely sped up, hopping over upturned roots and skipping on stones with perfect, fluid ease. They were clearly familiar with the path they were taking – poor Sakura was certainly _not_. She was already at a disadvantage, and knew it. Frustrated, she skirted past a bunch of rocks, narrowly avoiding tripping over the snaking limb of a tree. Then a root _did_ catch her left foot and she stumbled onto the grass. The children stopped briefly to wave the bag tauntingly at her.

Sakura pushed her hair out of her face, glaring angrily at them.

"Here's your bag, lady!" the little blonde girl called. Her voice was surprisingly sweet and innocent for such a mischievous brat, Sakura thought.

Huffing unhappily, Sakura folded her arms across her chest as she took the time to catch her breath. _Why her?_ She realised then that heading unthinkingly after the children had probably not been the wisest of ideas. She had likely already drifted too far from the clearing to find her way back without assistance. And her cell was in her bag.

_Perfect._ But she wasn't about to be outwitted by a pair of children who were more than ten years her junior. A plan began to formulate in her mind, and she lifted a hand, waving it dismissively at them.

"Go ahead and keep it," she called out. "I never liked that stinky old bag, anyway."

The children exchanged glances, as if they hadn't quite expected to receive such a response.

"Well, guess I'd better head back," Sakura added cheerfully, rising to her feet again. "Thanks for the exercise!" She began to turn nonchalantly away.

* * *

He watched the scene that was unfolding before him intently. So she had resorted to fooling his subjects, in an attempt to lure them closer and retrieve her satchel?

Clever. But nowhere near clever enough to save herself.

' _Master',_ one of the voices communicated uncertainly to him. _'The maiden is leaving. What are we to do?'_

"She is bluffing," he answered sharply. "Stop her."

* * *

Sakura had only taken several steps when she heard a rustling behind her. She turned back to find both children edging forward. The blonde-haired one gripped onto her bag, looking genuinely apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Miss," she said, blinking huge, sad eyes up at Sakura. "We didn't mean to upset you."

"We were just having fun," her companion agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

"Here," the little girl with the bag held it out to her. "You can have it back."

Sakura pursed her lips. She considered walking away regardless, or demanding that they throw it over, if they were genuinely repentant – but her heart melted when she spotted their lower lips quivering. They looked afraid, ashamed, on the verge of tears.

Ino had always called her a wet blanket.

Sighing, she walked forward, reaching out acceptingly with her right arm. Her fingers came within inches of grasping her bag – when the children released a shriek of laughter and turned to bolt away again. Sakura, who had half-anticipated the girls to attempt such a trick, lunged after them. They squealed and separated, scattering in different directions. Gravity pulled Sakura forward, and the speed at which she was moving meant that it was impossible for her to prevent her body from tumbling over the edge of a hidden slope. She gasped fearfully as she rolled down the bank, before landing abruptly in a surprisingly cushioning bed of dry leaves. For a minute she lay in place, staring up at the sky, disorientated and wondering what in the world she had gotten herself into.

"Ugh…" she slowly sat up, smoothing back her hair, picking curled leaves out of it. Something suddenly landed with a dull thud in front of her, and Sakura flinched jumpily, before recognising it to be her bag. She turned her face up to look back toward the small bank she'd fallen from – just in time to see the giggling faces of the two little girls vanishing over the edge. She reached out and snatched her bag, holding it tightly to her chest as she willed herself to remain calm.

She wouldn't panic. She _wouldn't_. She'd find a way back up – somehow. Opening her bag, she rummaged for her cell phone. Where _was_ it? Desperate, she emptied the entire contents of the bag on the ground before her. She realised with a sinking feeling that the phone was nowhere in sight. The children had probably taken it, or worse – lost it.

_Oh, no._ Sakura's heart began to pound to a slow, sickening rhythm. How in the world were her friends going to find her now? How foolish _was_ she? What had she been thinking? The harsh reality was that she hadn't really been thinking at all. She had just wanted her things back.

Struggling to remain composed, Sakura stuffed her belongings back inside the bag and gingerly got to her feet. The trees grew even sparser here. Swallowing, she walked forward, uncertain which direction she was heading toward. What if there was a wolf in the woods? What if there were bears? Or crazy psychos like in the movies? She nervously grabbed hold of a branch from the floor, gripping it tightly, praying that she wouldn't have to use it.

* * *

"Sakura!" Ino cried, lowering her cell. She'd just tried for the fifth time, unsuccessfully, to call Sakura. Her best friend's phone had rung incessantly, but Sakura hadn't picked up.

"Sakura!" Hinata called, her lovely features contorted with worry.

They filtered through the trees, sticking close together, their eyes roaming over the expanse of woodland in search of a familiar pink head. Ino's heart pounded within her, and she struggled to swallow down her escalating sense of panic. She had promised Sakura's mother that she wouldn't let Sakura out of her sight. She had _promised_. And now here she was, searching frantically for her missing friend, just because she'd been stupid and self-centred enough to argue with her _ex_ -hairdresser on the phone…

_Please,_ Ino silently willed. _Please be alright, Sakura._

"I-I can't see her," Hinata exclaimed breathlessly. Ino detected the thinly-veiled alarm in the dark-haired girl's voice, and fought to maintain her own sense of calm. But it was impossible, when she considered what might possibly be lurking in the woods. Sakura was so slight, so vulnerable. If anything attacked her, she wouldn't stand a chance.

"Oh, God, where is she?" Ino choked back a panicked sob. _"Sakura!"_

* * *

After walking aimlessly for nearly ten minutes and finding no way of getting back up the incline, Sakura was precariously close to tears.

_Don't cry_ , she told herself angrily. She was already feeling pathetic enough as it was; besides, what would sobbing accomplish? She would still be lost in the middle of nowhere, without her friends and her phone-

Her mournful thought abruptly broke off as she glimpsed a sudden flash of colour between the grey-brown trees to her left. Blinking, she stepped instinctively toward it. As she drew closer, the trees seemed to part for her, revealing rich, rolling grassland. Sakura's lips parted in astonishment as she came to a stop before the most vividly green meadow she had ever laid eyes upon. It was beautiful, littered with carnations of every colour. Butterflies flitted delicately about between the flowers and birds sang joyously overhead.

"Oh…" she said weakly, overwhelmed with an overpowering sense of déjà vu and recognition. She had dreamed of a field like this one. And Sai's drawing – the one she had refused to take – hadn't it been similar too?

She didn't stop to consider what that might mean. Her feet were already carrying her forward. The grass was so long, grazing up to her knees. She held her hands out, letting the strands tickle her fingertips as she gazed about her new surroundings in awe.

* * *

His heart had begun to pound in anticipation. Finally, she had been lured to the designated place and set foot within the field. A field he had placed an illusion upon, to beguile her mortal eyes with vivid, unnatural colours and sweet, enchanting birdsong.

He turned away from the orb, directing one last command to the harpies.

"Stall her friends."

' _We exist to please you, Master,'_ came the whispered replies. He scarcely heard them as he swept out of his palace and came to a brief stop before four, majestic black steeds. The wild, temperamental horses, who answered only to him, were stationed obediently at the bottom of the outer steps that climbed up toward the sprawling halls of his abode.

He looked to each of them in turn, silently conveying his intention. _Orphnaeus. Aethon. Nyctaeus. Alastor._ They would need to move as swiftly and fleetingly as shadows. He couldn't risk being seen by anybody. The stallions snorted, exhaling smoke, as if to signal their understanding. Haste was of the essence.

The death deity mounted his chariot and his horses surged forward. They soon crossed the border leading to the field, and the earth opened up at his will, revealing a jewel blue sky.

He turned his face up to the surface.

* * *

The meadow seemed to stretch forever in all directions. Sakura inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh scent of grass mingled with the sweetness of flowers. Delight and wonder had temporarily warded away her fear and uncertainty. She knew she would be safe in the lush green plains, away from the sinister silence of the woods – until nightfall, at least. It was so very pretty; one of nature's very own works of art. As she ventured deeper into it, she considered picking a bundle of flowers while she explored. Perhaps, by the time she was done, her friends would somehow, by some miracle, come across her. Or maybe, if she kept walking, she'd eventually find a house. Somebody was bound to live close to such a picturesque place.

She began to pluck different coloured carnations, placing a yellow one playfully in her hair as she twisted and twirled contentedly between the flowers. If only her mother could see where she was; granted, she would be angry that she'd taken so long to get home, but after she got over that, Sakura was certain she'd appreciate the beauty of the place.

She sat down in the grass, her bright green eyes watching as the butterflies danced in the air before her. A white one fluttered close to her face, its wing brushing gently across her cheek, and Sakura smiled at the innocence of the touch. _Oh, if only Ino could see this place, too,_ she wished. They would have a contest to see who could make the prettiest bouquet – even though Sakura knew she'd win.

She rose to her feet again and continued to walk, her eyes searching for different coloured flowers, bypassing the ones she had already collected. Then her breath caught suddenly in her throat as her gaze came to fall upon the most beautiful bloom she had ever seen.

* * *

"I can't find her!" Ino sobbed hysterically into the phone. Hinata was standing beside her, looking equally as upset. They'd been searching the woods nearly for twenty minutes, and had still found no trace of Sakura. "Oh, God, her mother's going to kill me!"

" _Ino,"_ the voice on the other side of the line spoke rationally. _"Calm down. Who are you talking about?"_

"Sakura!" she wailed. "I can't find Sakura! I took a stupid shortcut, and my car got stuck in a ditch, and _I can't find her!"_

" _Sakura? You've lost Sakura-?"_ Shikamaru's voice suddenly grew muffled, and the next one to speak into Ino's ear belonged to someone else.

" _Ino,"_ Naruto said, and her heart leapt at the uncharacteristic severity she detected in his tone. " _Where are you?"_

* * *

Sakura was entranced. The sun, despite being very low in the sky, seemed to reflect off the petals, making them shimmer radiantly. The bloom shifted from red, to pink, to peach, orange, yellow, gold, green, indigo and violet, silver and grey; dazzled, Sakura moved toward it, her mind unable to comprehend how it could be so many colours at once. Had she come across a new species? Would her name go down in history as the first person to discover a Rainbow Flower? Because that surely had to be its name. No other would suffice. She fell to her knees before it, reaching out, almost fearfully, to touch it. Its sweet scent was wonderful, more fragrant than anything she had ever smelled before.

As she contemplated whether she could bring herself to pluck such a mesmerising piece of art, she felt a gentle tremor in the ground beneath her. Dismissing it at first, her attention fixed intently on the bloom, Sakura seized the flower by its stem, overwhelmed with the desire to possess it – only for it to dissolve instantaneously at her touch. She watched, horrified, as the flower turned first to black, before shrivelling away.

_How did it die when I…?_ Her train of thought vanished to oblivion as the earth quivered more forcefully. She leapt back up to her feet, staring down at the grass in confusion. A terrible, groaning sound filled the air, and she felt herself teeter off balance when the ground gave another, more violent rumble. Panic overwhelmed Sakura as she frantically realised that she had to be experiencing an earthquake. If she just remained in place-

Her eyes widened when she felt the earth beneath her beginning to cave in, as if it were being torn asunder by mighty, invisible hands. Screaming, she scrambled back, struggling to regain her footing as the ground continued to shake and creak. But everywhere she ran, the earth cracked and splintered, almost as if it was somehow tracking her movements. Clefts of soil and rock were protruding up, sending grass knots and flowers sliding into rifts in the ground. One slip of her foot and she would fall into the bottomless crevice after them.

Realisation at the fact that she was most likely on the verge of dying aged just eighteen caused terror to paralyse Sakura's body, hindering her movements. Panic-stricken, she stumbled once more, spraining her ankle as she fell. Sobbing, she tried to get up again, fingers clawing into crumbling clumps of dirt, but the ground kept splitting apart, kept forcing her back to her knees.

* * *

Fire blazed from the wheels of the chariot as the horses thundered across the field, bearing their master with unearthly speed toward his target.

She was trying to return to solid ground, in a foolish, desperate attempt to save herself. It was futile. The earth was under his command, and this time, there was nobody else around to deny him from claiming what he desired. What he had craved for so long. He spurred his stallions onward, his heart thumping faster with every galloping fall of hooves. He was so _close_ , close enough to hear frightened cries. Close enough to glimpse the terror in her eyes when she turned to look upon the dreaded steeds of the Underworld.

* * *

The earth was slipping beneath her feet like quicksand.

"M-mother," she sobbed senselessly, nothing but pure instinct to live keeping her from collapsing into the deep. Her heart had never raced so hard. She ignored the pain in her ankle, tried to dart to the left – when she sensed pounding vibrations in the ground. A shadow fell over her and she whirled, gasping to fill her burning lungs with oxygen. What she saw caused the blood in her veins to turn to ice, as she found herself staring up into the blazing, crimson eyes of four, majestic horses. What was _happening?_ With incredible swiftness, they charged down upon her, and Sakura screamed for her mother one last time before the ground splintered open beneath her feet and she felt herself begin to plummet, free-fall, through the air.

_I'll die,_ was her final thought, as unconsciousness rushed up to meet her. _I'll land somewhere eventually, and I'll die-_

Then her world turned to blackness, and then, mercifully - nothing.

* * *

He reached out of the chariot, encircling her waist with one arm, drawing her securely in to him. He exhaled at the lightness of her body, how very delicate and fragile it felt against his own. His heart still pounded from the thrill of the chase – and the euphoria of victory.

_Sakura._ He had her. At last, she was his.

He stared breathlessly down at her face, his eyes wide. She had fainted - from shock or fright, or perhaps both - and rested limply in his arms. Her face was turned upward to his, chin tilted back as if for a kiss. He tore his gaze away from her soft, inviting lips, and sent a command out to his steeds. With deafening snorts, they altered their course, and descended, plunging the chariot deep into the crevices in the ground.

The earth swiftly rearranged and closed up behind them, leaving no clue of any manner of disturbance, save for the scattered remains of flowers resting beside Sakura's open bag.

* * *

**Author's note**

_Please let me know your thoughts on this one everybody! I had to keep the kidnapping scene in line with how it happens in the actual myth – i.e., with Persephone picking wildflowers and Hades snatching her in a field. Really excited to get onto the next bit. How will Sakura react when she discovers where she's been taken to, and by whom? Mwahaha.  
_


	6. Chapter V

**Chapter V**

* * *

_In the sunless depths,_

_Where hope despairs,_

_And warmth weeps,_

_Trapped within a haze of night,_

_She blindly flees,_

_Unaware of the chains,_

_To which are shackled,_

_Her mortal feet._

* * *

The sun had begun to set. Ino's legs ached and her lungs burned from running so far and fast. Her throat was sore from yelling, and a sick feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach like a dead weight, refusing to budge no matter how hard she tried to unconvincingly reassure herself that Sakura was probably fine.

Because Sakura was a girl who needed looking after – and looking after her was what Ino had always done best. But not this time. This time she had screwed up - _badly._

Raising her cell to her ears again, she frantically speed-dialled Sakura's number for the umpteenth time.

_Please,_ she thought frantically. _Please pick up. Please, please, please…_

Beside her, Hinata suddenly halted, releasing a startled gasp. Ino's gaze flew anxiously to her, eyebrows knotting in apprehension.

"What-?" she began. In response, Hinata's clear grey eyes met hers. It took Ino's agitated mind a few moments to comprehend why her friend had stopped. Then, faintly, she heard it – muffled and distant, yet unmistakable.

Sakura's ringtone.

In a heartbeat, the girls had rushed forward. They tore breathlessly between the trees, their ears straining to locate the precise bearing of the echoing tune.

"Sakura!" Ino cried. "Sakura, can you hear me? _Sakura!_ "

Hinata reached out and grasped onto Ino's wrist with trembling fingers, abruptly changing the course of their direction. "This way!"

They pushed through the undergrowth. Ino hung up then redialled Sakura's number. This time the ringing sounded louder. The blonde's eyes darted wildly through the trees as the image of an unconscious Sakura sprung torturously into her mind. Had her best friend slipped and fallen over? Was that the reason why she wasn't answering?

"Where is it, _where is it?_ " Ino could feel hysteria swelling within her once again. The ringing was so close now; close enough for them to surely glimpse a shock of coral pink hair. They burst into another glade between the trees, and their eyes simultaneously fell upon a small, silver item lying idly on a bunch of leaves, its owner nowhere in sight.

Sakura's cell phone rested on the ground, ringing merrily up at them.

* * *

He clutched her tightly against him as his steeds descended into the dark, familiar quietness of his realm. His left hand gripped loosely onto the reins but he paid little attention to the route ahead, trusting in the horses to guide the chariot back to the palace. His gaze was consumed by Sakura. This close, the glow about her was almost a tangible essence. It radiated from her form like a joyous sunbeam, a burst of light that warded away the shadows.

At length, the thunderous pounding of hooves relented to a gentle canter, and finally to the lightest of trots as the stallions drew to a smooth stop before his dwelling place. In one swift, effortless motion, he swept Sakura's motionless body into his arms and strode up the stairs. The imposing, elaborately carved entrance doors swung open at his will, before closing with a resounding thud behind him. Her left cheek rested against the solid wall of his chest, the top of her silky head grazing his jaw. He inhaled deeply, catching the scent of strawberries and something else sweetly feminine that was so distinctly Sakura. He quickened his pace; he wanted to examine her more closely and in utter privacy.

Soon he had traversed up to the large, opulently furnished bedchamber he'd instructed his servants to prepare. They averted their gazes and bowed respectfully as he approached the room, parting the gold encrusted doors for him. The heels of his boots struck strongly against the marble floor as he breezed by, pushing the doors shut with his mind. Alone with Sakura in the candle-lit chamber, he carried her over to the luxuriously spacious bed. With more gentleness than he had known his destructive hands could possess, he lowered her carefully onto the silken sheets and stepped back, his eyes wide as he drank in the sight of her.

Long, silky pink tresses had fallen into her face, and his fingers twitched with the need to remove the obstructing locks. Feeling strangely hesitant to touch her, he cautiously reached out, brushing the strands away with an index finger, allowing him to view her features without hindrance.

Slowly, he exhaled. She was truly beautiful. She shone even brighter than the candles fixed to their sconces on the walls, and the fire flickering in the hearth. She seemed to illuminate the dimness in the room; so lovely and fair and strange a thing. His eyes lingered on her rosy, slightly parted lips, before trailing down to trace over the soft rise of her breasts. He watched as the mounds lifted and fell in time to her deep, steady breathing, felt senseless desire whisper through his veins. It outraged and unsettled him - how he could feel such a profound physical attraction to the human girl lying before him. It was smothering, overwhelming. He had never before craved anything the way he craved for Sakura.

His eyes followed the flatness of her stomach and abdomen, before stopping again at the slender curve of her hips. Her skirt was tangled up in one corner, revealing a teasing glimpse of a creamy thigh. Unthinkingly, he lifted his right hand, his fingers ghosting over the material. Then he allowed them to slip beneath and trail lightly and slowly upward. Heat throbbed deep within him as he caressed the smooth velvetiness of her skin. Like liquid silk beneath his touch. His fingers moved higher still, tracing the outer contour of her thigh. _So_ soft. For a moment his mind drifted, and he found himself imagining how it might feel to roam his hands over the rest of her exposed body, and-

Clenching his teeth, he fought to suppress his rapidly mounting desire, snatching his hand swiftly back as though the warmth of her skin had somehow singed him. He glared hatefully at his treacherous fingers, and he asked himself the same, maddening question - just _what_ was it about her that commanded his absolute attention?

Onyx eyes narrowed, became callous slits. _I will unravel you_ , he vowed silently to her unconscious form, his eyes roving hungrily over her body once more. He would pick her apart, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually – until he discovered every single one of her secrets. She would be able to hide nothing from him. Her defences would be stripped away and her mysteries disentangled, until he saw everything there was to see in her. Perhaps, if she proved worthy enough of further attention, he would permit her the great honour of remaining with him in his realm. Or perhaps he would tire. And woe would befall her if he did.

He moved to her ankles, brushed his fingertips over the right one, healing the injury she had sustained in her desperate attempt to escape the collapsing earth. Then he held his palms over both of them, speaking an incantation in his mind. When Sakura eventually awoke, he anticipated that she would attempt to escape. It was impossible, of course. He would never allow it, and even if she were, by one of Fate's twisted games, to somehow elude him and reach the mouth of the Underworld, she would never be suffered to pass, living, through it. His hell hound and gatekeeper Cerberus would slay her before she could even draw the breath to scream.

_As death that stealeth without a sound,_

_This mortal coil by my will bound._

At the final word, deep, black-purple energy swirled around her ankles, swiftly taking the form he commanded. The magic cleared to reveal two solid gold bangles, clasped firmly around her skin – possessive shackles that housed within them an ancient and dark power; the ability to locate their wearer at any given time and place. And the ability to halt the wearer's movements, at a mere thought. The bangles would crush any last remaining hopes that Sakura might harbour of ever fleeing back to the surface above. There would then be only one way for her to elude him, and that was something he would personally ensure she would never discover.

And any mortals or immortals who dared attempt to traverse the caverns of the Underworld to reclaim her would find themselves flung into the pits of Tartarus before they had even crossed over the first of the five rivers.

He reached out to the gold-stitched crimson draperies secured to the four, elegantly carved posts enclosing the bed and untied the gauzy material, allowing the curtains to fall between his gaze and Sakura. With one final, lingering look, he turned away and silently exited the bedchamber.

"Attend to her," he instructed the two female servants who waited dutifully in the open hallway.

They curtsied in submission to his command, and he turned away, descending the palace's grand, rolling, royal staircase. As he stepped into the vast banqueting hall, he sensed a familiar presence and looked up to find two winged figures slinking toward him, their voluptuous hips swaying seductively with every step they took forward. So they had returned, which meant that they'd succeeded in throwing Sakura's friends completely off trail.

"Master," the taller of the harpies exclaimed breathlessly, her strange, violet eyes shining with elation. "Did our actions please you?"

"Yes Master, did we please you?" her silver-haired companion echoed.

They encircled him, their clawed fingers-tips reaching out, trailing over his shoulders, his arms. He regarded them stonily, aloofly, as they continued to fawn for his approval.

"We are most pleased to serve you, Master," the lavender-haired harpy cajoled.

"Yes, most pleased," her silver-haired one simpered.

The lavender-haired harpy's hand ran over his chest, began to circle lower to his stomach. With reflexes faster than a striking rattle-snake's, he seized both their wrists, fingers closing down hard enough on bone to cause the winged creatures to gasp fearfully.

"Touch me again and I will sever these arms," he threatened coldly. They flinched at the open, malicious intent they saw burning in his eyes, and whimpered their apologies. He flung their hands roughly back at them, dismissing them from his presence. They bowed low, distraught at the harshness of his rejection, before disappearing in a blur of mist. Alone once again, he began to pace the hall.

Sakura's mother, he knew, would leave no rock unturned in the search for her daughter. It would only be a matter of time before the Council summoned and questioned him over Sakura's disappearance. If he chose to answer the call, he would be presented with the option of lying and denying, or being truthful. And if he chose _not_ to respond, the elder gods would be equally as suspicious and likely venture down to search his abode.

He had no fear of them entering his domain. He was the ruler of the Underworld, and all who dwelled within it answered to his will. But he held no claim that permitted him to keep a living Sakura imprisoned in the land of the dead – not unless he bound her, somehow, to him. And if he did not do that in time for their imminent intrusion, there was only one other way to tie her eternally to his realm.

His eyes, which had slipped absentmindedly back to the table loaded with culinary delicacies, came to rest abruptly upon a slender, silver dagger.

* * *

Ino sobbed into the protective wall of her father's chest, wishing she could hide away from the world. Inoichi Yamanaka placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, and cast an unreadable look at the young men standing before him. After finally locking onto his daughter's car on the remote tracking system built into his own vehicle, Inoichi had encountered Shikamaru and Naruto on the outskirts of the forest, who had informed him that they were also searching for the girls. When they eventually came across the battered car, Inoichi had discovered his only child in fits of tears, and Hiashi Hyuuga's eldest daughter trying desperately to comfort her.

Ino had blubbered something about being responsible for Sakura's disappearance; something he silently refused to accept. Sakura was a fully grown young woman, who had, from Hinata's account, chosen to venture into the forest. How that made his daughter accountable was beyond his understanding.

Shikamaru, who had been staring quietly at Ino, finally averted his gaze to her father. "Mr. Yamanaka," he sighed heavily. "Please take Ino and Hinata back home."

"W-what?" Ino sniffled, her wide eyes flying to his face in shock. "No! I'm not leaving until we find Sakura!"

"Ino, I've already called the police-" Shikamaru began patiently.

"No!" Ino looked up at her father, wiping wildly at her tear-stained cheeks. "I'm not going anywhere, dad!"

But the look on her father's face was not encouraging. "The sun has set. There's nothing else we can do here. The police will be on site at any minute; they'll continue the search," he said.

Ino wept harder into her hands as the reality of his words registered. An agitated Hinata wrung her fingers restlessly.

"I-I'm certain th-that they'll find Sakura," she stuttered weakly.

"Y-you don't u-understand," Ino sobbed. "I p-promised her m-mother – I promised I'd look after h-her a-and I…"

"Leave it to me, Ino."

Ino caught her breath, her hands lowering as she stared incredulously at Naruto. His blue eyes, which had been cast to the ground, were now fixed onto her. She saw within them a look of anger, and determination and – something else she couldn't quite place.

"I promise you," Naruto continued, a hard-edge to his voice that she had never heard before. "I won't leave this forest until I find Sakura-chan."

* * *

She was floating in a haze of grey, feeling strangely detached and weightless. She couldn't see her body, which of course made sense. Her physical shell was gone. Only her soul remained.

So this was what death was like. She had expected the light at the end of the tunnel that everyone always talked about, or a field with smiling, unfamiliar ancestors reaching reassuringly out to her. Was the murky nothingness surrounding her spirit-self the result of the divine judgement that had been placed upon her?

_I guess I didn't make it to heaven_ , Sakura thought a little sadly. But neither did she appear to be in hell. She wondered what she had done so wrong in her short life that had warranted the sending of her soul to the limbo that lingered in between paradise and the fiery pits of agony. She had always tried to be a kind and good person. Evidently, it hadn't been enough.

The grey was slowly starting to darken around her. She didn't realise it at first. But soon she perceived the haze dissipating at the corners, being replaced by thick, oozing black shadows. As the darkness closed in and enveloped her, she felt a surge of panic. She could feel something, something pounding within her non-physical being. It disturbed the hushed quiet, and she fought hard against it, wanting to return to the weightless state she had been in before it had infringed so unpleasantly upon her peace. But the thumping was coupling with another sensation. An incessant, high-pitched ringing in her ears-

_My ears…_?

Sakura's eyes flew open as she gasped down a gulp of oxygen. It took her vision a few moments to adjust, and when it did, she was certain that she was somehow lost within the fanciful clutches of imagination. Because her mind did not recognise the image before her.

She was staring up at a heavy canopy, elaborately embroidered with swirls of golden thread. Sakura then became conscious of lying against something cool and luxuriously soft. She closed her fingers – for she appeared to possess them again - and recognised the feel of silk beneath her touch.

Blinking rapidly, Sakura remained frozen in place, expecting the unfamiliar view to dispel at any moment. When it didn't, and she became distinctly aware of a strange, crackling sound emanating from somewhere around her, she bolted upright, so quickly that it caused her head to spin in protest. After the brief sense of vertigo settled, she found herself sitting on the largest bed she had ever seen. Rich sheets of bronze and gold were thrown upon it, and plump pillows of different sizes were scattered with careless flair against the top and base of the romantically carved, solid gold bedframe. Four thick wooden posts climbed from each of the corners, their semi-transparent draperies drawn to enclose her in a gauzy cage of gold-laced crimson. Beyond the veil, Sakura's eyes located the source of the crackling sound. Strong flames roared in a large, ornamental hearth. The entire room was bathed in the dim, golden glow of fire and candlelight.

_I'm dreaming_ , Sakura thought dazedly, willing herself to wake. _No_ , she corrected. She had died. But if she really _was_ dead, how was it possible that she possessed a body again? And why was her phantom heart pounding to such a slow, sickening rhythm? She looked down at herself, to find that she still wore her own clothes. Her skirt, however, was marred with grass and dirt stains, a harsh, unwelcome reminder of the last thing she recalled before her world had plunged into darkness.

She had been picking flowers in a beautiful meadow. Then the earth had suddenly quaked and rumbled beneath her feet, fracturing and splintering open. She had tried to run, to save herself, and then- then…

Sakura slowly drew a deep breath, swallowing back the remainder of the memory. No. She wouldn't panic. She needed to remain calm, at least until she found out what had really happened to her.

Scooting forward, she reached out to part the draperies, when something else suddenly caught her attention, causing her hand to freeze in mid-air. Clasped around her ankles were two thick bangles, embossed with slender, swirling designs. She stared bewilderedly down at the solid gold ornaments. Where had they come from? She leaned forward, trying to grasp at them. They were cool beneath her touch, but no amount of twisting and tugging succeeded in shifting the bracelets. They seemed to be moulded against her skin. Frustrated, she gave up, and pushed the curtain veils aside, slipping off the enormous bed. She felt her jaw loosen and drop open when she stepped around it and her eyes drank up the rest of her new surroundings.

She was in a large, opulently furnished chamber that made Ino's boudoir-themed room appear outrageously plain and mediocre in comparison. Crystal vases that housed dark red blooms were dotted about the place. The largest wardrobe she had ever set eyes upon stretched along one side of the room, with an impressive and elegant vanity dressing table loaded with shimmering, exotic looking toilette items and pretty hair combs perched against the wall adjacent to it.

Rich, bronze wallpaper woven with gold filigree patterns glinted in the candlelight and a gold-trimmed, crimson rug was thrown on the floor before the massive fireplace. Next to it was a very antique looking arm-chair, and opposite it, a reclining settee. A huge, full-length, oval dressing mirror, framed by what appeared to be mourning angels, stood in the left corner of the room. Another low settee rested by an exquisitely carved table, loaded with curious trinkets. Sakura's eyes lifted upward to find a grand, beautiful crystal chandelier hanging majestically from the high ceiling, its candles unlit. She released a shaky breath of disbelief. Never before had she looked upon such a marvellously regal room. It was enchantingly beautiful, awe-inspiring – and utterly disconcerting.

Sakura then noticed doors; one nestled in the farthest corner of the left side of the room, and a double set located in the middle of the wall to her right. She headed instinctively toward the larger pair and hesitated before them. Did she truly want to find out what was on the other side? Perhaps it would be for the best if she remained in the bedchamber. But if she did that, she would never understand what was happening, or why she had woken up to find herself in such a strange and unfamiliar place.

Reaching out with trembling fingers, Sakura grasped onto the circular, golden door-handle rings. They pulled open inwards. Heart pounding, she stepped through, bracing herself for the very worst – only to lose her breath all over again.

She was standing in a vast, stretching hallway. The floors were constructed with black marble, over which was laid an endless strip of plush, dark blue velvet carpeting. The burnt silver walls were covered with rich tapestries and towered up to arching, painted ceilings lined with even larger crystal chandeliers. Sakura drifted to the intersecting point where the hallway broke off into three different directions, uncertain whether to venture left, right or ahead. After some deliberation, her feet carried her forward and she walked with hunched shoulders, expecting someone – or worse, _something_ – to leap out at her at any moment. As she continued down the carpeted path, Sakura gazed about her surroundings in hushed awe. Large, glossy elegant vases were perched upon midnight columns at regular spaced intervals on both sides of the corridor. Their mesmerising, cobalt and silver colours provided a stark contrast to the darkness of the floor. Candles flickered in their iron sconces on the walls, providing mellow, yet haunting lighting.

At length, the wall to her right ended, tapering off into black marble banisters. Sakura followed them to find herself standing at the top of the most magnificent staircase she had ever seen. It was a pale, stony grey, lined with slender golden handrails supported by swirling iron balustrades. Two separate sets of wide steps wound out from the left and right of the landing she was standing upon, joining at another blue-carpeted section halfway, before becoming one mighty staircase that sprawled out to the vast space below.

Gripping tightly onto the railings, Sakura took the right path and began treading slowly down the steps, gaping at the towering statues placed on columns of varying heights along the way. They depicted what looked like glorious, winged angels, stationed about like imposing stone sentinels. She had only taken seven paces, when the sound of voices echoing in the area below her caused her body to stiffen. Senselessly, she ducked down low, frozen in terror.

"Does the mistress still slumber?" a robust female voice questioned.

"Yes, matron; I checked on her just fifteen minutes ago," replied a softer voice. Sakura had to strain to hear it. In contrast to the first voice, it seemed to belong to a young girl, was almost child-like in tone. She listened, heart galloping wildly within her. Were they talking about her?

"Well, make yourself useful, child. Place these linens away."

"Yes, matron," the soft voice replied. Then, after another moment of hesitation, it added, "She is awfully pretty."

"That she is, my child. I've never seen such colourings," the older voice said, with a hint of admiration.

Sakura's eyes widened and she scarcely dared to breathe when the soft voice asked next, "Why do you suppose the Master has brought her here?"

"Hush!" The older woman's tone had taken on a frightened, anxious tone. "Hush, child! You mustn't ever question our Lord's intentions. It is not our place to do so!"

"I-I know; I am sorry, but it is just that he-"

There was a snapping of fingers. "I'll hear no more. To the laundry room with me at once!"

Panicking that they were about to climb the staircase and would discover her, Sakura began to inch back, when she realised that their footsteps were growing fainter. The sound of a door opening and closing echoed about the space, and all was silent once again. Counting three minutes in her head, Sakura exhaled and slowly stood back up, peering over the railings. The women had gone, and nobody else seemed to be about.

They had been talking about her, there was no mistaking it. Who else had such unusual colourings? Sakura's mind fixed onto the 'master' they had mentioned. Who were they talking about? Knowing that it was hopeless to attempt to figure it all out on her own, she inched down the remainder of the stairs, her muscles tense, expecting the women to return at any moment. When she reached the bottom, she found herself in what appeared to be a grand entrance hall, even larger than the one she had walked into when she'd stepped out of the bedchamber. A colossal black chandelier with crimson crystal droplets adorned the ceiling, throwing red, shimmering reflections of light upon the polished floor. Arched openings lined the far left and right ends of the space, leading off to unknown paths. And directly opposite the staircase were two of the largest and most imposing double-doors she had ever seen. They formed an arch shape and seemed to be moulded from pure iron, wrought with elaborate, filigree designs. Sakura didn't think she possessed the arms to open them, but she had to at least try.

Looking cautiously around her, she approached the doors, her eyes searching for the handles. There were none. She reached out, pushed against them with all her might. They didn't budge. Sakura looked up at the titanic barriers in dismay. The feeling of dread she had woken up with was becoming progressively stronger. She was seemingly trapped in a hauntingly beautiful yet eerie castle that reminded her a little of the ones she'd read about in stories.

Sakura turned to face the royal staircase once again, willing her frayed nerves to calm. She would just have to find another way out. The women's voices, she was certain, had headed right, which meant that she had better not follow that direction if she wished to avoid them. Drifting to the left, she passed through one of the openings and stopped before a much more ordinary-sized door. Taking a deep breath, she turned the handle, and peered warily through the partially open space. The room was brightly lit. Encouraged, she slipped inside, closing the door behind her with a heavy sigh of relief.

She had wandered into a vast, stone-floored banqueting hall of sorts. Vivid tapestries and paintings adorned the walls, and in the middle of the room was a long, sprawling table. It was draped with rich crimson and gold embroidered cloth, and upon it were laid a countless variety of culinary delights, many of which Sakura did not recognise. Platters loaded with appetising, exotic looking foods lined the entire length of the table. Large bronze goblets and crystal decanters full of clear, red and gold liquid were spaced between the dishes. Sakura felt her stomach growl in protest as the scent of something delicious wafted to her nose. She curiously approached the table, noticing that only two chairs had been placed at either end. Her eyes then came to rest on one of the fruits lying on a gleaming silver tray. Red skin had been broken open, spilling forth plump, glistening crimson beads. Sakura had never seen such a deeply hued pomegranate. Her mouth watered. It looked irresistibly juicy and sweet.

A sudden echoing sound caused her to release a startled gasp, and she whirled around, eyes frantically seeking out the source of the noise. When they found nothing, when the door remained closed and all was silent for another tantalising minute, Sakura turned back to the table – and what she found standing on the other side caused the air to leave her lungs and her heart to plummet to her feet.

Staring at her with searing onyx eyes was the guy from the carousel ride.

Sakura was so surprised to see him there that at first she could only manage to gape in open-mouthed astonishment. She _had_ to be dreaming, she told herself. There was no possible, conceivable way that he was really, truly, actually on the other side of the table – and yet when she blinked, he was still standing before her.

_Oh, God._ Was someone playing a cruel, twisted joke on her? Why would he be there when she was dead? Sakura could feel her lips moving, but her cowardly tongue had abandoned her. She couldn't form any words. She could do nothing but stare at him, as she had on the carousel. Beneath the golden glow of the chandelier's light, he was even more frighteningly handsome than she recalled. He was clothed once again in black, with a long flowing cloak fastened about his shoulders. Its collar was lined with raven feathers. It made him appear all the more regal and striking.

When he began to take slow, measured steps toward the table, Sakura's body finally broke out of its trance. She tensed and stepped instinctively back. In response, the stranger casually placed his right hand on the table's surface, running a long, silver-ring clad index finger along the edge as he began to walk down its length, his gaze still locked onto her. Sakura didn't know what exactly it was that instructed her to keep the food-laden barrier between them. Perhaps it was the way his eyes were smouldering into hers. With every pace he took to his left, she moved to hers. She only became aware of how hard she was gripping onto the table when she nearly stumbled over a bundle of overflowing cloth on the floor.

_Say something_ , she ordered herself frantically. But it was difficult to think, let alone talk, when he was looking at her like that. He didn't even seem to be blinking. It was unnerving and unsettling, and her heart just _wouldn't stop pounding._

"You-" her voice, when it had the decency to return, was little more than a whisper. "You're from the Festival."

He didn't respond, just continued to stalk around the perimeter of the table, causing Sakura's discomfort to escalate further. Swallowing thickly, she continued, "C-could you please tell me where I am?"

Still he did not respond. Her eyes slipped involuntarily to his finger, tracing smoothly over the table's edge. Her heart palpitated within her, and she tore her gaze back to his face, as her stunned mind tried to discern why he was standing before her. Had the heavens taken pity on her untimely death, and sent her an angel fashioned in the form of a guy she hadn't been able to get out of her head since first laying eyes on him? But that was outrageous, and made no sense. Besides, with his dark eyes and sinfully good looks, the stranger seemed more comparable to the devil than a seraph.

"I'm dead," she said dazedly, willing herself to believe the words. This was all an illusion, somehow. He wasn't really there at all. "I'm dead, or I'm dreaming-"

"You are neither dreaming nor dead."

Liquid silk assaulted her ears and Sakura felt another ripple of shock. His smooth voice was cool and sensuous, like rich black velvet. She felt every bone in her body freeze.

"I'm… not…?" she said stupidly, still trying to negotiate how someone could look _and_ sound like him. She almost wished that he hadn't spoken. Because now the dream or death or _whatever_ messed up state she was in had suddenly begun to feel alarmingly and horrifically real.

But that just wasn't _possible._

The stranger, who had reached the far end of the table, stopped, watching her intently with fathomless obsidian eyes.

"You live," he affirmed.

Sakura's lips parted, her breaths escaping in short, rapid, panic-stricken bursts. Was this the 'Master' the women had mentioned? And if he was, why did he look like the young man she had met the previous day? The Carousel Guy had just been a regular Festival worker – hadn't he? Her mind was racing, buzzing with so many questions. When he began to advance again, Sakura shook her head senselessly at him, feeling dizzy and smothered as she stumbled back to retain distance between them. She wasn't imagining it. She really _had_ woken up in an unfamiliar place.

"I…" she gripped onto the table, hard enough to cause the tips of her fingernails to whiten. "I don't understand…"

"Then I will enlighten you," the stranger stated, his voice wrapping around Sakura's senses like a dark caress.

The blistering intensity with which he was regarding her made Sakura's heart pound so hard and fast that she feared she would collapse. But the thought of fainting there, when she was alone with him, frightened her more than anything. There was something unmistakeably unnerving about the young man standing before her. He was too vivid, somehow, too overwhelming to look at and listen to; he sent her mind spiralling in confusion, and she had never felt so perturbed and anxious in her life. Goose-pimples had surfaced on her arms, as if in response to the invisible, crackling current that was hanging heavily in the space between them. The stranger exuded an air of _something_ , something that made her stomach feel as though it were knotting in a thousand places. She didn't feel safe, she realised. With those eyes on her, the way they seemed to consume her, she didn't feel safe at all.

"Who are you…?" she whispered.

The young man in black stopped again, his dark gaze boring into her as he uttered curtly, "Sasuke."

She stared incredulously at him. That was all he was going to offer her? No other explanations? Just Sasuke. _Sasuke._ It certainly hadn't been one of the names she'd come up with, she thought wildly to herself. But of course that was what he was called. He couldn't have been named anything else.

"Where am I?" Sakura could feel her body shaking. Part of her, she realised, didn't want to know, dreaded finding out.

"In my abode," he answered, just as succinctly as before. His eyes fell away from her briefly, roaming idly over the exotic dishes laid between them. Sakura found that she could breathe a little easier without their weight bearing down on her, and quickly followed up with another question.

"B-but why? Please, my friends must be worrying- and my mother-"

His gaze narrowed and rose swiftly up at that, locking onto her again. Tilting his head back slightly, he answered coldly, "Because I wish it."

Sakura's eyes widened. Her mouth hung open in disbelief. She wasn't certain she had heard correctly. He couldn't _possibly_ have said- and yet, she knew that he had.

Because he _wished_ it? She was here on a _whim?_

_He's crazy_ , she thought. He had to be insane. Yet he stood looking so composed and unruffled about the entire situation – as if his acting on a whim was a perfectly acceptable enough excuse - which it absolutely, incontestably, wasn't.

When she next spoke, she was frightened by how small her voice sounded, even to her own ears. She could barely get the words out, but forced herself to say them. It was an impossible notion, but she _had_ to know. She needed to know how she had woken up in his _abode_. "Y-you brought me here…?"

He remained silent, his face a perfectly blank slate, neither confirming nor denying it. Sakura's heart raced harder and faster than ever before, as she whispered, "That flower... you…?"

She saw something flicker fractionally in his eyes, a silent confirmation – and sharply sucked in her breath. He had done it. He had, somehow, caused an earthquake. It made no manner of sense and went against all the laws of science; yet it was indisputable. She simply _knew_ , just by looking at him, that he was the one responsible for what had happened in the meadow. Reality struck her like a physical blow, leaving her horrified and stricken. She had been kidnapped. Abducted. All because the young man before her _wished_ it.

The world she knew was crumbling away, and hysteria was surging up to drown her within its asphyxiating depths. Sasuke took another step around the table, and Sakura's body, fuelled by the desperation to escape from him and the living nightmare she had woken up to find herself trapped in, acted on pure instinct.

She turned her face away from him and bolted straight toward the door.

* * *

His eyes followed after her fleeing form. She was afraid, which was to be expected – but her actions were blind and foolish. Senseless. She couldn't escape him, no matter how far she ran. There was nowhere for her to hide.

He fought against the urge to engage the charms binding her ankles and halt her in her tracks. Instead he chose to do nothing, silently wondering how far she thought she could manage to get before her emotions overwhelmed her, and she collapsed.

It was out of curious interest alone that Sasuke allowed her to run.

* * *

"Sakura-chan!"

The desperate voice cut through the night air, reverberating clearly through the trees.

"Slow down."

Naruto barely heard the word. His gaze remained fixed resolutely on the path before him, as he called again, "Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto."

In response, Naruto sped up. His heart was hammering within him. Something had happened to Sakura. He could sense it. The question was what? After finally persuading Ino to return home with her father and Hinata, Naruto hadn't waited for the police as he'd promised. Their arrival would only mean losing even more valuable time. They would ask too many questions, and when they eventually made a move to search for Sakura, he knew they were unlikely to find anything. If Sakura had dropped her phone, then someone, or _something,_ had caused her to do so. And he wasn't going to go anywhere until he discovered who or what that was.

"Naruto!" A sudden yank on the back of his orange, hooded jumper forced him to stop. He turned his head to stare at Shikamaru, who was shining a flashlight right into his face. "We've covered most of the forest already. Its unfortunate, but we've got to accept that Sakura -" he abruptly broke off when Naruto jerked out of his grasp and whirled to glare at him with furious blue eyes.

"Something's happened to Sakura-chan, Shikamaru. Do you _understand_ what that might mean?"

Shikamaru's face was sullen. "Yes," he answered. "But losing focus won't help anyone. Get a hold of yourself. It could've been anything. We can't jump to conclusions."

Naruto shook his head in frustration. It hadn't been an animal; of that much they were both certain. If Sakura had been involved in a struggle with a wild beast, there would have likely been traces of blood, Shikamaru had pointed out. But Hinata and Ino hadn't found anything else with the cell phone. Which meant she had either accidentally dropped the item, or someone had grabbed her.

A sick feeling churned his stomach. The thought of something, anything, happening to someone who was as pure and innocent as Sakura filled him with an overwhelming, irrational sense of fear. He had never told her, of course, how much he really cared about her. He'd never had the chance. And now there was a real possibility that he never would get one.

_I'll find her,_ he internally vowed. He would find her, and he'd rip whoever had taken her to shreds.

Without a word, he turned away from Shikamaru, and continued along the path. With fluid ease, he jumped down a steep, rolling bank, landing in a bed of crushed, crumpled leaves. Shikamaru joined him a few seconds later, and they walked in silence for a while, flashlights darting in all directions. Unexpectedly, Shikamaru halted, and shone his light to the left.

"Look, Naruto," he said quietly.

Naruto's gaze moved to follow the specified location. Frowning, he stepped forward, pushing past low trees boughs and thick undergrowth. When he eventually made it through the entanglement of greenery, he found himself standing at the outskirts of a vast meadow. Shikamaru came to a stop beside him, and for a minute they both stared out at the view before them. Their flashlights danced over early-budding carnations that swayed in the night's cool breeze.

It was a field. Full of flowers. One of the things Sakura loved most in the world.

Naruto inhaled sharply, sudden recollection striking him like a bolt of lightning. He recalled a drawing he had glimpsed somebody pondering over several days earlier. _Sai._ Sai had been staring at a picture depicting a field – a picture that Naruto had dismissed as nothing but one of Sai's many meaningless creations.

Had he made a foolish mistake?

Without another second's hesitation, he leapt forward, Shikamaru right at his heels. They dashed through the field, flashlights moving erratically over the swaying grass. Naruto's heart raced as his eyes darted left, right, in front, again and again. Had Sakura drifted into the meadow? Was this the place?

"Sakura!" Shikamaru's shout travelled over the grassy plain.

Their feet carried them over slightly dipping crests in the earth. Breaking away from one another, they headed in opposite directions to cover ground more swiftly. Where was she? _Where was she?_ Naruto was ready to go out of his mind with frustration and helplessness and grief at the possibility that he would never see Sakura rolling her beautiful eyes exasperatedly at him again – when Shikamaru's voice suddenly reached his ears. Its tone, laden with a trace of uncharacteristic anxiety, caused both Naruto's blood and body to freeze. In a flash, he had rejoined his friend to find him standing with his flashlight pointed at the ground.

Shikamaru back at him over a shoulder and slowly exhaled. Heart thundering within his chest, Naruto took three steps forward, his eyes falling to rest on the illuminated patch of grass. And he felt a riptide tear through him, leaving him breathless and devastated.

Sakura's bag lay on the earth, buried beneath a cluster of plucked flowers and scattered petals.

* * *

**Author's note**

_Someone has to tell Sauce that being creepy is not the way to win a girl over. Even if you're insanely hot. Hope I conveyed Sakura's fear/confusion well enough! And I had to break it up here, because otherwise there would have been even more lengthy descriptions and I had more than enough for one chapter. Please review?  
_


	7. Chapter VI

**Chapter VI**

* * *

_Flee, flee,_

_Sightlessly and in haste,_

_In endless, tormented circles,_

_Until all breath is spent,_

_And you know not which way,_

_The hallowed light went,_

_For in such a place as this,_

_There is no respite._

* * *

Sakura tossed a wild-eyed glance back over her shoulder as she burst into the grand entrance hall. He wasn't following her. She wasn't certain whether to feel relieved or apprehensive over the fact.

_Don't think about him_ , a small, rational voice suddenly broke through the pandemonium of her thoughts. _Just find a way out of here._

She complied. Rushing to the titanic doors, she pushed desperately at them with her palms, knowing that her only hope of escape lay beyond the mighty obstruction they posed. To her astonishment, they swung soundlessly and effortlessly open, as though they weighed little more than a feather. Sakura watched them part for a moment – and then darted through the opening.

She found herself standing in a porch-like structure constructed from the same black marble as the palace's interior, enclosed within a frame of sturdy balustrades. Set within the left and right hand corners were torches that blazed cool blue flame. The banisters separated directly before her, leading to a short set of steps that overlooked a stretching path, flanked on both sides by most unusual looking trees. They were tall and stately, growing at perfectly aligned intervals, their barks pure charcoal black, gently curving up to slender, graceful boughs that bore deep-hued, crimson flowers. Red, velvety petals were strewn across the stone-set ground, providing a rich burst of life in a landscape that otherwise seemed devoid of colour. Sakura turned her face upward to gaze at a midnight sky. Confusion anchored her in place; where was the moon? Where were the stars and the clouds? It was pitch black and impossible to make anything out.

She felt air stir strands of her hair and the loose ends of her skirt; saw it do the same to the deflowered petals on the ground, yet she felt no tickling breeze against her skin. Unnerved, Sakura hurried down the stairs and set foot on the path, forcing herself to keep her eyes ahead of her and _not_ examine her surroundings in any further detail. The Carousel Guy- _Sasuke_ , her mind hastily substituted, hadn't chosen to pursuit her immediately. That didn't mean that he wouldn't at all, and so she couldn't afford to waste time. The straight path seemed to extend forever, and she was near breathless by the time she finally glimpsed an ending in the distance. As she neared it, her eyes made out towering gates, wrought with strong, elaborate coils of iron. They glowed with soft, eerie blue-white light as if charged with some form of magical essence - which was, Sakura firmly told herself _before_ incredulous panic could kick-in again, another impossibility. They were probably just built from giant cuts of glow-in-the-dark metals – however unlikely that alternative was, also.

In the middle of the enormous gates, carved into an octagonal, silver plate was a crest; a curved, red semi-circle, under which was a smaller white one, with something protruding from the bottom. A fan, Sakura realised. Then her gaze, which had been preoccupied by the imposing sight the gates offered, fell to focus on what lay beyond the barriers, and the blood froze in her veins.

Darkness and mist. Somehow the gates seemed to be warding the snaking tendrils back, for none dared to enter through the gaps in the iron. With a trembling hand, Sakura slipped an arm through a swirling coil, felt icy coldness bite painfully into her skin. She snatched her hand back with a startled gasp, cradled it over her pounding heart as her eyes tried to discern what was beyond the shrouded haze.

She couldn't see anything. Did she truly want to go out there? What was the only other alternative? Returning to the palace and admitting defeat to a mad stranger who had quite calmly admitted to abducting her? _No._ Anything was better than facing Sasuke again - even stepping into the freezing unknown. She'd have no chance at escaping if she remained in place like a sitting duck. And she didn't want to stick around long enough to discover exactly _what_ her captor wanted from her.

The very thought of uncovering Sasuke's intentions caused a shiver of fear to bolt down her spine and Sakura resolutely made her decision. She reached out, curling little fingers around the large twists of iron. How could she hope to budge an even bigger pair of gates than the last ones? She looked pleadingly up at them.

_Please open_ , she mentally pleaded. _Please, let me through._

With a quiet hum, the crest above her glowed a pale blue and Sakura watched in gawping amazement as the gates parted silently outward for her. Blinking out of her stupor, she cast a hasty glance back over her shoulder, to find that the path was still, thankfully, empty – and then stepped over the wide, silver threshold. The gates swung shut behind her, closing with a resounding click, and the mist enveloped Sakura immediately, wrapping around her like a white cloak. She was overcome with terror, nearly stepped instinctively back toward the reassuring glow of the iron doors, just about discernible behind her, but forced herself to remain still. She _had_ to find a way out of wherever it was that Sasuke had transported her to, and she could only do that if she remained focused.

_Breathe_ , _Sakura_ , she told herself, inhaling deeply. _It's only mist_. And so it was - cool damp, harmless mist. She edged along, with no bearing and no comfort, save for the crystal pendant which she clutched tightly in her right hand. Thoughts of her mother caused tears to prickle at her eyes. What she wouldn't give to see her again! To be amongst the safety of friends, in a warm place away from the foreign, disconcerting environment into which she had been plunged.

Thrice her feet stumbled, tripping over unseen cracks and ridges in the gravelly ground beneath her. She had wandered off the path she'd set out on, which was of little surprise given that her visibility was restricted so that it was utterly impossible to see beyond her outstretched left arm. It was difficult _not_ to submit to panicked thoughts as she moved gingerly forward. Who knew what was lurking in the vapour around her? If she was heading straight toward a cliff edge, she would be oblivious to the danger until it was too late. Or if Sasuke had finally decided to follow after her, she would surely have no way of detecting him in time. The final possibility frightened her far more than the others, and she waved frantically at the mist, silently willing it to disappear. But it seemed to get denser and colder. She could feel the dampness against her skin and hair. Chilled to the bone, Sakura had no choice but to plough on ahead.

It seemed to her that she had walked for an age before the white haze finally, blessedly, began to clear. Relief overcame her when she was able to see the ground upon which she was walking again. It was grey and gravelly, strewn with small stones. Eventually, the mist cleared entirely, and she found herself standing in what appeared to be a yawning cavern. Spectacular, crystal rock formations hung high from the ceilings like sharp daggers, glowing eerie shades of amethyst. Sakura felt her jaw lower at the sight. Dull stalagmites of various sizes had shaped on the ground, snaking about the expanse of the hollow space like distorted figures. To her left was a jagged black wall, glinting with slightly lighter flecks of stone. Its rock face wound around, leading off to another section that escaped her perception. Attached to it at carefully placed intervals were sconces bearing torches that burned with the same blue fire she had witnessed crackling outside Sasuke's dwelling place. Apart from the stalactites, they provided the only source of illumination in the darkness.

Sakura released a quivering breath. The cavern was immense, sprawling out and disappearing into shadows beyond her field of vision. She had never seen anything quite like it in her life; it was an awe-inspiring natural landscape of magnificent proportions – but her numbed mind couldn't appreciate its hushed beauty. Her body was trembling so violently that she was certain she was going into shock. She hadn't quite known what to expect when stepping out of the cold mist, but it certainly wasn't what she had found. Why had Sasuke brought her to such a place? What did he _want_ from her?

_Maybe he's still angry_ , her mind, in stark contrast to her frozen limbs, was racing - perhaps a little too fast. Hysterically fast. _I got on the ride after closing hours. I sat on his favourite horse. That must be it. The guy holds one hell of a grudge._

She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the thought. Instead she burst into tears, releasing small snivelling, weeping sounds as her composure slipped rapidly through her fingers like fine grains of sand. Behind her was the endless mist and Sasuke's dark palace, and before her was a terrifying unknown.

What was she to do? What _could_ she do?

* * *

Fourteen missed calls. That was how many times Sakura's mother had attempted to connect to her daughter's cell by the time Ino's father had driven them back home. Her throat clogged with tears, Ino stared down at the caller ID screen as it illuminated once again.

_Mother._

She had meant to answer right away. She had wanted to pick up on the second missed call. But she hadn't found the courage. Guilt gnawed away at her; what could she possibly say to Mrs Haruno that would lessen the blow of discovering that her only child had vanished into thin air?

Raising the phone slowly to her ear, Ino finally swiped the accept tab. Her heart was pounding and she felt sick to her stomach with dread and fear. But Hinata's fingers gripping her hand and the girl's silent, reassuring presence were a little comfort.

" _Sakura!"_ Mrs Haruno's furious voice practically barked on the other side of the line. _"How many times have I tried calling you? Where have you-"_

"M-Mrs Haruno, it's me," Ino said hoarsely.

There was a tense pause. And then, in a completely different tone and one that caused Ino's blood to drain from her face, _"Ino. Where is Sakura?"_

Beside her, Hinata was looking anxious, her lovely features reflecting the negative emotions swarming within the blonde.

"Well, y-you see, Mrs Haruno; we were stuck a-and I was j-just o-on the phone-" Ino began to stutter, and sharply inhaled when Mrs Haruno's deceptively calm voice interrupted her.

" _Where is my daughter?"_

"I don't know!" Ino burst into a fresh round of tears, prompting Hinata to gasp in dismay. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, Mrs Haruno; I just t-took my eye off her for a second, and she-she just disappeared, I-"

" _WHERE IS SHE?"_ Ino sobbed harder as the formidable woman's angry voice erupted loud enough for her father, who had been stationed by the doorway, to hear. Ever the picture of composure, he moved swiftly to his daughter's side and plucked the phone out of her hand, raising it to his own ear. Placing a gentle yet firm palm on Ino's shoulder to guide her to sit on one of the kitchen stools as Hinata desperately attempted to comfort her, Inoichi spoke quietly into the cell.

"Tsunade. I would ask you to refrain from yelling at my daughter. She's in enough of a state already without you-" he broke off, as Tsunade's voice thundered at him in response.

" _Where is my child?"_

"Please calm down. Sakura wandered into the woods. The police are doing everything they can to find-" he stopped, as the line abruptly disconnected. Scowling, he turned back to his daughter, who was weeping inconsolably. He felt a stab of pain in his heart. It distressed him to see her in such a wretched state. He knew how ridiculously attached she was to Sakura, how fondly she always spoke of her friend when she wasn't around.

' _Sakura's an angel, dad. I think she's too good, sometimes.'_

' _I'm going around to Sakura's. She's so hopeless without me.'_

His frown intensified. What could he do to aid his daughter?

The solution whispered in his mind. There was only one way to help. And to do it would mean tapping into something he had refrained from using for a very long time.

He glanced at the Hyuuga girl's distraught face, watched his only child's slender shoulders heave with misery, and made his decision.

* * *

When the tears had finally ceased, Sakura's feet carried her around the wall. Perhaps her decision to follow its curve subconsciously reflected her association with light as a source of comfort, even if it came in the form of unnatural blue fire. The rock face looped around to an equally endless expanse, beset with the same plunging rock formations. Except this time, Sakura glimpsed a clear separation in the stones scattered about the ground. A pale silver path was winding along, a glowing strip in the darkness. She turned to the torch behind her, trying to pull it from its sconce. Relief flooded through her when it lifted obediently into her grasp. Gripping tightly onto it as though it were an anchor rooting her to sanity, Sakura stepped onto the path and began to follow its route, hoping it would lead her to an exit.

For a long time she walked in a frightened hush, her wide eyes taking in the staggering size of the cavern. Natural slopes rose up at various intervals and boulders, some cracked and shattered, littered the place. Sakura was disconcerted by just how silent it was; surely there ought to be bats or other forms of wildlife in such an environment? But the only sounds travelling to her ears were the trudging movements of her feet and the throbbing of her own pulse.

She continued along the trail as it twisted and turned, and had just walked down a gentle slant when her eyes suddenly caught the glimmer of blue flame ahead of her. The direction it flickered from led away from the path. Reasoning that she could always retrace her steps to the silver route, Sakura began heading toward the light. As she neared, she found two torches mounted against mammoth boulders. There was a gap between them. Sakura hesitated fractionally, before slipping through the opening, raising the torch to navigate through the snaking space, keeping her left hand pressed against the cool rock-face.

Eventually she stepped out into another vast area illuminated by an eerie glow of light. Her eyes widened as she gazed at the new landscape before her. She had reached what looked to be a gravelly riverbank of sorts. Full-bodied, silver torches emblazoned with golden swirls were stationed around the perimeter of the land, crackling with the same strange blue fire. Shoots of what looked to be black grass grew sparsely and erratically out of cracks in the ground. Boulders large enough to sit on were scattered irregularly about. Sakura turned her face up to the roof of the cavern. It was impossible to define, disappearing into endless shadow. She was certain that the air felt slightly cooler and fresher – or perhaps it was only her imagination, her mind tricking her senses into believing that she was making progress, in some kind of twisted, desperate form of self-defence.

Placing her torch to rest against the rock-face, Sakura slowly walked to the water's edge and stared out at the quiet bed of liquid before her. She was disturbed to find that it showed no reflection when she leaned over to regard herself in it. It seemed black and bottomless in depth and limitless in span. A thick, sinister blanket of mist hovered in the horizon, blocking off a clear line of view. To her dismay, there didn't seem to be any boats about. And there was no way she was prepared to swim for an indefinite distance. Who knew what lurked in such murky looking waters?

Despair crept over her, causing her shoulders to slump in dejection. She understood, now, why Sasuke hadn't even bothered to tail her. There was probably no simple way out of the gloomy cavern. She was well and truly trapped, and his palace was the only place that offered warmth, the most comforting environment in an otherwise alien world.

But she wouldn't go back. She _couldn't._ The muscles in her legs were aching from walking for so long, and the soles of her feet felt bruised. Her flats hadn't been designed to navigate over such harsh terrain. She was hungry and overcome, and above all else, her kidnapper scared her. Of that much she was certain, though she knew little else of him.

Head bowed forlornly, Sakura glanced arbitrarily to her right and that was when she saw it - a small figure hunched by the nearest boulder. Her heart leapt as renewed hope sprung within her. There was someone else there! She hurried over to the form. As she approached it, she found that it was a woman with long, plaited hair, clothed in a dark tattered robe, huddled with her legs drawn up to her chest, her face buried in her knees. She was rocking and moaning as if she were in pain. Sakura's caring nature kicked instinctively into motion and without a thought she reached out to grasp the woman's shoulder.

"Hello?" she said softly. "Are you alright-?" Her breath caught in her throat as she watched her hand slip straight through the woman's clothing. She cried out in surprise, and leapt fearfully back. The woman didn't move, didn't acknowledge her presence at all - just continued to make agitated, distressed noises.

Trembling, Sakura backed away. Her hand had gone through the woman like she was a hologram. Or a ghost. _Oh, God._ She could feel the panic closing around her throat again, choking her. She had to be dreaming, stuck in a nightmare, regardless of what Sasuke had so convincingly informed her. There could be no other explanation – unless she was losing her mind. But suddenly her eyes were finding the outlines of other figures, all crouching and stooped over, clutching at their heads. Men and women of different ages and horribly, children also, rocking as if to comfort themselves. Sakura realised with rapidly mounting horror that there was something wrong with them – they didn't appear to be completely solid. They seemed – _washed out_ , somehow. They were there – and yet they weren't. She thought she heard whispers in the air, spoken in a language she couldn't comprehend at first. Yet the harder she listened, the more the sighed, echoing words began to make sense.

' _I'm not ready. Not ready to cross over. Not now.'_

' _Oh, Great God! Have mercy upon my soul!'_

' _If I hide here, they won't find me. They can't make me get on that boat. I'll die first.'_

' _This place. It's so scary! I want to go home to my mother.'_

Sakura's left hand rose to her quivering lips. The woeful things she was hearing… did they belong to the ghostly people around her? She stumbled backwards, her heart beating sickeningly fast. What _was_ this God-forsaken place? She was just about to turn away and flee, so petrified and unable was she to look upon the pitiful figures any further, when a sharp, female voice suddenly rang out, reverberating clearly across the hollowness of the area.

"Here they are! Hurry! Round them up!"

Sakura scurried frantically back to the gap between the colossal boulders. Peeking around the edge of the right one, she watched in alarm as tall, brawny men dressed in black leather marched down the bank like formidable soldiers. She swallowed as she glimpsed the gauntlets adorning their thick arms and weapons clipped to silver chains at their belts. They reached down and hauled the hunched figures up, some having the mercy to be gentler with the children and women, others not – and lugged them away. Sakura heard echoing cries and anguished screams, before all became silent once more. She released a shaky breath, watched it vaporise into nothingness before her eyes. She had no other choice. She would have to return to the palace and confront Sasuke, because the only other alternative was far too disturbingly horrifying for her to even-

Her breath hitched when a hand suddenly shot out, closing around her throat, dragging her out of her hiding spot. A whimper escaped her lips as she was slammed against the rock face with enough force to knock the air from her lungs. Gasping with fright, Sakura looked dizzily up to find herself staring up into a taller, bespectacled young woman's face. She was slender, had a choppy, uneven haircut - short on one side, longer on the other - and possessed stern features; thin lips and a hawkish nose set in a pale, oval face. She was dressed in a long, black, hooded robe. Her narrowed eyes appeared violet beneath the tint of blue light and she looked unkind and unsympathetic. Sakura instantly knew that she was in trouble.

"A castaway?' the young woman's voice was husky and she shook her head condescendingly, as though Sakura was an errant child caught doing a very bad thing. She grabbed a fistful of Sakura's hair, jerking her forward and began to walk, forcing the terrified girl to follow after her.

"Ow!" Sakura protested, trying futilely to disengage the cruel grip on her tresses. It _hurt._

The young woman was talking on, paying her objections no heed. "They _always_ think they can run. Idiots," she muttered, as if she were thinking aloud. "You'd think they'd figure it out once they see the boats, but _nooo._ They keep clinging to hope, that maybe it's some kind of nightmare. Well it _isn't_. Wake up and smell the coffee, humans."

Sakura's eyes widened. The hold on her head made it impossible for her to see anything but the stone-strewn ground. The reference to coffee was absurd, so at odds with everything she had seen and heard. It was such a normal statement, in a place that was anything but.

"All aboard," the woman mumbled "We're ready to set sail, captain."

The fingers in her hair loosened and Sakura was shoved forward. She stumbled, looking up to find that she had joined a queue of people who looked panicked and dejected. They were shuffling along, monitored by the intimidating men in black. Sakura gulped as she spotted a spiked whip in the grip of one bearded, mean-faced man. Then she noticed that another line ran parallel to the one she was in – but it was much shorter. And the people in it looked more relaxed, happier. Most were children, and a few elderly people. Sakura's confused eyes turned to regard the shoreline far ahead of her. Two large boats were partly docked on the pebbly coast. One was black, lined with skulls, and the other a pure, milky, glowing white, carved with feathers. Sakura was standing in the row that led to the ominous black boat. Her racing mind wasn't given the chance to piece what that meant, because somewhere in front of her, a commotion was breaking out. A middle-aged woman was trying to cross to the other line. She was hysterical, screaming and sobbing and begging somebody's forgiveness.

"No! Don't make me board that boat! I'm sorry! I didn't know he was married! He told me he loved me! I'm sorry!"

The bearded man's whip cracked. The woman screamed and fell back. Other people, inspired by her attempt, surged forward, and for a terrible moment there was utter disorder. Whips and spiked clubs swiped through the air, forcing howling people to return to their places.

Sakura had never seen anything so horrible. She backed senselessly away – bumping straight into the bespectacled woman who had thrust her into the queue.

"Hey, girl," she prodded her forward again. "Get back in line!"

"No!" Sakura gasped, whirling to face her with wild, glassy eyes. "Please, I-"

The woman raised her own whip, frowning down at Sakura as though she were a great inconvenience – or an insect that needed to be flicked. "Don't give me that bug-eyed look – it never works! You're dead, idiot! And you're getting on that boat!"

_Dead._ The word echoed in Sakura's numbed mind, ricocheting all over the place, leaving her head buzzing and her stomach lurching with sudden, awful realisation. _Dead._ The people filed before the boats – all looking as though they weren't completely physically there – were not living. Horror closed her throat, made it impossible for her to speak any further. She gaped helplessly at the glaring woman, watched unseeingly as the whip rose and began to fall down upon her. She waited for the sting of pain, hoped that it would somehow awaken her from the horrendous hallucination she had somehow fallen into back at the meadow – but it never came. Sakura blinked, found that a towering, broad-shouldered young man with what appeared to be orange-hued, spiky hair and wider, kinder eyes had seized the woman's slim wrist, preventing her from lashing her whip. He was cloaked in the same hooded black robe, and was staring down at Sakura with a look of concern on his face.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

Sakura released an astonished breath. Someone was talking to her. Kindly. She had the sudden urge to cry all over again, but bit into her lower lip, fighting the tears back.

"Juugo, you idiot!" the woman hissed, jerking her arm back and throwing a livid glare up at the youth. "What are you _doing?_ The queue is moving! You know what the Master will do if he-"

"This girl isn't dead. Have you forgotten what a living human looks like, Karin?"

The woman, Karin, stiffened. "What?" she snapped, and then her eyes locked onto Sakura, and she peered directly into her face as though she were a curious specimen of sorts. "What do you mean she's _alive? W_ hat would a living human be doing here?"

Her companion, Juugo, was staring at Sakura in wide-eyed fascination. "That light," he said softly. "It glows."

"Huh?" Karin scowled, her eyes narrowing into slits as she gave Sakura a quick glance over. She couldn't see any light. "What's your name, girl?" she demanded.

"S-Sakura," Sakura stuttered. "Sakura Haruno."

She watched in bewilderment as Karin lifted a hand and looked at her palm. It glowed with a strange, pale red light, revealing writing that Sakura couldn't decipher. It seemed to scroll up. She had what appeared to be a small tablet screen in her skin. Just as Sakura's overwhelmed brain was trying to process this unbelievable fact, Karin's frown turned into a look of genuine confusion.

"Her name isn't on the list."

"She's not dead," Juugo repeated. And then, "Our apologies, Miss. Please don't worry about the boat; you shan't be boarding it."

Karin lowered her hand and regarded Sakura coolly. "Where did you come from?" she asked, still wholly unsympathetic to the girl's plight.

Sakura slowly exhaled. A quick glance over her shoulder informed her that the queue to the white boat had all but disappeared. The one leading to the black one was still shuffling along, though it was gradually getting shorter.

"I woke up here," Sakura replied, hearing the unsteady wobble in her voice. She was certain that she was experiencing a delayed reaction to shock, wondered when she'd start freaking out and screaming until she lost consciousness again. Maybe blacking out would be the best course of action. Suddenly she didn't want to be awake.

Juugo and Karin exchanged silent glances. Then Karin said sarcastically, "Humans – living ones – don't just _wake up_ here. This isn't a holiday resort."

Sakura felt her body starting to tremble again. Juugo shot a warning look at Karin, but before he could say anything else, Sakura whispered, "He brought me here."

Karin squinted, as if she hadn't heard right. " _What?"_

Juugo's eyes had widened further. He looked alarmed. "The Master…?"

"Huh?" Karin stared incredulously at him. "The _Master?_ Why would the Master-" she broke off abruptly, and her face seemed to blanch in the pale blue light. "H-hey, you; I didn't hurt you, right? It was a misunderstanding – _right?_ "

Sakura blinked at her unexpected change in tone. _The Master_. She had heard the maids in the palace mention the name too. They meant Sasuke. Of that she was now undoubtedly certain. She couldn't think of anyone else they would refer to who invoked such a fearful reaction. So she wasn't the only one who found her abductor utterly terrifying. Even his own subjects – for that is what the people standing before her seemed to be – were afraid of him. The fact only made her feel even more uneasy.

"Please," she entreated. It took a great deal of effort to get the words out, but Sakura felt she would go mad if she didn't learn the answer to the most pressing question on her mind. "I-I don't know where I am. What _is_ this place?"

Karin snorted, her expression quickly reverting to one of derision. "At least the dead have an excuse to be thick. Your brain's still functioning, and you haven't figured it out?"

"Karin," Juugo said quietly. "This young lady is our guest."

His companion snorted at that. "She's not _my_ guest. And we have a job to do, idiot. We've wasted enough time; Nagato's ferrying the next bunch of souls over right now." Flashing a false smile at Sakura, Karin finished sweetly, "Excuse us, _Suckura._ "

"Sakura-" Sakura began to correct automatically, but Karin had already turned away and was stomping across the bank toward the opposite side of the coastline. Juugo lingered hesitantly behind.

"Sorry, Miss. The Underworld is such a busy place." With one final, apologetic look, Juugo offered her a timid smile, before following dutifully after Karin.

Sakura watched them go and her vision began to blur when her mind suddenly registered Juugo's parting words. She wasn't in a normal cavern. She was somewhere buried deep within the ground. Flashes of memory streamed before her eyes. The earth splitting open beneath her feet, her balance lost as she plummeted into the endless crevice of darkness. The images were marrying with what her bewildered eyes had seen since fleeing the palace. People who weren't quite there. Misty lakes. Mysterious boats docked at shorelines. People lining up like cattle to board them. Souls, according to Karin, who were making journeys to what was likely to be their final destination.

Sakura most certainly _wasn't_ dead. Her erratically beating heart was proof enough of that fact. And yet Sasuke had chosen to transport her to this dreadful place, for reasons still unknown to her. Dread twisted like a knife in her gut as she acknowledged that there was only one true way for her to gain all the answers she so desperately sought. And that was to talk to him in person – the very last thing she had wanted to do.

A fearful, choked sob escaped her lips and her chest heaved for oxygen as she felt the ice-cold fingers of mindless panic wind around her once again. Suddenly she couldn't bear to stay by the river's edge. She couldn't stand the anguished cries and wails of the poor souls who were getting on what was so obviously the wrong boat. Without another thought, she pivoted away, returning to the gap in the rock-face, snatching up her still flickering torch and proceeding to flee back in the direction she had come. But her feet carried her blindly, and her eyes couldn't locate the silver path in the dimness. Sakura kept running and running, until her burning lungs screamed out for oxygen and her aching legs refused to carry her any further. Strangled with despair, she collapsed by a boulder, dropping the torch onto the ground. Short, hysterical gasps of air escaped her lips as she wept harder than ever, her shoulders wracking with every shuddering breath she took. She couldn't get the image of the ghostly bodies huddled by the water's edge out of her head.

"M-mother," she sobbed, clutching tightly onto her pendant, the only enduring source of comfort that had not been stolen from her. "Mother…"

* * *

Before the bell could even ring, Kakashi had opened the front door to stare down at an uncharacteristically glum Naruto. He stepped silently aside, permitting the youth to enter his apartment. Naruto slumped familiarly into one of the brown leather couches lining the spacious lounge, and Kakashi stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently for the young man to speak. When he eventually did, his voice was hoarse and thick with emotion.

"She's gone, Kakashi."

"I know," Kakashi replied after a slight pause. "Tsunade just called."

Naruto's right hand clenched into a tight fist and lifted to press angrily against his forehead. "How could I have lost her?" he squeezed his eyes shut, mentally at war with his guilt-plagued conscience. "How could I have slipped up?"

Kakashi sighed heavily, before slowly replying, "We've been doing this for a long time, now, Naruto. Complacency is only a natural consequence-"

Naruto leapt to his feet, his eyes blazing indignant cobalt fire. "Bullshit," he raged. "It's _not._ This is _Sakura-chan_ we're talking about. I was supposed to watch over her. But I guess I'm just as dense as I was back then, huh?" Releasing a bitter laugh, Naruto shook his head, suddenly lost in his memories. "Even after all this time, I still screw things up."

Kakashi's visible eye lowered as he was momentarily drawn into the recollections that Naruto was referring to; they had _all_ screwed up back then, him most of all, yet Naruto still shouldered the blame upon himself alone. Then, noticing the satchel resting by the couch, Kakashi nodded, "Sakura's?"

The blond looked down at it and swallowed thickly. "We found it in a field. There were flowers all over it."

Kakashi met his gaze steadily. "Did you speak to the girls?"

"They're shaken up. They found her phone – nothing else."

"What did they say happened?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sakura-chan just-" he made a vague, waving gesture in the air, "disappeared into the forest."

"Has the messenger heard anything?"

Naruto shook his head. "He won't answer."

"Then find him," came the simple response.

The young man slowly exhaled. "I saw him just a few days ago; he had a sketch of a flower field. I thought it was nothing," he frowned confusedly at the older man. "Why didn't he tell us?"

Kakashi averted his gaze. "It's likely he found no meaning in it. Or perhaps it's a coincidence."

Naruto hesitated, dreading to ask the question weighing on his mind. "Who- who do you think did it, Kakashi?"

Kakashi sighed. "It's hard to say. It could have been anyone. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet."

Naruto's eyes lowered to the bag resting innocently at his feet. Shikamaru had offered him the exact same advice. But it was impossible for his mind _not_ to overrun itself with worry. With every minute that passed, there was a chance that Sakura was falling into even greater danger. His heart hardened. He wouldn't wait around for clues to present themselves. He'd go out and find them, leave no rock unturned in his hunt to discover just what had happened to his dear friend.

"I'll keep this here," he muttered, referring to Sakura's bag, still loaded with her personal possessions. Kakashi nodded as he accompanied the youth back to the door.

"Locate Sai. I'll contact the others, see if they've heard or seen anything unusual. And Naruto," he added, as the blond stepped outside. Naruto turned sullen eyes to him, his face marred with pain. "We _will_ find her. You have my word."

Naruto searched his gaze for a brief moment, before bowing his head respectfully and turning away. Kakashi watched as he walked down the path and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

* * *

Her greatest nightmare had come to fruition. Sakura had been snatched away - by a common criminal or worse - leaving behind no trace of her whereabouts. No leads for Tsunade to follow. The thought of the terrified child being locked away somewhere filled her with unspeakable fury. Her only comfort lay in knowing that Sakura was most indisputably _not_ dead. The maternal tie she had with the girl was still intact; she could sense it deep within her chest - which meant that Sakura had well and truly been taken.

The blonde woman's fingers tightened around the glass in her hand. The golden, honey liquid it housed was doing little to soothe her agitated nerves – a first in all the long years of her existence. _The wine of the Gods, indeed_ , she thought, her lips drawing back into a contemptuous sneer. She'd called for an urgent Council meeting that was due to take place within the next hour. But before she met with the other elders, she had one other stop to make. To the house of a certain foolish little girl who had sworn just earlier that day to keep her eyes on Sakura.

Tsunade's wrath and grief swelled, causing the glass to crack and shatter in her hand.

* * *

Sakura didn't know how long she remained by the boulder. She only looked up when all her tears had been spent. Her eyes stung and her head throbbed; she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep, to forget every dreadful thing she had seen and heard since waking up.

The torch still flickered dutifully beside her. She reached out, seeking its warmth, was surprised to feel only coolness radiating from the flames. Even the fire here lacked heat. Snivelling, she slowly rose to her feet. Her legs wobbled, felt like jelly beneath her as she began to trail aimlessly to her right. Her gaze rested despondently on the stone-littered ground as she trudged along, head bowed, shoulders hunched. She walked on and on without having the faintest idea where she was heading. Her stomach rumbled hungrily and her parched lips thirsted for the soothing touch of cool, refreshing water. She was almost ready to give up finding the route back to the palace when a stripe of silver suddenly glimmered like a lifeline ahead of her.

The path glowed eerily as Sakura approached, seemed to thrum with strange energy when she stepped onto it. Swallowing thickly, she followed its course. Eventually it led her back to the cold blanket of thick white mist. With a torch in hand it was much easier to glimpse the faint outline of the path beneath her feet. At length she reached the towering, iron-coiled gates, which opened silently, as if they had been expecting her arrival.

Sakura stood hesitantly before the threshold, her heart beginning to pick up speed again. She had returned to the palace. If she had known what horrors awaited her beyond the mist, she might never have ventured out. She would have instead locked herself away in the room in which she had awoken and refused to eat or drink a thing until Sasuke released her. It was what she intended on doing now – but first she had to confront him. He owed her answers. The problem was, could she find the courage to speak her questions?

Taking a deep breath, Sakura entered through the yawning of the parted gates and walked back down the long, tree-lined path. When she finally drew to the steps leading up to the entrance hall her eyes lifted and her jaw dropped open. She hadn't taken the time to examine the building's exterior in her haste to escape, and so viewing it in its magnificent glory for the very first time was yet another shock to her overwhelmed system. Built entirely of black marble, the palace loomed before her, staggering in its expanse, boasting mighty, peaked towers and sweeping balustrade roofs. In the centre, hanging from the edge of one of the sweeping balconies was a large, black, square-shaped cloth bearing the same red and white fan insignia as the emblem on the gates.

The palace looked like something out of the pages of an archaic myth, majestic, enchanting, yet utterly daunting. Sakura tore her gaze away and hurried up the stairs. Again, the mighty doors parted for her, closing silently once she had stepped into the vast hall. Without allowing herself another second's worth of hesitation for fear that she would lose her nerve, Sakura headed directly toward the banqueting area. As she entered it, she found that the elegant brass candelabras stationed between the dishes on the table had been illuminated.

Warmth flooded the room. It was a welcome change from the dark, harsh, bleak coldness that ravaged the landscape beyond the palace's mist-repelling gates – but Sakura did not feel comforted. It was impossible for her to relax, for her eyes had come to rest at the farthest end of the sprawling table, where Sasuke was sitting with his elbows resting upon the arm-rests, looking every inch the dark and sinister king of the castle.

His eyes, of course, had locked onto her the instant she had stepped into the room. Firelight seemed to reflect off the bottomless depths, so that they glowed with tints of golden flame.

"You have returned," he remarked, and Sakura felt every muscle in her body stiffen as his sensuous voice settled around her. Had he been waiting for her all that time? With no clock in sight she had no way of knowing exactly how much of it had passed. She perceived a trace of smugness in the silky tones – as though he had expected her to come back; he'd had every confidence that she would, and that was why he had not even bothered leaving the dining hall.

Sakura remained close to the door, ready to make another run for it in case he tried anything. But Sasuke made no move toward her, remained sitting nonchalantly in place, a goblet held casually in his left hand. He gestured pointedly toward the opposite end of the table.

"Sit."

Sakura swallowed nervously. She couldn't allow herself to be intimidated into speechlessness again. She wanted answers. It was then or never, she knew. There was only one way of confirming whether everything she had seen was indeed a reality. Summoning what tatters of bravery she possessed, she slowly shook her head, declining his invitation.

"I want to know where I am," she said, keeping her eyes deliberately averted from his. She was pleased when her words didn't stutter as they had before, though the pitiful quiver in her voice was detectable even to her own ears. As an automatic afterthought, she added politely, "Please."

There was a weighty pause. Sakura was terrified that she had somehow made him angry by refusing to comply with his wishes, but Sasuke's voice was as flat and indecipherable as ever as he responded, "Eat. Then we will talk."

Sakura bit her lower lip. She could feel desperation swelling within her, seaming at the edges so that she was certain it was ready to burst. She feared its effect on her if it did. Why wouldn't he just answer her? Wasn't it distressing enough for her to wake up in a strange place without the need for him to continue keeping her in the dark over the reasons behind his actions? Tears stung at her eyes again. She hadn't thought she could possibly manage to cry any more. Evidently she had been mistaken.

Shaking her head again, she said in a near-whisper, "No, thank you; I'm not hungry."

It was a lie, a blatant one, and she knew he knew it. She knew it from the way she could feel his eyes blistering into her. Sakura had never felt so self-conscious, was sure that she looked a flustered state as she awaited his response with baited breath.

When it came, she wasn't quite prepared for it.

" _Sakura."_

Her name was spoken in a dark caress. It sent her heart leaping into her throat. His tongue elongated the first vowel, uttering it in a tantalising drawl. She barely managed to suppress the shudder that shot down her spine; his lips massacred the innocence of her name, making it sound positively sinful as it fell between them. She gulped, her mind reeling as her eyes froze onto his face in shock. How did he know what she was called?

And then another more disturbing thought presented itself – what _else_ did he know?

Blinking stupidly at him, she managed to articulate with great difficulty, "H-how do you know my name?"

Again he nodded to the chair resting at the opposite end of the table from him. "Sit," he repeated.

Frustration bubbled within her, but although she was frightened and overwhelmed, her brain still retained enough intellect to recognise that Sasuke wasn't about to provide her with any information unless she cooperated. Ino, she knew, would have kicked up a fuss, ranting and raving until she was answered. Sakura didn't possess such bravery. Sensing that she was fighting a losing battle in terms of sheer will-power, she cautiously walked across to the unoccupied chair. Drawing it back – and trying not to let him see how heavy the damned jewel-encrusted thing was – she sat down, perching stiffly on the cushioned edge, shoving her hands into her lap. It was the only place she could hide away the fine tremors that plagued them.

Even from the great distance at which she sat away from him she could still discern the piercing, smothering intensity of his eyes. Just what _was_ it about that fathomless gaze that caused such an amplified sense of alarm to run rampant within her? She had the urge to squirm beneath its devastating weight, had to fight to keep herself from fidgeting.

"Eat," Sasuke instructed next. Sakura gritted her teeth tensely. He was using arrogant imperatives. Clearly he was used to commanding others. She shook her head once more; she didn't _want_ to eat. The food looked delicious, and she could feel her mouth salivating behind her clamped lips, but she wouldn't touch a single piece. Not until she got some answers. She raised her eyes to regard him, silently hoping that he would somehow understand that she couldn't possibly stomach anything in her current state. He seemed to comprehend. Setting his own goblet down, Sasuke settled back in his chair, in what she took to be a wordless invitation for her to speak.

"How do you know my name?" she asked again in a small, wobbly voice. Her heart pounded when he remained silent. She assumed it meant that he wasn't prepared to answer, and so she moved swiftly on to the next question. "What is this place?"

He blinked. "The Underworld," he replied concisely.

Sakura inhaled sharply. He had spoken the name like it was a completely normal location, such as a shopping mall or a warehouse. It _wasn't._ He expected her to believe that the people she had seen were really spirits of the deceased? That explained, of course, how her hand had passed straight through the ghostly woman's shoulder. But she still found it difficult and impossible to accept. And if it were somehow true, how and why did Sasuke live in such a disturbing place? Did she really wish to find out?

Dread was lacing through her stomach again. "Are the people out there really…" she paused, before licking her dry lips and forcing herself to finish, "… _dead?_ "

Sasuke inclined his raven head slightly, signalling a yes. Sakura shakily exhaled, her hands moving to dig into the arm-rests. She needed something solid to hold onto; she feared she would otherwise faint.

"But you," she said dizzily, "you said I'm alive."

He nodded once in affirmation.

"Then why am I here?"

Sasuke reached out, lifting the goblet to his lips again. A sudden, frightful thought struck Sakura, causing her to blanch. Juugo had said she wasn't getting on a boat. But what if that was precisely what Sasuke was intending for her? Surely there was no other reason to account for him abducting her to such an awful place?

"You're going to kill me," her words came out as a sort of dazed, insane calm.

Something flashed across his dark eyes, a look that was gone as soon as she blinked. Slowly, he answered, "That is not my will."

Then what _was?_ She could feel the panic rising again, wanted to scream at him, to demand that he explain himself. Civilised, law-abiding people didn't abduct others on a whim. Who did Sasuke think he was, and what gave him the _right_ to subject her to such a terrifying ordeal? And just _how_ in the world was he living in the midst of a cavern deep underground, which he also, by the way, happened to share with dead souls? How was that even possible, or logical? His 'abode' propelled the term 'haunted' to ridiculous new heights.

But Sakura was far too afraid to express the frustration and anger that was simmering within her. She couldn't confront someone who looked as intimidating as the raven-haired enigma watching her so intently from across the table. She was trying desperately to keep from breaking down completely before him, though she knew he was probably anticipating such a reaction.

Swallowing back her mounting hysteria, she ventured, "Please, I-I just want to go home."

Sasuke remained quiet, watching her with those penetrating, unreadable eyes. Growing restless, Sakura implored again, "Please, I'm sorry if I've done anything to upset you, but-"

"This is your home, now."

Sakura's mind whirred to a stop. For a long, horrible moment, she couldn't breathe. Her lips floundered like a fish, unable to form a coherent sentence. All she could manage was a staggered, strangled, _"What?"_

In response, Sasuke rose abruptly and fluidly from his chair, setting the goblet back down again. Sakura stood up in turn, tense and instantly on the alert, her eyes wide, her breathing rapid as she stepped away from the table. Panic tore at the frayed remains of her composure, ripping any lingering remnants to shreds. What did he mean this was her home? What was _happening?_

"You will remain here," he answered in clipped, dismissive tones. As if he didn't want to hear another word or argument over the matter; it wasn't up for negotiation or debate – but Sakura couldn't accept that.

Her heart thundered as hysteria overflowed and smashed into her like an icy tidal wave, enveloping her in coldness and triggering her to cry hysterically at him, "What do you _want_ from me?"

In a flicker that was inhumanly fast, a movement that fractured the very air from Sakura's lungs, Sasuke blurred out of her line of sight. He reappeared just inches before her, and Sakura's mind registered his presence far too late. Her body froze in place, as she was smothered by the same crackling aura that seemed to ripple and pulse from his form. How had he moved so fast? How had he just _disappeared_ like that? Her brain was spinning, and so was everything else she had ever known. Nothing made sense anymore. Her world had been turned upside down by the young man standing at such stifling proximity in front of her and she was powerless to help herself, powerless to escape.

Sakura's breathing arrested entirely when she felt the tip of a cool, calloused finger trace a path down her left cheek; a feather-light touch that sent a shock of electricity spiking through her, leaving her skin tingling with sensation. She only became conscious of the wetness that had spilled from her eyes when Sasuke's voice exhaled over her, "These tears change nothing. You are mine, Sakura."

Then, in a heartbeat, he had gone. Vanished before her, like an apparition, and Sakura was left standing in the banqueting hall alone.


	8. Chapter VII

**Chapter VII**

* * *

_Bereft with loss,_

_And the throes of woe,_

_They seek to retrace,_

_Her divine steps,_

_Yet no remnants of the maiden,_

_Can be found,_

_Where, o where, did Spring depart?_

_Misplaced, gone away,_

_Without a sound;_

_No rest shall any immortal keep,_

_Until t'is known from whence she fell,_

_And unto which fate,_

_Whose eyes can tell?  
_

* * *

Sakura was thrown. Her panic-numbed mind could not comprehend the words her disbelieving ears had heard. Sasuke had decreed that she would remain in the palace. It was to be her new home. He'd claimed some manner of ownership over her, telling her that she belonged to him, was his.

_His._

Sakura's hands lifted to her head, fingers grasping at tight fistfuls of hair. It was a purely thoughtless gesture and one that openly conveyed her wild-eyed state of hysteria. She tried to tell herself that he hadn't truly flickered out of sight before her very eyes. It had been a trick, somehow. And yet she knew it was hopeless to reject it; Sasuke _had_ indeed moved blindingly fast – inhumanly fast.

_What's happening?_ Her brain tried, frantically, to make sense of her awful situation in any manner it could. But it was impossible for her to focus for long enough. She was too distracted, too shaken, too overcome with stupefaction to think rationally. Whichever way she considered the series of unfortunate events that had befallen her caused a fresh surge of panic to blot out all logic. It was easier to deny everything than to accept it. And she would have had a _much_ easier time pretending that none of it was real if Sasuke's intimidating presence wasn't so undeniably concrete. He was decidedly _not_ a figment of her imagination or fear-induced nightmares. He was so very painfully and vividly alive in a place that was otherwise quite literally dead.

Sakura's eyes rested unseeingly on the sprawling table before her, completely overlooking the delicious foods on display. Her appetite had vanished. She silently vowed that she wouldn't eat a single bit of food until Sasuke returned her home. He wasn't really serious about her staying with him, an absolute stranger, in such a foreign, terrifying place. He _had_ to be joking. He _was_ joking. Wasn't he?

_No,_ a small, sensible voice in her head whispered in response, fighting to be heard over the rambling din of internal chaos. _Just look at him. Does he look like the kind of guy who doesn't mean what he says? He's serious – and totally out of his mind._

The acknowledgement of actuality was difficult to stomach. Sakura didn't know what to do. She certainly wasn't about to follow after Sasuke. She needed to collect her thoughts before confronting him again, needed to map out a strategy for escape. Slowly she exhaled, doing her best to calm the riotous disorder and anxiety in her mind. As inconceivable as it was, this really _was_ happening. She couldn't keep freaking out and refusing to believe it. It left her vulnerable, more predisposed to making mistakes. And she knew that if she wanted to have even the slightest chance of leaving and getting away from Sasuke, she would have to keep any slip-ups to a minimum.

Swallowing down the miserable lump in her throat, Sakura wiped the tears from her cheeks. Turning away from the banqueting table, she slowly walked back to the entrance hall. When she stepped into it, she found two women standing by the foot of the majestic stairs. One was a plump, middle-aged, motherly type, with brown hair streaked with the first of greys, tied back in a tight, tidy bun. She was dressed in a plain, full-length, neatly trimmed cotton gown which was white and looked like it belonged to a different era. Tied over it was a black apron. The woman had a round, kind-featured face and light blue eyes. Huddled close to her was a tiny wisp of a girl who appeared to be no older than fifteen or sixteen at most. She had light, softly curling blonde hair that was secured back in a short ponytail and large, muddled hazel eyes. She wore a similar outfit to the taller woman. To Sakura's confusion, they both appeared to be solid, nothing like the washed out figures she had seen by the river. Were they alive?

Both curtsied low as Sakura approached them. Her eyes darted bewilderedly between the pair. Why were they bowing? When the older woman spoke, her head still lowered in courtesy, Sakura was hit with recognition. These were the very same maids she had overheard speaking earlier.

"Mistress, we bid you welcome to our Master's House. I am Chizu; this is Ume," she gestured to the girl beside her. "The Master has assigned us to attend to you, so that we might ensure your comfort during your stay with us."

Sakura's lips parted in an open display of surprise. Sasuke had charged these women with looking after her? The fact that he seemingly wanted her to be cared for contrasted with the cold, harsh manner in which he had spoken to her. Feeling uneasy, she entreated, "There's no need to be so formal; please don't bow. I'm Sakura; pleased to meet you."

The women straightened, but although Chizu looked her in the eye, little Ume kept her gaze shyly averted. Sakura felt a tug at her heart. The timidity with which the girl carried herself reminded her of Hinata. Thinking about her friend carried with it recollections of everybody else back home, people who were likely going out of their minds with worry for her. She wondered whether it would be wise to ask Sasuke when she next encountered him, if she could send out a message to let her mother and all her friends know that she was alive, at least. Sakura didn't know how Sasuke would respond to such a request – after all, she knew nothing of him. But from what little she had seen, she guessed that it was unlikely he would permit her to do such a thing. He didn't seem to be the friendly, compassionate type. She stored the thought away for later. She'd still have to try and ask.

"Have you taken your supper, Mistress?" Chizu asked.

"I'm not hungry," Sakura replied. "And please; just Sakura is fine," she added, frowning at the stodgy term of address.

Chizu bowed her head apologetically. "If that is what pleases your ladyship," she answered politely. "Might we then escort you back to your chamber? I am certain you must be fatigued. Ume has prepared a bath for you."

Sakura's body ached at the proposition. Perhaps a bath would do her good. She probably looked a state, and the warm water would soothe away the tension in her muscles. Maybe it would even help to calm her frayed nerves. Smiling at Ume, she said, "That's very kind of you."

The girl's cheeks flushed, and Sakura once again had to swallow back her emotions. She missed Hinata, and Ino, Naruto and everyone else, most of all her mother, so terribly.

_You'll see them again_ , the same, rational voice in her mind assured her. _You'll find a way back home._

Feeling reassured by the thought and a little safer in the company of two kind strangers, Sakura began to follow the maids up the stairs.

* * *

Sasuke stalked down the tree-lined path, the thick, ominous aura surrounding him a perfect reflection of the stormy expression set upon his face. She'd had the nerve to question him about his intentions, as though she had the right to know them. As though he were obliged to answer to her! He was a god. He did not need to explain his actions to a petty human. He disclosed _what_ he pleased, _when_ he pleased. Sakura would have to acclimatise herself to that fact if she didn't want to make the foolish mistake of testing his patience again in future. She'd soon find that causing him to lose his temper was not a wise course of action. And for her, it was a particularly perilous thing to do.

Sasuke exhaled, slowly reigning in his anger. Even in dirt-marred clothing, with her hair dishevelled and her eyes red-rimmed from crying, Sakura was lovely. Her soft, sweet voice stirred something within him. It was musical, as perfect and pure as the rest of her. But how? How was it that he found a mortal female more alluring than any of the other goddesses he had known? Of course, the immortals were unearthly in their beauty. And yet, Sakura possessed a measure of something else which they lacked – something that Sasuke craved.

The hunger raging within him was nothing that food could nourish. He was ravenous for her, knew that any other lesser god would have pinned Sakura down the moment they had her in their clutches and taken their pleasure of her. But Sasuke was no lesser god. He prided himself on the fact that he possessed a self-control that others did not. He was not so weak to submit to the same indulgences. There was no mistake; he _would_ have Sakura in his bed – over and over again until he was sated of her – but not _yet_. As reluctant as he was to grant it, he knew that it would be more beneficial to his cause to give the girl some time to adjust first. She was vulnerable, frightened, and overwhelmed. He had seen it as he'd observed her through the black orb that served as a window to both his realm and the surface. He had witnessed her shock and horror at glimpsing the shadows of the dead for the first time, watched as she'd fled and collapsed sobbing by a boulder.

And he had seen the woman who supervised the receiving of souls from the river Acheron rough-handling Sakura, as though she were the same as the other tainted vermin who boarded the dreaded black boat. He'd sent an instant, harsh command to Juugo to stop Karin from striking Sakura – and now he was on his way to ensure the foolish nymph didn't repeat the gesture again.

Instead of transporting himself to the river bank, Sasuke took the time to walk. It allowed him an opportunity to collect his thoughts. He would have to discover precisely what was happening on the surface. What course of action was Sakura's mother taking? And the one Sasuke wanted to encounter least of all – did he suspect anything? Impatience agitated him; he _had_ to find a way to trick Sakura into remaining in his realm, to prevent any chances of her being rescued before any attempts even came to pass.

The forbidden food of the dead, he knew, was the most effective option, but only if she consumed it willingly. He certainly could not force her to do so. Yet she was already refusing to eat. Sasuke anticipated that she would continue to do so in stubborn, childish protest. Sakura would eventually come to realise, however, that it was an unproductive strategy when dealing with the governor of death; he would merely sustain her life and refuse to release her soul from her body, until such agony befell her that she would submit to his will and beg him to be fed. Sasuke's face darkened possessively. He would sooner see her starve than let her go.

When Sasuke finally arrived at the river's edge, he found his subjects assisting another group of compliant, unresisting spirits off the ferryman's boat - three children, three women and one man. He waited as Juugo and Karin guided the souls toward the queues by the opposite end of the bank before stepping forward.

"Nagato."

The skeletal face beneath the hood lowered in reverence. Long, bony fingers gripped onto the end of the oar firmly despite their frail appearance. "Great God," he greeted, in a low, rasping voice.

"Has anyone from the surface attempted to cross Acheron?"

"No, Great God."

"Be vigilant," Sasuke instructed. "Send me immediate word if anybody does."

"Yes, Great God. I will be sure to convey your will to Cerberus."

The death deity nodded curtly and turned dismissively away. The heels of his boots crunched against gravel as he walked at a leisurely pace toward his two subjects, his expression betraying no emotion as he joined them. They turned to him, surprise etched on both their faces, before swiftly bowing their heads.

"Lord," Juugo greeted.

"Great God," Karin purred.

"Continue, Juugo," Sasuke commanded the strongly-built young man, watching as he bowed once again before turning to resume his duties. Sasuke's dark eyes flicked onto Karin, who had been staring unabashedly into his face. She quickly averted her gaze when he stared down at her, and even in the blue glow of the surrounding firelight he could clearly discern the faint flush to her cheeks.

Karin was a river nymph who had been mistreated by many men. Her skin still carried the angry bite marks to prove it. She had been miserable and on the verge of taking her own life when Sasuke had found her. He'd offered her a purpose for existing in exchange for her services; to reside by Acheron and oversee the smooth passage of the dead between the rivers. She possessed two unique gifts – the ability to trace the footsteps of others provided they had traversed on water, and to heal grievous wounds. They were the only two reasons he kept her around – because her abilities, in the hands of the wrong people, would pose a disruption to the delicate balance of his realm.

Karin had foolishly become infatuated with Sasuke somewhere along the way, considering him her saviour. Even when she knew that she stood no chance of being accepted, she still attempted to engage him in mildly flirtatious dialogue on the rare instances when he stopped by to check on the influx of souls. She was always unsuccessful, and often silenced with a withering look. Karin had clearly become complacent, believing her position in his world to be secure. It wasn't. And Sasuke was about to remind her of that.

"To what do I owe this honour?" A smile played on the scarlet-haired nymph's lips. Sasuke fought back the disdainful sneer that tugged at one corner of his lips. Narrowing his eyes, he lowered his face so that it was inches away from Karin's. She caught her breath, her eyes widening at his unexpected proximity.

"Mishandle her again and enter Tartarus," he hissed.

Karin's features displayed confusion at first, when she suddenly grew perfectly still as the meaning of his words slowly registered in her mind. Then she began to stammer, "I-I didn't know she was alive, Sasuke-"

With alarming speed his hand shot out, fingers clamping cruelly around her throat.

"Do not forget your place," he warned in chilly tones, a response to her casual usage of his first name. She managed to choke an alarmed apology. Sasuke shoved her away, and when she continued to gawp up at him, he took a single, menacing step toward her. She yelped, straightened her spectacles, and bowed her head low, scampering back to rejoin Juugo.

Onyx eyes monitored them for a brief moment, before Sasuke blinked silently out of sight.

* * *

_Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring._

Naruto turned impatient eyes up to the clear night sky. It was his fourth attempt at calling. Why wasn't Sai answering?

"C'mon," he muttered, tapping his foot restlessly upon the ground. The line suddenly clicked a connection and Naruto snapped to attention.

"Hey, Sai!" he exclaimed. "Where the heck have you-" he abruptly broke off, blinking as a voice that was decidedly _not_ Sai's spoke into his ear.

' _-cannot take your call. Please leave your message after the tone.'_

The voice mail service beeped, signalling that it was recording.

"Hey, bastard," Naruto hollered angrily down the line, "pick up your damned phone already!"

Disconnecting, he released an exasperated huff. If Sai wasn't going to answer, then he had no choice but to go looking for the young man. It wasn't what he had planned to do, and meant wasting even more precious time - time that could have easily been spent searching for Sakura.

Raising his cell to his ear again, Naruto speed dialled Shikamaru's number.

"Naruto," his friend answered on the second ring. "Any sign of her?"

"No," Naruto answered glumly. "Did you find anything out?"

"Sai isn't answering my calls. He isn't at his flat either."

Naruto placed a frustrated hand to the back of his head. "Great," he muttered. "Then where the hell is he?"

There was a pause. "You're able to find him faster than any of us."

Naruto's eyebrows drew together in a frown. "You know I can't do that," he replied quietly.

"Naruto," Shikamaru's tone was stern and serious. "Sakura could be in real trouble. If there was any time for you to tap into the seal, it's now." Sensing his friend's lingering hesitation, Shikamaru added with a sigh, "Look, it isn't like Sai not to answer. And he isn't in any of his usual spots. Something's up, and the faster we figure out _what_ , the better chance we have of finding Sakura. That is, if she isn't…" his voice trailed off.

Naruto swallowed, gritting his teeth. "Don't talk like that," he said, his voice quivering with anger.

"Then track him down. I'll call you if I hear anything else," Shikamaru replied, and abruptly hung up.

Naruto slowly lowered the cell. His free hand moved to hover over his stomach. The fine tremor that ran through his fingers betrayed his inner apprehension. Could he do it? Could he call upon the assistance of something that he had kept so carefully guarded and locked away for so long?

Did he really have a choice?

_But if Kakashi and the others find out that I've…_ he crushed the thought. Sakura was all that mattered. Her safety was the most important thing to him.

Placing his cell in the pocket of his grey, hooded top, Naruto closed his eyes and focused.

* * *

The chime of the bell caused Ino's head to lift. The willowy arms hugging the stuffed pink bear that Sakura had purchased for her years earlier tightened as she shared an uncertain glance with Hinata before slipping off the couch, moving automatically toward the front door. Her father's warding hand halted her in her tracks. Making his way in his daughter's stead, he answered – and drew in a sharp breath.

"Where is she?"

Ino paled, instantly distinguishing the owner of the deceptively calm voice. She backed out of the hallway and into the lounge again, trembling fearfully.

"Tsunade, please, this won't help anyone-"

"Call her down," Tsunade instructed.

"I will _not_ let you hold my child accountable. Sakura is responsible for her own actions." Ino swallowed, stirred to tears by her father's protection.

"Step aside, Inoichi," Tsunade uttered indifferently.

Ino squeezed her eyes shut.

"I-Ino? I-I could try and explain…" Hinata offered softly, anxiously.

Her friend slowly shook her head. How much of a coward was she, hiding away, letting others fight her battles for her? Her father was right; Sakura _was_ responsible for her behaviour - but so was Ino for her own. _She_ had been the one who had proposed a shortcut; it had been her car that had broken down. And it was her fault Sakura had gone off into the forest alone.

The blonde stepped back out into the hallway and walked to the door, spotting Tsunade's face over the shield of her father's shoulder. The instant the honey coloured gaze locked onto her, Ino felt her stomach knot in apprehensive dread.

"Mrs. Haruno, I can explain-" she began.

"Ino, I will handle this," her father interrupted sternly.

"No, dad, let me-"

Tsunade placed a slender hand on the outer side of the doorframe. Inoichi stiffened, but the woman made no move to enter the house uninvited.

"Do explain," she said, narrowing her eyes in displeasure.

"Ino-"

"Dad, _please_ ," Ino pleaded.

There was a weighty pause, in which her father regarded her with searching blue eyes, eyes she had inherited. Finally, Inoichi relented. "You may come in," he permitted their visitor. "But if you do anything to distress her…"

"Save your empty threats," Tsunade snapped, brushing by him. Regarding Ino angrily, she ordered, "Tell me everything."

* * *

Stepping back into the bed chamber in which she had awoken was disconcerting, especially when Sakura knew for certain that she was no longer dreaming or dead.

Chizu had talked along the way about giving Sakura a tour of the palace after she was well rested. And although Sakura had absentmindedly agreed, she didn't think she would rest well. Not when she still had so many unanswered questions swirling around in her mind. As Ume closed the resplendent doors softly behind them, Sakura took another look around the room. It truly was a magnificent sight to behold, almost otherworldly in its splendour. Rich, gold embroidered, heavy bronze curtains, which her eyes had completely overlooked before, captured her attention and she wandered curiously over to them, reaching out to run her fingers along their smooth, satiny texture. As she parted them, she found herself starting at beautifully ornate balcony doors, through which she glimpsed the same, starless night sky. A quick twist of the dainty handles informed her that they were locked. Disappointed, Sakura arranged the curtains back in place, and turned to face the maids. They were waiting for her by the door nestled in the corner of the room.

"This way, if it would please you to follow us," Chizu gestured politely. Sakura entered after them, and her jaw dropped once again.

In contrast to the rest of the palace, the bathroom was pristine white marble. Four elegant columns climbed up to a sapphire-jewel encrusted, moon-painted ceiling. Sakura's eyes were dazzled as the precious stones captured the firelight flickering from sconces attached to the walls and the array of scented candles housed in decorative, three-branched, brass candelabra stands. Marble ledges protruded from the edges of the room, offering seating spaces. Sakura spied thick, fluffy white towels piled neatly in shelves that had been modelled into the left corner of the room. A huge, spotless, opulently framed mirror hung against the central wall, providing an even greater illusion of airiness and light. Deep blue transparent, wispy drapes, adorned with tiny, shimmering beads, were strewn from the top of the pillars. They rippled with movement and life. Sakura's gaze then fell to the bathtub, set upon a large, raised square platform enclosed by the columns, and she gawked all over again. It was more like a pool, fashioned in the shape of a colossal, beautiful shell. It was filled with steaming water and bubbles, and indigo petals were scattered on top. The warm lighting and sweet smell of bath oils relaxed Sakura's tension wrought shoulders and she inhaled deeply.

It was the most breath-taking bathroom she had ever seen. It looked fit for a queen – or a goddess. In one of the raised corners above the tub were shelved plump sponges and small, coloured, glass phials of differing shapes, containing what she assumed to be body oils and shampoos. Bars of soap were stacked beside them. On the opposite corner, resting in a smaller shell, were hairclips, combs and pins.

Suddenly, Sakura felt awfully grubby. She wanted to sink into the cleansing waters and forget everything, if only for a few minutes.

"Will your ladyship require assistance in bathing?" Chizu questioned.

With great difficulty, Sakura tore her eyes away from the tub and onto the women standing by her. Unbeknownst to her, they had been watching her expression in mild, carefully concealed amusement.

"Oh! No; thank you."

Chizu nodded. "Then we will await you outside. Please inform us when you are done so that we may assist you in dressing."

"Thank-" Sakura began automatically, when she spotted another door in the farthest right hand side of the room. "What's in there?" she asked, pointing.

"That is the privy," Chizu answered. Sakura stared blankly at her for a moment, before her brain supplied a rusty fact from her past History lessons. So it led to the toilet. She supposed it looked as outrageously sensational as everything else she had seen in the palace. Despite his apparent nonchalance, Sasuke clearly possessed a penchant for fine details. Sapphire encrusted paintings were one piece of evidence alluding to that fact.

Chizu and Ume bowed and exited the room, leaving Sakura alone. She moved to the door leading to the toilet and opened it to find a matching, candle-lit, white marble en-suite area. It wasn't as spacious as the bathing room – after all, it only consisted of what was the most ridiculously elegant 'privy' she had ever seen, a washing basin over which hung yet another elaborate mirror, and ledges lined with rainbow coloured bottles – but it was still larger than any room in Sakura's own house. Closing the door, she turned back to the bathtub and slowly peeled off her clothing, arranging it into a careful pile. Making a note to ask Chizu and Ume whether they could arrange for her stained garments to be washed and returned to her, Sakura stepped up to the bathtub and slipped in. The water was delightfully hot and seemed to instantly soothe away her aches and pains. Sighing as she settled at the bottom and became immersed by the sweet, lavender scented fragrance, Sakura tilted her head back to rest upon the shell tub's edge, staring up at the beautiful painting on the ceiling. It was a glorious, shimmering piece, and the more she gazed at it, the more her eyes discovered wonderful new details.

What was her mother doing now? Was she alright? Did she know that Sakura was missing, or had she yet to find out? Had Mr. Yamanaka collected Ino and Hinata from the forest? Just how many hours had passed since she had lost consciousness in the field? Sakura's own watch had seemingly frozen since she'd awoken, and now lay discarded on top of the rest of her clothes.

Her thoughts inevitably turned to her kidnapper. Sasuke had claimed that she had been brought to the palace on a whim of his, but there had to be more to it than that. It was no coincidence that she had met him at the carousel ride. Had he been waiting for her?

Had he intended to kidnap her back then? And again, the same, maddening question – why? Why was he doing this to _her?_

So many questions, so many uncertainties. Deciding that she would talk to Chizu and Ume later, Sakura closed her eyes and did her best to fill her mind with sunnier, happier images.

* * *

Tsunade regarded the faces seated around the iron embellished, circular table before her. It had been a long time since they had last assembled, but everyone – bar one person whose absence did not surprise her - had come at her request; Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Iruka, Homura and Koharu. Their grim expressions mirrored her own.

"You all know why we have gathered here," Tsunade opened the dialogue. "Sakura has been taken."

A heavy silence filled the air. Kurenai was the first to break it.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard the news," she said softly, sadly.

"We must find her right away!" Guy Might, a tanned man around Kakashi's age who possessed close-cropped shiny black hair, bright black eyes, a strong nose and thick eyebrows, exclaimed fiercely, hitting the bottom of his fist against his other palm.

"That seems to be easier said than done," Asuma Sarutobi, a handsome, middle-aged man, stated. He had dark hair that spiked messily at the back, brown eyes and a carefully kept beard. "From what I understand, you've found no trace of her as of yet."

"What exactly happened, Lady Tsunade?" Iruka Umino questioned. His brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and a deep scar was slashed across the upper bridge of his nose, an eternal reminder of a battle long past.

Tsunade pursed her lips, recalling Inoichi's daughter's account of the events that had preceded Sakura's abrupt disappearance.

They'd followed Ino's car's built-in navigation system after encountering traffic. It had, apparently, malfunctioned, leading them along an unfamiliar route and into one of Konoha's many forests. The car's front tyre had punctured and the vehicle had become stuck in a ditch. Ino had been on the phone – and this was what had angered Tsunade most - to her _hairdresser_ of all people, and vowed that she'd only turned her back to Sakura for two or three minutes at most, when Hinata had alerted her to the fact that their coral-haired friend had ventured into the forest. They had quickly pursued her, but it had been a futile chase. They had been unable to locate Sakura.

Swallowing down the burning fury and grief in her chest, Tsunade replied tightly, "She disappeared into a forest. Naruto and Shikamaru scoured it three times over and found nothing of her."

"They found her bag," corrected Kakashi. Tsunade's eyes flew to him. This information was new to her.

"Her bag?" she repeated, her heart skipping a beat. "Where?"

Kakashi sighed. "In a field."

"And… nothing else?" Asuma glanced at the silver-haired man.

Kakashi turned his gaze to the ceiling. It was a masterpiece, painted with images of angels and divinities, assembled upon heavenly clouds. "Naruto didn't mention anything else, other than flowers."

"That's much like Sakura," Kurenai said quietly. "She probably wandered into the field to gather a bouquet."

"Of course," Iruka nodded. "She is after all-"

"Lady Tsunade," Homura Mitokado, a bespectacled man whose face was lined with years of wisdom interjected. "Have you considered, perhaps, that the girl might be dead?"

Four pairs of incredulous eyes and one mildly bemused one darted to the elderly man. Beside him, Koharu Utatane, a grey-haired old woman with a peering gaze remained silent. Beneath the table, Tsunade's hands tightened into fists as she fought to remain civil when the words that were begging to roll from her tongue were anything but.

"Great Homura," Iruka coughed uncomfortably, observing the threatening fire burning in Tsunade's gaze, "I don't think-"

"I would know if the child was dead," Tsunade bit through her teeth.

"You refer to a mother's instinct," Koharu spoke up in an age-worn voice, "but you are perhaps forgetting the nature of your tie to the girl. How can you be certain that it was not a human who snatched the child away? Mankind has gone astray, and many who have lost their way have turned to crime. How can you be so sure that she lives?"

Kurenai's lips parted in dismay. How could the two speak so heartlessly and bluntly? She looked anxiously at Asuma, read the frustrated clench of his jaw.

"That's ridiculous," he said. "If Sakura _were_ dead, then everything would be-"

"Do not take that tone with us," Homura interposed quietly. "Perhaps you have forgotten who we are."

"We cannot give in to despairing thoughts!" Guy urged them, trying to dispel the crackling tension in the air.

"She is alive," Kakashi said with conviction. Then, slowly, he added, "But to address any doubts, there is one way we can be absolutely certain."

Tsunade inhaled sharply at the suggestion he was making. "What!" she barked at him. She couldn't believe what her ears were hearing. Sakura _wasn't_ dead. How could they even entertain such an awful idea?

"You don't truly mean-" Iruka began nervously.

Kakashi released another of his characteristic sighs. "It has been a long time since I paid that place a visit…" his voice trailed off as a faraway look fell upon his lone eye.

"Kakashi," Kurenai said, openly alarmed. "You cannot venture there without invitation. You know the pact that was made between him and us."

"For him," Kakashi rectified quietly. "Not _by_ him."

"Don't be even more foolish than usual, Kakashi," Guy sent the man he considered a rival of sorts a disapproving scowl. "That deserter would never permit you to trespass, let alone communicate such information to you. Have all these years taught you nothing? And besides, how would you get past the damned hounds at the gates?"

Kakashi's eye lowered. He said nothing.

"A fool's errand indeed," Koharu murmured.

"No more foolish than your very suggestions!" Tsunade erupted, rising furiously to her feet. Slamming a palm down on the table with enough force to send a violent tremble through it, she snapped, "You've been waiting for this, haven't you? The day the mighty Tsunade finally blunders. I should have known not to call on you. You take pleasure from the misfortune of others. You have not changed! Even after everything that befell us because of _your_ selfish mistakes-"

Koharu and Homura rose in turn. The air surrounding the meeting area had thickened, was practically charged with negative current.

"May we remind you, Lady Tsunade, that the only reason you all live is because of the compromise we made," Homura reminded her.

"Oh, that's right!" Tsunade spat sarcastically. "The humble sacrifice! Your shady dealings aren't the reason we are here; may _I_ remind _you_ that we have the Yellow Flash to thank for that!"

The two elderly people bristled at the mention of the name, and all at once everyone was out of their seats and talking over one another, except for calm Kakashi, who remained sitting, silently observing the escalating dispute before him. Things were on the verge of turning very ugly indeed, when a voice suddenly spoke quietly, breaking perfectly through the fray, "I can't sense her."

Heads turned to regard the new arrival. Sunshine had flooded into the room, warding back the darkness of people's thoughts.

"Naruto…" Iruka whispered, eyes widening in recognition of the form the blond youth had taken.

Tsunade had frozen in place. "You fool," she whispered. "The seal-"

But Naruto paid their concern no attention. Meeting Kakashi's expectant gaze, he said, "Sakura. She isn't on the surface."

* * *

After bathing and washing her hair, a squeaky clean Sakura stepped back into the regal chamber, wrapped in a long, soft towel. The water had remained gloriously hot despite the length of time she had spent soaking in the vast tub. Though her body felt more relaxed, her mind was still fretfully restless.

Chizu and Ume were waiting for her, as promised. Upon the bed they had laid out lace-trimmed, filmy looking undergarments that made Sakura's cheeks blush faintly; they were the sort of lingerie items Ino loved to purchase and always begged Sakura to buy. But Sakura had never before dared to wear anything so- so _provocative_. Next to the items was a pale silver, feminine nightgown. It had thin shoulder straps and seemed to be made of satin. How different it was to the usual worn yet comfortable sleepwear she flung carelessly on at home!

"Are you well, Mistress?" Chizu questioned, noticing Sakura's saddened expression. Ume looked anxious. Maybe the clothes were not to their lady's liking?

"I'm fine," Sakura blinked, and tried to smile as best she could. "Thank you for preparing the bath for me, Ume; it was perfect."

The girl beamed at her, before seemingly recalling her manners, and quickly averted her gaze to the floor again. "I am at your ladyship's service," she answered. Her voice was soft and pleasant, and Sakura was once again reminded of Hinata.

"Please, I told you just Sakura is fine," Sakura said.

"W-we are sorry, your ladyship, but it would not be proper-" Ume began nervously.

"I insist."

Ume and Chizu exchanged glances. Finally, the older woman nodded. "Perhaps when we are alone in your excellent company, but in the presence of the Master, it would be unthinkable."

Sakura swallowed. Calling her 'mistress' suggested that she was connected to the 'master' in some way. And she most certainly was not, and never would be, no matter how outrageously wealthy and handsome Sasuke was. The very idea made her feel sick to her stomach with fear and horror. She didn't _want_ to know someone so frightening; which begged the same question once again; what in the world did _he_ want with her?

Seizing her chance, she said, "Could you tell me why he has brought me here?"

The maids looked at each other again.

"I am sorry," Chizu apologised slowly. "But it is not our place to discuss the Master's affairs."

"But you must know _something_. Please, I just want to know what he wants-"

Both women's eyes lowered uncomfortably and they remained silent. Frustration and despair began to creep over Sakura again. Had she really thought she could just gain the answers to all her queries from these maids? Clearly she had allowed their hospitality to fool her. They served Sasuke. The only reason they were with her now was _because_ Sasuke had ordered it.

But she didn't want anything to do with him, and that included having his servants about. What if he had assigned them to her in order to keep tabs on her, to ensure that she didn't try to escape? What if they reported to him whenever they left her?

Suspicious and paranoid, she said quietly, "Thank you for your kindness. I'd like to dress myself, now."

"Oh," Ume gasped. "Please let us assist you-"

"No," Sakura said firmly. Noting their dismayed expressions, she plastered another false smile on her face, and added, "I'm tired; I'd like to be alone for a bit. If I need anything, I'll call you right away."

They looked hesitant, unconvinced. "Our Master asked us to attend you…" Chizu's voice trailed.

"I promise I'll call. I need to rest before the tour," Sakura reassured them. She watched as their faces relaxed slightly.

"We will have these washed for you," the older maid said, relieving Sakura of the bundle in her hands. Then the servants bowed their heads and took their leave, pulling the doors quietly shut behind them.

Sakura counted two minutes in her head, before exhaling a relieved breath. Her stomach growled loudly in protest, and she felt thirstier than ever after her soak. She tried to ignore the cramps and the parched feeling in her throat. She wouldn't eat. She _wouldn't._ Moving over to the enormous wardrobe, she flung open one of the doors, seeking something less revealing to wear. Her eyes widened as they came to rest upon beautiful, feminine dresses of every colour imaginable. They were made of light materials, mostly silk, with some cotton pieces, and consisted of flowing, loose, softly pleated skirts with high waistlines and figure flattering bodices, decorated with plaited belts and short, transparent, butterfly sleeves. Extra, lighter wraps of material were arranged on the tidy shelves within. Sakura parted the central doors to find an even greater selection of dresses, all ridiculously expensive and fabulous looking, in hues that delighted the eye. Some had slits down the skirts and the sides which were attached at places with tiny, gold-encrusted pearl clasps. They looked like they belonged to a different era, and Sakura had the unsettling feeling that she was trapped in another time. The long door to the right of the central ones opened out to reveal elegant, full-length cloaks, thin scarves and draping shawls. On the shelves were arrays of gloves, which she was disturbed to find were a precise fit on her hands.

Closing all the doors, she began to pull open the wardrobe's wide, deep-spaced drawers. In the top one was a store-sized collection of undergarments – all lacy, thin and frilly, Sakura noted with a sinking feeling. The next contained silky nightgowns and robes in rainbow shades, folded neatly in place. Beneath were stockings and what looked to be dainty slippers. The final one had a selection of sandals, arranged tidily in compartments. Sakura pushed the drawer shut and turned to the clothes on the bed. She had no choice but to wear them – there was no other alternative. Quickly she changed, once again finding everything to be a perfect fit. Then she walked to the vanity, where she found an assortment of cosmetics that put Ino's stock to shame. Strange looking, thin sticks tinged with colour for what she assumed to be the lips, pretty eye-shadow palettes, kohl eyeliner phials, fine powder and blush, wooden application brushes and more; every beautifying item that a girl could want had been provided. Moisturising face and body oils were placed in small bottles. Sakura pulled the stoppers off, sniffing delicate, floral scents. Precisely the kind she liked.

Was it a coincidence? Her skin began to crawl at the possibility that Sasuke might have had this all purposefully arranged for her. After all, the fact that he knew her name suggested that he held some degree of knowledge about her. The same couldn't be said for Sakura. She didn't have the faintest idea who she was dealing with, other than the fact that her captor was clearly some kind of deranged psychopath.

An intricately carved and painted glass box rested in the middle of the table. Sakura lifted the lid, curious despite herself. A graceful figurine arose, flowing silver hair and white robes, and began to twirl in time to a beautiful, soothing tune. For a long while Sakura stood listening, enchanted by the sight and sound of a musical jewellery box. It was only when her eyelids began to feel strangely heavy that she finally caught herself on the verge of dozing, and quickly slammed the top back down. She didn't _want_ to look at the jewels housed within. She would reject everything that belonged to Sasuke. Clothes were the only exception – she couldn't very well walk around without them.

She reached out and grabbed one of the hair combs, moving to the fireplace to disentangle and dry her hair. It took forever, and the fact that there didn't seem to be any electricity sockets and appliances in sight further reinforced her sense of alienation. When her hair was dry enough, she tied it into a loose braid. Then she approached the curtains, and tried pushing at the balcony windows again. They were still just as firmly closed. Frustrated, Sakura turned away, her mind racing. She had to find another way out. Perhaps Sasuke's palace offered a secret route through the gloomy cavern? She was ready to believe anything after all that she had seen. Maybe, if she looked around, she would find something to help her escape.

But she didn't even know where anything was. She'd sent Ume and Chizu away before they had given her a tour...

Her mind screeched to a halt. That was it! If she left her room and wandered around to explore and happened to be seen, she would just utilise the excuse that she had gotten lost on her way to the banqueting hall. It was a better alternative to curling up and sleeping in defeat. She planned to spend as little time as possible in the foreign world into which she had been whisked. She only had to avoid Sasuke. Nodding her head in resolution, Sakura walked back to the wardrobe, pulled out a satin night-robe and tied it securely around the waist. Grabbing a pair of silk slippers to mask the sounds of her feet on marble, she walked over to the resplendent doors and drew a deep breath, praying that they would open. At the lightest push, they parted for her.

Silently, Sakura slipped out of the bedchamber and into the hallway once again.

* * *


	9. Chapter VIII

_A note about the sirens featured in this chapter: according to some accounts, they were supposedly the companions of Persephone who were given wings by Demeter after Persephone was abducted. In other versions they were cursed by Demeter for being unable to protect her daughter. Their melancholic, beautiful songs continuously call out for the absent spirit of innocent Persephone._

_The sirens in Greek myth lured sailors to their deaths at sea, but in the context of this story I'm substituting them for mermaid-like creatures, some of which reside in the Underworld also. I have to twist myth a little to serve the plot, but they will link to Persephone/Sakura in some way. You'll find out how.  
_

_**PLEASE** check my profile page on Fanfiction.net to access the tracks I listened to when writing particular scenes in this chapter.  
_

_**Disclaimer:** Again I don't own those songs; I am just linking to them for atmosphere building purposes.   
_

* * *

**Chapter VIII**

* * *

_O misplaced child!_

_Fear not what ye may find,_

_In the hushed unknown,_

_Let comfort still,_

_And soothe thy mind,_

_For all manner of surprises,_

_Await to please thee,_

_Seeking to enchant,_

_And beguile thy eyes,_

_So that thou wouldst fall,_

_In rapt charm,_

_Into the closing circle,_

_Of his arms._

* * *

The room had plunged into absolute silence. Naruto clenched his jaw, steeling himself against the onslaught of shocked and thoroughly disapproving stares. He met the wide-eyed gazes squarely and with unwavering resolve.

Homura was the first to speak. "You dared to release the seal…?"

Koharu wore an equally horrified expression. "You know it is forbidden! Should you lose control of the power that slumbers within you-"

In response, Naruto's hand lifted to rest over his stomach, and the flames of sunshine-gold light that had been radiating from his body slowly began to retract. The blinding luminosity surrounding him gradually dimmed before waning entirely – as if it had never been there.

"I only used a little of it," he defended. It was the truth; he had tapped into but a small amount of the power that was locked away inside him and no harm had been done from doing so. It had been the only way to scour thoroughly over great distances in a short length of time. Such was his desperation to locate Sakura.

"You should not have used it at all!" Homura exclaimed admonishingly. "Perhaps a youngling like you does not recall the pact we made in exchange for our continued existence!"

"He won't be using it again," Kakashi cut in sharply. Casting a pointed look in Naruto's direction, he added, "I'll make sure of it."

Naruto's gaze shifted uncomfortably. Then, eager to focus on what really mattered, he repeated, "I can't sense her presence on land."

Tsunade's tight voice fought to retain composure. "Are you certain you searched everywhere?" Her agitation increased when Naruto supplied a solemn nod.

"What about the messenger?" Asuma questioned. "Did you locate him?"

Naruto's features darkened. After a slight pause, he said, "Sai hasn't heard anything."

Kakashi briefly met Naruto's gaze, but remained silent at his disclosure.

"If she isn't on the surface…" Iruka began hesitantly.

Kurenai raised a hand fearfully to her lips. "Then that means…"

"Beneath the surface," Guy finished with finality. With a determined look, he said, "Fret not, Tsunade! I will leave no ocean undisturbed in my search for Sakura!"

"I can venture to the Underworld-" Asuma began, much to Kurenai's distress.

"No," Kakashi interjected quickly. At the surprised glances the others gave him, he added with a sigh, "I think it would be best if I go, don't you?"

"You are holding onto a fool's hope," stated Koharu disapprovingly.

"If Naruto cannot sense her on the surface, then the only logical conclusion must be that Sakura is no longer-" Homura began to add.

Naruto inhaled sharply, his gaze flying up to glare furiously at the old man. But Homura wasn't given an opportunity to finish. In three swift strides, Tsunade walked around the table and closed the gap between them, reaching out to grab him forcefully by the collar of his wrap. Jerking him close and lowering her face so that it was level with his, she snarled angrily, "I will _not_ accept that the child is dead _until_ I see her corpse!"

Kakashi finally stood up. He walked over to the outraged woman and rested a calming hand on her tense shoulder. "Tsunade. Rest assured we will find her. I'll leave now and inform you right away if I come across anything." Lowering his voice, he added, "We must remain focused - for Sakura's sake."

_Sakura._ The girl's joyful face filled Tsunade's mind, and she slowly exhaled. The fingers that had been exerting a choking hold on Homura's neck loosened, and she pushed him back. Without another word to anybody, she turned and stormed out of the grand assembly chamber. Homura straightened his glasses and tried to compose himself with dignity again. He opened his mouth to speak further, but a quick warning look from Asuma made him reconsider.

"Do what you will," Koharu said grudgingly. "But do not come crawling back to us for assistance if _he_ becomes aware of your meddling." With that, she and Homura stoically took their leave.

"Why'd they have to be so cranky all the time?" Naruto complained, once the two were safely beyond the other side of the arched, wooden doors.

Kurenai sighed. "They still believe themselves to be our superiors, even now."

"But they have a point," Asuma said seriously. "Your powers were sealed as part of the truce, Naruto. If he were to discover that you'd used them-"

"I only took sage form!" Naruto exclaimed, holding his hands up defensively. "It's just a tracking power!"

"That isn't the only ability it holds," Iruka reminded the youth. "Be careful, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes lowered miserably. "It's not fair," he said softly, angrily. "All of it. I don't _care_ if he does find out. He already took everything else away from me. I just want Sakura-chan back."

His elders all exchanged concerned glances. Then Guy walked over to Naruto and slapped him on the back, snapping him out of his disconsolate thoughts.

"Youth never despairs, Naruto. We'll get her back."

"Sage mode, when used for tracking, is a harmless power," Kurenai added. "I'm sure he'll understand given the circumstances."

"I wouldn't hold my breath about that," Asuma murmured to her ears alone. Aloud, he said, "Let's waste no further time. We'll help you cover the oceans," he nodded to Guy.

"Let us depart at once!" Guy stated enthusiastically.

"I'll keep a look-out for anything suspicious on land," said Iruka.

"Kakashi," Kurenai addressed the silver-haired man. "Please be careful, and call us right away if you need any assistance."

"I will," Kakashi assured her, and watched as the four departed the room. When the doors closed behind them, he turned to Naruto, whose expression had completely altered.

"Kakashi. Let _me_ go-"

" _No._ " Kakashi said severely. Naruto bristled and Kakashi noted the way the blond's jaw clenched at his harsh response. More gently, he added, "You're considered directly accountable for what happened back then. _Think_ , Naruto; think about what would happen if you stepped into that territory."

Naruto swallowed thickly. His eyes, plagued with guilt, fell to the ground. "You know why I did it," he said quietly, his voice quivering with emotion. "It was the only way I could…" he broke off, unable to speak further.

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Yes, I know. But others don't see it that way. Don't let your desperation to get Sakura back cause you to act recklessly. Trust me as you always have, Naruto, and let me handle this."

Naruto still didn't look happy, but Kakashi felt the tension in his shoulders relax marginally.

"Now," the silver-haired man said calmly, lowering his hand once again. "Tell me everything about your meeting with Sai."

* * *

Upon returning from the river's edge, Sasuke had taken to his private study to think. He needed somebody on the surface, someone who could provide him with precise details about how the hunt for Sakura was progressing. His mind combed through several potential options. Most could not be trusted enough, and the other fools would likely betray their true purpose before long. He sat broodingly in the luxurious, bronze-painted armchair, watching the flames in the grand stone fireplace crackle and flicker hungrily. Sakura, he knew, was likely resting. He needed to find a way to persuade her to eat, or at the very least, drink. Only one food would bind her to remain in the Underworld forever; she didn't know what it was, and he intended that she wouldn't find out until after she had swallowed it from his feeding hand.

A pale face suddenly drifted through his mind, and for a few moments his breathing stilled. When it resumed, a small, wicked, contemptuous smirk graced his proud lips. _Of course._ He had the perfect candidate to infiltrate into the designs of the others. After all, the little _messenger_ owed Sasuke his very life. How better to be free of his debt than to complete one final service for the god of the Underworld?

A light knock on the arched doors drew Sasuke out of his calculating thoughts. Instead of responding, he willed the doors open with his mind, wordlessly conveying that he permitted entrance.

"Great Lord," the older of the two maids he had assigned to Sakura addressed him in quiet, reverential tones. She had bound herself to Sasuke's service for two hundred years in exchange for her deceased son's soul being granted a place on the white boat. She had served seventy three and a half of those years so far. Sasuke sensed the quieter girl at her side. Ume had been drowned by her wicked uncle, and in a rare moment of compassion, Sasuke had offered the distraught child's soul a deal – to return to her regenerated mortal shell and serve under his command for a hundred years, and in return be permitted to drink from the river Lethe and forget the horrors that had befallen her, allowing her to be reborn to live a longer, fuller life.

"Well?" he demanded expectantly, his gaze still fixed on the roaring flames before him.

"The Mistress has bathed and requests privacy to take rest," Chizu informed him.

Sasuke blinked. "She has yet to eat." It was a statement, rather than a question.

"She insists that she is not yet hungry, Master," Ume replied nervously.

Sasuke's dark eyebrows drew together to form a displeased scowl. Not hungry? She was a terrible liar, but the foolish females he'd instructed to attend Sakura had obviously taken her word for it. "I see," he answered flatly. When they lingered, as if waiting for him to say something else, he dismissed abruptly, "Go."

"Lord," Chizu said in respectful parting. He waited for the doors to close, before rising from his seat. Sakura was clearly adamant that she would continue to refuse food. She still had no idea just who and what he was. Perhaps it was time for her to find out. Or maybe, for better entertainment, he'd let the mystery drag out and see how long it would take her to discover the truth on her own.

Either way, it was time for them to have another little conversation.

* * *

Sakura's eyes followed the endless line of massive chandeliers, hanging like glorious crystal gems from the tall, arched ceilings. They were beautiful, each droplet exquisitely cut, glittering flawlessly in the warm glow of candlelight. She fleetingly wondered how much they cost, how rich Sasuke had to be to live in such an extravagant place. And how disturbed, also, to commission a spectacular house to be built underground, far away from where any living eyes could look at and admire it.

After exiting her chamber, Sakura had decided to head to the left. She already knew where the straight path led – to the majestic staircase and the front entrance of the palace. She didn't want to go there again. She had to try and find another way out.

The hallway stretched on endlessly. Armour-clad statues stood at attention on both sides, armed with extremely sharp looking spears. At least Sakura nervously _hoped_ that the knights were indeed statues. They certainly remained still enough. Placed between them were arched, wooden doors. How could a place have so many rooms, she wondered, and what did they hold within them? She fought against the nagging, curious urge to open each one; that would only distract her from her goal, and besides, opening unfamiliar doors was bound to be an unwise idea. What if something less than friendly leapt out at her? She pushed the disconcerting thought out of her head and continued walking in hushed awe, her eyes drinking in the architectural grandeur of the place. Despite her unhappiness, Sakura couldn't deny the sheer beauty of her surroundings.

She hadn't realised that people still lived in such buildings. How did Sasuke get by without electricity? She thought about all the comforts she had at home – her _real_ home, despite what Sasuke had said - internet, mobile phones, televisions, DVD-players, microwaves, washing-machines, dish-washers, stereos, vacuum cleaners, and everything else – did all those amazing inventions not exist here? But surely it was a lifestyle choice. Maybe Sasuke just hated anything modern. Even the beautiful dresses in her room heralded back to long forgotten days. Even the clothes _he_ wore – long, black, feather lined cloaks – looked completely out of sync with the fashion she was accustomed to donning.

Sakura was starting to wonder how long she had been walking for, and how much further she would have to go until the corridor finally led her somewhere, when she spotted a change in structure ahead. The hallway ended, branching out to another area. Heavy velvet dark-purple curtains were draped at the entrance to the new space, tied back with golden rope to allow unhindered passage into the large, square shaped room that served as a connecting point leading to two different paths. Another statue depicting a glorious, majestic seraph carved from pure, white marble stood in the middle, wielding instruments of war.

To Sakura's left was an arched, wooden door. At the end directly opposite to her was a round-topped, silver door, covered with gold filigree etchings. It beckoned to her. As she approached it and pushed it open, she released a little gasp. She had stepped into what seemed to be an enclosed verandah structure. Stained-glass, once again displaying angelic figures, lined either side of the long corridor. Mounted to the strips of stone walls peeking between the fitted windows were two-headed, golden candelabras. Their flickering flames threw a dazzling array of colours everywhere.

"Wow," Sakura couldn't help but breathe appreciatively, as her feet moved along the shimmering, black-marbled floor. It was as though she had stepped inside a magical, shimmering rainbow. And was it her imagination, or did the air feel somewhat cooler here?

* * *

Sasuke came to a stop outside of her room. He reached out to push the doors open, but hesitated despite himself. It was perhaps polite custom to knock beforehand, though he usually gave manners little consideration. And so he tapped lightly, just once, on the doors, and listened intently for a response. All was silent within. Had she fallen asleep? The doors parted at his command, and he stepped into the room - only to discover it to be empty. The bed sheets were perfectly smooth and undisturbed, indicating to him that Sakura had not slept as she had informed her attendants she would. He knew without even bothering to check that she wasn't in the bathroom either.

She had done precisely what he had anticipated of her; gotten rid of who she likely considered to be minders and gone off to explore the palace alone.

"Hn." The sound that left Sasuke's throat was one of disdain. Did she really think she could elude him in his own house? He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, seeking to connect with the magic fused within the bracelets he had shackled to her ankles. A response flashed instantly in his mind. She had exited her chamber and headed down the left corridor.

He turned swiftly on his heel and stepped back out into the hallway to follow her.

* * *

The silver door at the end of the hallway looked to be wrought of solid gold leaves. Sakura reached out hesitantly, running her fingers over them. The leaves made her think of Konoha, her beloved village, and a great yearning to return there filled her. How misplaced she felt in her new environment! The palace was incontestably enchanting, but beyond its protective gates lurked horror and death. How could Sasuke possibly expect her to accept staying in such a place, and with someone she didn't even know; someone whose very stare caused her heart to gallop so agitatedly within her?

Swallowing, she grasped the leaf-shaped golden handle and pushed the door open. She found herself standing at the top of a wide set of eight, white-marbled steps, enclosed within banisters that sloped down to a sight that made her lips part in open amazement.

Lights. Tiny, floating spheres of gold and silver flittered around in the gardens before her, shedding magical dust. Tall and gracefully slender trees lined the walls of the area. They were unearthly, a pure, luminous, milky-white, glowing with strange, eerie life. Their barks glistened with diamond-like intensity. Sakura's lungs forgot to breathe. The trees were the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She couldn't look away from them and her feet were traversing the short set of steps before she consciously knew it, the coolness of the marble banister beneath her left hand the only thing reminding her that she wasn't dreaming.

* * *

Sasuke stepped quietly out of the door, watched as the girl walked, as if in a trance, toward the silvery, eternal trees. They were a marvel in his world, an unrivalled miracle of nature; their likeness could not be found anywhere else.

They seemed to please Sakura. His eyes followed her as she reached out to touch one of them. It pulsated in response, and shone more brightly, something that caused Sasuke's eyebrows to draw together in mild confusion. The trees did not even answer to his touch like that. The action seemed to unnerve Sakura also, for she snatched her hand back and retreated, turning to regard the pure-white flowers that grew from rectangular shaped beds in the night-coloured grass, her eyes wide with fascination.

An idea suddenly entered his mind, a way to replace the fear in Sakura's mind with something even more powerful and overwhelming - something that would cause her to lower her defences to him, even if only for a few, brief, transitory moments.

Captivation. Beguilement. Allure. He would entice and enthral her senses, cast a spell over her, the same way she had weaved her wicked magic upon his better judgement. His pulse quickened at the thought of closing in, of touching Sakura once again.

"Charm her," he murmured into the air.

The air sighed quietly in response to his command.

* * *

Sakura rose from where she had been examining the pretty flowers. They seemed to belong to the narcissus family, but she couldn't be certain, because they were unlike anything she had ever seen before. As she looked appreciatively around, she glimpsed a silver path that wound deeper into the gardens. It formed a wide circle around the marble fountain in the middle of the sprawling first section. As she walked by it, she found herself looking up at a frighteningly beautiful mermaid-like creature that was spilling water from an ornamental jug. She passed the fountain, and saw impeccably trimmed hedges, sprouting more milky-white blooms ahead of her. As her eyes turned up to the sky, she found it to be perfectly clear and scattered with clusters of stars that twinkled playfully against a dark, midnight-blue canvas. Sakura blinked in confusion. It looked deceptively like the sky she loved gazing upon at night. But how come there were stars here, and none in the sky at the palace's front entrance?

It was yet another mystery which she supposed only Sasuke could resolve. Her heart quickened a little at the thought of confronting him again, but she pushed it quickly to the back of her mind. She didn't want to worry about him at that moment.

The lights floating before her eyes radiated warmth as they brushed by her cheeks. Sakura thought she heard them whispering to her, but couldn't quite catch what they were saying. She followed the path through an arch-shaped opening in the hedges and into the next section which made her gasp once again. The floating lights in this area were purple. She stepped beneath a long, wooden, pergola walkway, covered with what she was certain were relatives of the honeysuckle blossom. Curtains of white flowers draped down on either side of the openings, and Sakura was lost in the sweetness of floral scents.

How could such a wonderful place exist after every awful thing she had seen outside of the gates? Sakura's eyes were dazzled by the lights and the sheer magnificence of the gardens. The vine-draped pergola ended, leading her onto a small, gently arching bridge. It was black and wrought with the same golden leaves she had seen on the door earlier. She stood, staring down at the water rippling beneath the bridge, which streamed out to the left and right sides of the garden. The fairy-like lights illuminated her reflection, turning her hair lavender. Sakura was just ready to continue along the bridge, when music suddenly drifted to her ears. She froze, listening intently, trying to discern where it was coming from.

It certainly wasn't from behind her, which meant that it was coming from somewhere deeper in the garden. Just how far did it stretch on for? It seemed to be more reminiscent of a park in its jaw-dropping expanse. Sakura hoped it would never end, and resolved that if she couldn't find a way out of the Underworld as soon as she liked, then she'd spend her days outside, pointedly avoiding Sasuke, and exploring the gardens.

As she wandered off the bridge, she strained to hear more clearly. Strings and wind instruments and something else unidentifiable, coupled with the sweet, echoing humming of a chorus of females singing carried across to her. Sakura stepped into an open, grassy area, surrounded by large circles of moonlight coloured blossoms. She stopped as she drew closer, drawing a sharp intake of breath. In the middle of the innermost circle were four tall young women. They were identically clothed in thin, shimmering white gossamer gowns, slit at the legs and low-cut at the neckline. Their alabaster skins seemed to possess a magical glow. The hair atop each head was luxuriously long, falling to curvaceous hips in gently waving ripples. One was blonde, another flame-haired, the third, to Sakura's astonishment, blue-haired, and the fourth silver. Their eyes were all an unearthly shade of amethyst. They wore crowns of flowers and held wreathes in their hands. Sakura watched, entranced, as they danced in tune to the sensuous melody they were humming. Their movements were lithe and seductive, and they put to shame the mediocre dancers she had so foolishly admired at the Spring Festival.

The silver-haired girl suddenly looked up and glimpsed Sakura, who tensed. She'd been caught staring red-handed. Before she could do the sensible thing and retreat, the smiling group of young ladies began to prance lightly toward her. Their song filled Sakura's ears as they drew closer. She had never heard such sweet voices before and was powerless to move as they surrounded her, trailing welcoming hands over her arms. Overcome by how captivatingly beautiful each girl was, and how very bright their gazes were, Sakura scarcely noticed when they reached out to untie the sash of her robe, allowing it to slip from her form.

She didn't understand what they were singing to her. They circled her over and over again, humming, dancing, and placing flowers in her hair, around her neck. The red-head and silver-haired ones grasped her hands with cool, insistent fingers, tugging her gently forward.

" _Dance with us,"_ Sakura heard the whisper in her ears. Overcome with confusion, she looked to the young ladies, who were still happily smiling. Their eyes were fixed keenly onto her. She fought the urge to shudder beneath the strange gazes. They weren't being unfriendly. There was no reason for her to fear them – was there?

Her heart was racing regardless.

" _Dance with us,"_ the voices repeated again. Somehow, the fey-like women were talking to her through their minds. Their alluring whispers implored her to join them. The blue-haired girl took both her hands and began to perform a swaying, unfamiliar dance.

"I can't-" Sakura began to protest weakly, but the blue-haired young woman twirled her out, and then her legs seemed to move of their own accord. It was as though a spell had been cast over her body, and it was now beyond her mind's direct control. Or as if her legs were remembering steps she had once known, from long-ago times she could no longer recall. The young women joined hands and danced joyously around her, singing in perfect, contented harmony.

What was happening? Sakura felt breathless and disorientated. Her hair had come undone from its braid somewhere along the way. Their otherworldly, enchanting song permeated through her ears and fed straight into her soul. It was doing something to her, something that caused her heart to pound. What was this feeling?

* * *

Sasuke watched, wide-eyed, as Sakura followed the movement of the wood nymphs. The garlands set upon her head and around her neck transformed her into one of them, but she was the loveliest of all. The lights that danced around her illuminated her body with an ethereal glow. He clenched his jaw and sardonically acknowledged that his intention to entice her had at least partly backfired. For Sasuke himself had been spellbound. The silver nightdress clung so seductively to her form, accentuating the soft femininity of her curves.

Sasuke wanted to run his hands over them. He wanted to order the nymphs away, tear the flimsy satin from Sakura's body and claim her innocence right then and there, on the grass, surrounded by a circle of narcissus blooms. It would be a fitting location for a girl named after spring to be _deflowered_. But he once again suppressed the burning flames of his desire. _No._ Not _yet._

The hymn the wood spirits had selected was mesmerising, and he could see the effect it was having on Sakura's mortal soul. She was mesmerised, yet it wasn't enough. He wanted to displace her mind even further. He sent out a silent command to the silver-haired nymph, who instantly broke away from the circle and bowed low in acquiescence of his will, before reaching out to take Sakura's hand, luring her away from the others.

Sasuke waited until they passed through the vined curtain leading to the next section of the gardens before following.

* * *

The silver-haired girl, still humming, led Sakura by the hand through the white-blossomed vine and into a garden that was even more magical than all the others. Spheres of light were floating everywhere, pale pink, gold, blue, purple and silver; Sakura's eyes darted between them in dazzled bewilderment. The silver path split, branching left, right and ahead. She heard the tranquil fall of water from somewhere around her, but her attention was much too fixed on the singing young woman to seek out where it was coming from. The silver-haired girl guided her left, kept casting reassuring smiles back at her. Sakura's muddled mind told her she ought to try and stop, for she had no idea where she was being taken, but her body didn't seem inclined to obey.

At length, the girl drew to a stop before a cave-like opening in a rock face. Sakura glimpsed luminous light from within, and hesitated, looking to the beautiful stranger standing beside her.

" _Enter, maiden,"_ the girl spoke to Sakura without moving her lips. Then, after reaching out to touch Sakura's cheek, she stepped back and skipped blithely away. Sakura opened her mouth to call after her, but the girl with the silver-hair had swiftly vanished.

Sakura slowly released a breath, trying to regain a sense of composure. She returned her attention to the opening in the wall and after another moment's hesitation stepped through it. She found herself on a rocky path that seemed to spiral down in a wide, naturally constructed helix. The walls of the cave were formed from glinting, green-grey rock, illuminated with strange, pale green light. Rippling reflections danced on the rock-faces around her and the faint sound of cascading water grew louder as she slowly descended the winding route. Sakura kept her right hand placed firmly against the uneven rocky barrier that enclosed the path against the wall to her left.

Faintly, and so quietly that Sakura was at first quite certain she was imagining it, music began to float up to her ears. It resonated more clearly as she continued down the path, and soon grew loud enough to discern in tune. And what Sakura heard caused her to freeze in her tracks as recognition slammed into her with enough force to render her breathless.

That beautiful, melancholic melody… it was unmistakable. She knew it. She knew it from long forgotten days, from hazy, sunshine memories she could never quite distinguish, of her mother stroking her hair and humming softly to her, a song so deeply moving that, despite not having heard it in countless years, Sakura's heart had never quite forgotten.

The voices singing it now were even sweeter than the ones belonging to the dancing girls, so achingly sweet that her body began to tremble. She stood, anchored to the spot, her heart pounding within her as the enchanting melody wrapped her in a devastating cloak of otherworldliness and nostalgia. Forcing her legs to move, she inched toward the low wall and peered uncertainly over it. What she saw stunned her mind more than anything else she had glimpsed since entering the magical gardens.

The path spiralled down to a deep, crystal clear, glistening spring. The base of the rock-face at the bottom was brilliant, shimmering emerald, and it seemed to pulse with luminous veins of light. As if it was somehow alive. Large boulder-tops sprouted from the depths of the waters, and upon them sat slender yet voluptuous young women, with long, fair hair - gold and silver and white. They were naked, carefully arranged locks the only things preserving their modesty. In their hands were golden harps, which long fingers plucked with masterful expertise. Some of the women were swimming in the spring, others sitting beneath the cascading waterfalls. And all of them were singing and humming, their voices joining harmoniously to weave a spellbinding refrain.

The song called to Sakura's soul. Tears blurred her vision. Her feet carried her along the path, and she soon found herself at the bottom, standing by the overhanging rock that overlooked the sparkling waters.

"Mother…?" she whispered, lost in the memories her mind could still not grasp.

Their echoing voices ensnared Sakura, pulling her forward. Sorrowful, turquoise gazes noticed her standing by the edge of the spring, and some of the mysterious young women exchanged surprised glances, suddenly roused and excited. They spoke without words, moving their lips soundlessly to one another and gesturing to Sakura, as though she were a long awaited visitor. The others continued to hum and sing as one of the golden-haired girls dove off a boulder and swam over to Sakura. Her body moved with such effortless grace that she seemed to be one with the water. Other female heads were surfacing from the depths, regarding Sakura with impossibly wide, curious eyes.

Sakura released a quivering breath. How was it possible that they were singing the same melody her mother had to her as a child? It made no sense. She opened her mouth to ask them, to speak, but her throat choked off with feeling as the voices grew higher and even sweeter.

' _You have come,'_ she heard a voice whisper in her mind. She blinked confusedly through her tears, realised that the young woman staring up at her was the one speaking. _'We have been searching. Waiting.'_

Sakura felt fresh tears trail down her cheeks as she fought back the sobs that were weighing heavily upon her chest.

' _Weep not, spring child,'_ the golden-haired girl communicated through her eyes.

But Sakura couldn't help it. She began to weep uncontrollably. The melody was so heart-wrenchingly beautiful, so unbearably sad, reminding her of her mother from whom Sasuke had stolen her, so very heartlessly, away – a fitting lament for something that could not be attained. She was lost, a stranger in a world that went against everything she had ever been taught to believe in; a disconcerting, magical world of undeniable splendour and frightening terror.

_I'm so afraid,_ she thought out, wondering if the girl could hear her too. The saddened look in her turquoise eyes seemed to suggest that she had, or perhaps it was just Sakura's wishful thinking.

' _We can return you,'_ a white-haired young woman swam up to her, looking eager.

The golden-haired one glanced at her companion and nodded, her beseeching eyes returning to Sakura as she added, _' Come with us, maiden.'_

Sakura's breath hitched as she stared down at them in stricken disbelief. How? How could they possibly return her? How could they do it here, in a spring, and without Sasuke's knowledge? What they were saying made no sense. And yet she wanted, more than anything, to believe them. Their pleading gazes pulled her to her knees at the overhanging rock's edge.

' _Come with us, quickly,'_ the golden-haired girl lifted a pale, slender arm. Her gaze was desperate, insistent. Something about it drew Sakura in, and coupled with the hypnotic humming surrounding her, succeeded in gaining her trust.

' _Yes, let us take you,'_ the white-haired one sighed in her mind, raising a hand in turn.

' _To the surface we will bear you,'_ the golden-haired young woman tilted her head, _'to your mother.'_

Sakura's lips parted. They knew her mother. She didn't stop to question how. Without another thought, she reached out and placed her hands into theirs. Their fingers were cold as they drew her forward, lowering her with great care and gentleness into the spring. The water was surprisingly warm, and any misgivings she might have had disappeared when the young women tilted her back to float upon the liquid's surface. Others joined them, surrounding Sakura with reassuring gazes. The golden-haired girl kept a supporting hand against the back of Sakura's head as she began humming once again to the same tune.

' _Close your eyes, maiden,'_ her strange eyes silently communicated. _'When you awaken, you will be returned.'_

Their beautiful song lulled her into security, filled her with the memory of her mother's warmth and love, and Sakura fell into enchanted sleep.

Such was how Sasuke came upon her – on the verge of being drowned, surrounded by a circle of floating, sweetly singing sirens, whose eyes were glowing far too brightly for his liking. They immediately noticed him and broke off their song, released high-pitched, alarmed wails. The deceptively beautiful creatures on the boulders dove back into the waters in terror. Those surrounding Sakura parted and shrunk away, driven back by the frightening intensity of the death deity's icy glare. The golden-haired siren who had been cradling Sakura's head hissed, baring pearly teeth at him, before seeking hasty refuge beneath the water's surface. Sasuke reached over the edge of the rock and grabbed onto Sakura before she could sink down in turn, hauling her drenched form out of the spring and into the cradle of his arms.

His heart thumped as he stared down into her face. He lifted a hand to push back the dripping, limp strands of hair that had plastered against her forehead. She was so fragile, so vulnerable - like a delicate glass doll that could shatter all too easily in his hold.

"Sakura," he murmured. She remained motionless in his arms, lost within the depths of siren-induced slumber. He inwardly cursed. He had commanded the foolish nymphs to charm Sakura, not lead her to sirens who would have had her killed. He ought to have known better than to call upon their mischievous wiles. But he had expected Sakura to be immune to the music of the sirens. After all, it was only mortal men who were in danger of falling prey to their melodies. What had their song spoken to her heart that had caused her body to react in such a way? What had they whispered in her mind to bewitch her so? Sasuke frowned down at Sakura's sleeping face, searching for the answers to the questions that troubled him. Then he became aware of the coldness of her skin. She required warmth.

Shooting a furious glare back at the submerged sirens, a scowl that silently promised that his business with them was, by no means, complete, Sasuke lifted Sakura's limp body and transported them both with blinding speed back inside the palace grounds.

Her attendants were already waiting in the chamber when he flickered into existence before them. Chizu took one alarmed look at Sakura and grabbed a thick towel from the bathroom, hurrying back to spread it on the bed. Sasuke lowered Sakura carefully onto it and stepped back to regard her for a long, silent moment. Then, with one wordless glance at his servants that instructed them to care for her, the ruler of the Underworld turned and exited the room.

* * *

Kakashi raced through the night at breath-taking speed, the earlier conversation he'd had with Naruto in the assembly room echoing through his mind. Sai had claimed that he hadn't heard or seen anything of consequence, but Naruto hadn't been fully convinced. And based on Naruto's account of the exchange, neither was Kakashi. Which meant that he'd have to pay Sai another visit right after his current mission was complete.

The path he was treading through the misty wood was one that he hadn't taken in longer than he could remember. _Well._ That wasn't entirely true, he internally reasoned. After all, he still recalled the exact day and the precise hour when he'd last traversed the dreaded route that led down to the eerie entrance of the Underworld. He expected to receive the same chilly welcome from the realm's faultlessly hospitable host – if not chillier.

Kakashi released a tired, mental sigh. How had it even come to this? He desperately hoped that he would discover nothing of significance in the land of the dead, for his sake – and for its ruler.

He pushed resolutely onward, his swift movements soundless and indiscernible to mortal eyes.


	10. Chapter IX

**Chapter IX  
**

* * *

_And with her departure,_

_The flowers do grieve,_

_For who could have foretold,_

_That Spring would leave?_

_As a noiseless phantom,_

_That cannot see,_

_Where nightmares are wrought,_

_Her dreams will be,_

_Lo! The hearty bloom doth wilt,_

_As its mistress,_

_Alone, bereft.  
_

* * *

Sasuke came to a stop by the water's edge, his eyes glinting like hard coal. The surface was perfectly serene, completely at war with the cold fury coiling within him. He had sent out an order to all the inhabitants of his realm ahead of Sakura's arrival; that a mortal female would be residing in his palace and any who were foolish enough to even entertain the idea of bringing her to harm would have to answer to the wrath of the death god.

The reckless sirens had clearly not heeded his warning. And yet suspicion nagged at Sasuke beneath the outer layer of anger; it was not in a siren's nature to seek to ensnare a human woman. It was the men of the race they despised and wished to doom to untimely demises. Why, then, had they lured in Sakura?

There was only one way for him to obtain an answer.

"Surface," he commanded of the creatures lurking within the pool's deep depths. They dwelled in his world, were bound by sacred oath to his servitude. He watched as heads began to rise from beneath the liquid and instantly recognised the golden-haired siren who had dared to bare her teeth at him. His gaze locked onto her, and she stared boldly back.

' _Great God,'_ she communicated telepathically to him. Her companions huddled close; it was clear to him that she was the leader of the coven of underwater beings.

"Explain your actions," he demanded curtly, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. His eyes flashed an additional, silent threat that advised her not to test his patience by feigning any manner of ignorance.

The golden-haired siren looked unruffled by his glare. Indignantly, she answered his wordless accusation. _'We had no intention of harming her, Great God. We would never dare to cross your authority.'_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. As he had suspected, there had been more to their actions than what had been apparent. "Well?" he pressed.

She exchanged glances with the other sirens, who all wore nervous expressions upon their ethereal faces. From the corner of his vision Sasuke glimpsed one of them shaking her head frantically, as if trying to dissuade her friend from doing – or saying – something unwise.

But the golden-haired siren continued unashamedly, _'I will not conceal our intentions from you, Great God; we sought to return the girl to the surface.'_

The other sirens cringed and luminous turquoise eyes flew to anxiously regard the death deity, standing so stoically over them. Sasuke's face remained impassive as he processed her disclosure. Sirens, much like nymphs, were mischievous creatures. But what motive would they have to act in such a way? Why would they desire to rescue Sakura?

His voice deceptively calm, Sasuke questioned, "Why?"

The siren bowed her head, her eyes lowering in a display of apology that did not quite seem genuine to him. _'I have been sworn to silence, Great God.'_

Her companions gasped as they sensed an abrupt fall in air pressure around them, recognised the ominous, chilling aura of Sasuke's terrifying anger.

"You will answer me," he hissed. Crackles of blue-white electricity began to spark menacingly around him.

' _W-we have been bound to silence by another deity,'_ a white-haired siren attempted to reason quivering fearfully beneath the devastating weight of Sasuke's disapproving stare. _'We cannot disavow our oath, Master-'_

"You reside in my realm's waters," Sasuke snapped. Their allegiances were, first and foremost, to him. Had the foolish creatures forgotten that fact? His sharp mind raced at the knowledge that another entity had instructed sirens to search for Sakura. Who had it been? Sakura's mother? But no – her word could not hold precedence over his law. His thoughts suddenly stilled as the only other possibility presented itself to him. There was one other whose command could overrule his own – the deity who governed the element from which sirens were formed; the master of the sea and the oceans.

They averted their eyes, signalling that they could not cooperate. Sasuke's suspicions flared once more. Was it conceivable that the individual he had in mind was the driving force behind the sirens' attempts to steal Sakura back to the land of the living? And if so, what business did he have to interfere? Sasuke knew that the Sea God was as impish in nature as the creatures floating in the water before him, but choosing to deliberately irk the Underworld's ruler was most certainly _not_ a wise course of action.

He knew it was likely the aquatic women had already relayed the information that Sakura was in the Underworld to their king; which meant that Sasuke could not afford to waste any time in verifying whether or not the Sea God was indeed responsible for their rescue attempts. And if his hunch was correct, then he expected to receive an angry visitor very soon - a visitor who would demand that he account for the actions he was about to perform.

"So you will not speak," he stated flatly, quietly.

The golden-haired siren stared him brazenly back in the eye. Her silence spoke volumes, provided him with an unmistakable answer. Sasuke's wrath-veiled gaze lowered to rest on the water's sparkling green-blue surface.

' _Forgive us, Great God,'_ another siren who had the sense to sound and appear sincerely remorseful entreated.

A tense silence ensued as they apprehensively awaited the death deity's response. It came swiftly and without warning, in the form of crackling, furious tendrils of blue-white energy. The screeching sound of electricity resonated deafeningly in the cave and merged in grisly harmony with the high-pitched, anguished wails of horrified sirens.

Sasuke watched with frighteningly ruthless detachment as the crystal clear waters before him stained crimson, a vivid, deathly colour that reflected the fury simmering in his piercing eyes.

* * *

The exquisitely detailed underside of the golden-threaded canopy stared down at Sakura as her eyelids fluttered open. She blinked up at it in confusion for a minute. Then her heart sank into her stomach as her sluggish mind supplied a reminder of where she was, dashing any lingering hopes she might have had of being trapped in an unpleasant nightmare. She was in the bedchamber assigned to her by Sasuke and still a prisoner in his palace.

Her body felt pleasantly warm and she looked down to find that she was covered by a soft thick bronze throw-over. The subtle scent of lavender wafted to her nose. It caused her stomach to growl and Sakura was overcome by how extremely hungry she was, but even worse than that was the unbearable thirst in her throat. How her lips yearned for the cool kiss of water! Slowly Sakura sat up, pushing the covers aside, only to gaze down at herself in confusion. She was wearing a lacy white nightgown. Her eyebrows furrowed. Hadn't she been wearing a silver one when she'd stepped out of the bathing room…?

Her breath suddenly caught as she recalled the events that had preceded her falling to sleep. She'd been exploring the palace's beautiful gardens and had been led to a cave by a strange silver-headed girl with flowers in her hair. She'd entered the green-walled cavern and heard enchanting women singing to a tune she had recognised as the one her mother had always hummed to her as a child. They had told her they could return her to the surface; she'd allowed them to pull her into the sparkling waters, and then…

Sakura couldn't remember what had happened next. She must have fallen asleep. But that didn't explain how she was back in her room. Who had brought her here, and more importantly, who in the world had changed her clothing? Even her hair was perfectly dry, tumbling like a silky, wavy river around her. She felt disturbed and violated. Flinging the remainder of the covers back, Sakura stood up, her heart pounding. She had to get back to the cave; she needed to be absolutely certain that she hadn't somehow imagined the entire experience. Padding over to the wardrobe drawers, she pulled out a deep purple satin robe, wrapping it hastily around her flimsily-clad form. The double-doors opened as Sakura approached them and she froze when she found herself staring at the equally as surprised faces of Chizu and Ume.

"Mistress!" Ume exclaimed. "You have awoken!"

"Are you well?" Chizu asked concernedly. She was holding a small silver tray laden with a golden bowl of steaming soup. Next to it was a plate with buttered slices of bread. Ume held a jug full of chilled looking water. It caused Sakura's mouth to salivate hungrily, but she ignored the smell of delicious food and focused her full attention on the two.

"Who changed my clothes?" she demanded. Her heart thrummed as she hoped they wouldn't provide her with the answer she so desperately did _not_ want to hear.

"Forgive us, Lady. The Master carried you here, and you were sodden with water. We feared you would catch illness-" Chizu began.

Sakura's lips parted. _Sasuke?_ Sasuke had pulled her out of the spring? So she definitely hadn't dreamed the encounter with the unearthly beautiful, wide-eyed, musical young women. The fact made her feel even more uneasy. How had they known her mother's song? She remembered the floating lights in the gardens and shook her head slowly. How could such magic truly exist? Her rational mind was still struggling to accept it. Was it perhaps all an illusion? No, she silently countered, everything she was suffering was too frighteningly vivid to be anything but reality.

"-we exchanged your clothing," Chizu finished. Relief washed over Sakura. For an awful moment, she had been afraid that Sasuke had been the one to undress her. She certainly felt like his eyes did so whenever he looked at her.

"Your ladyship must be hungry…" Ume began timidly. "We have brought some simple-"

But Sakura didn't give her a chance to finish. She walked distractedly around them, hurrying to the doors.

"Mistress!" Chizu called after her in dismay. "Please-"

"I won't stay here!" Sakura exclaimed. She had to return to the cave, to find out how the women knew her mother. She needed answers, and since Sasuke obviously didn't seem inclined to give her the explanations she desired, she had to rely on her own wits to find out whatever she could from whichever sources were available.

Her stomach gnawed at itself in protest. The pangs were starting to become difficult to ignore, and Sakura knew that she needed water, and soon. She _had_ to find a way out before she succumbed to her body's hunger. She wouldn't eat a thing in this place. It was probably poisoned, or would affect her adversely, even if her attendants and captor insisted otherwise. She couldn't trust anybody in her new environment – nobody but herself.

Disregarding Chizu's calls, she rushed out of her room and ran in the direction that led toward the sprawling gardens. Her senses were dazzled once more as she stepped into them again. The milky trees were no less impressive and the lights no less captivating. But Sakura didn't stop to admire everything as she had before. She dashed straight to the cave, was breathless by the time she reached it. The moment she set foot into it, she knew something was wrong. The lights illuminating the walls had vanished, and she couldn't hear the soothing sound of cascading water. Everything was deadly silent. She spiralled down the winding path, nearly tripping in her eagerness to reach its base. What she saw when she made it to the bottom and stepped up to the overhanging rock's edge made her heart plummet within her.

The pure, beautiful waters had frozen over. They were encased beneath a thick block of impermeable ice. The waterfall had also crystallised, forming spectacular, jagged formations against the walls. Sakura's eyes darted over the hardened surface in bewilderment. What in the world had _happened?_ Where had the young women gone?

Something glinted in the farther-most, left corner of her vision - something gold. A harp, Sakura realised, was lying broken on the surface of the ice, its strings clipped. The sight sent a tremor of dread rattling along her spine.

_No_ , she thought, her hands rising to her head in senseless dismay as panic began to creep into her again. Her only potential lead to information had vanished. What was she to do now? The answer that presented itself to her set Sakura's heart thudding unpleasantly. There was really only one individual who could answer all of her questions, and he was the precise person she had been trying to make a point of avoiding.

But she wasn't a fool. She knew it was inevitable. She had to talk to Sasuke again - and _properly_ this time - without panicking and freaking out or breaking down in tears. It was surely the only way for her to shed further light on her unfortunate situation. With one final, lamenting look at the frozen spring, Sakura made her way up the curling path again and through the gardens. As she entered the first section and approached the short set of stairs leading back into the palace, she caught her breath and came to an abrupt stop. Standing proudly at the top of the steps was none other than Sasuke himself. Sakura's body tensed the instant his eyes fell upon her. She had intended to gather her thoughts before confronting him first; she hadn't expected to encounter him right away.

For a long moment they regarded each other in silence. Sakura was disturbed by how hard and fast her heart was racing. Just looking at him set it thundering uncontrollably within her – from fear, she told herself, and fear alone. But she wouldn't allow her fear of him to hinder her attempts at getting answers this time. She opened her mouth to address him, but Sasuke spoke first.

"Do not heed a siren's song."

Sakura felt her jaw slacken. _Sirens?_ She had read about them in mythological books and ancient fables. Was he actually suggesting that they were real? She could have laughed at the irony of it all – how a girl like her, who had always dreamed of encountering the magical creatures she loved to read tales about, was living out a secret fantasy. Except her fantasies had turned out to be horrifying nightmares, and Sasuke, who she was certain was the very personification of darkness, embodied every single thing she feared.

Her kidnapper began to stalk down the stairs, his graceful movements languid and purposeful. "They wished to drown you," he added, staring at her with an intensity that almost suggested he _couldn't_ look away. And, terrifyingly, neither could Sakura, as the floating orbs of light drifted over his face, emphasising his regally refined and exquisitely sculpted features. He was extremely unnerving, yes, but also dreadfully handsome. _Terrific genes_ , Ino would have claimed. The fleeting thought of her best friend snapped Sakura out of her mindless gaping and set her firmly back on task.

The singing women had intended to drown her? But they had mentioned her mother. Had that just been a ruse to lure her into the waters? Or was she simply being misled?

"What happened to them?" she questioned nervously, forcing herself to stand her ground as Sasuke completed the final step and began to walk toward her. Part of her feared the reply she would receive, but she felt the need to know.

Her pulse sped faster when his eyes trailed appraisingly over her. She felt vulnerable and self-conscious beneath the weight of his scrutinising gaze. After another heavy pause, he answered nonchalantly, "Forget them."

Sakura felt frustration beginning to crest within her again. Why didn't he answer any of her questions? Why did he seem to believe he had some kind of right to dictate what she could and couldn't discover? She wanted to know what had happened to the young women. Sasuke, however, was clearly keen to let the subject drop. _Why?_ A sudden thought occurred to her; had he done something to them? Uncertainty whispered through her as she looked up at his face, trying to find clues as to what he was thinking. But it was impossible; his expression was utterly indecipherable.

_You're being ridiculous, Sakura_ , she scolded herself. How could Sasuke freeze water over? But she thought of all the other magical and supernatural things she had seen since first waking up in the Underworld, all the things the laws of science claimed did not exist. Was it so outrageous to believe that Sasuke had certain – _capabilities_ \- too?

She swallowed, fighting the overwhelming urge to retreat and place distance between them as he drew to within a mere arm's length before her. Every muscle in her body stiffened as he began to circle her, like a majestic hawk swooping down on its quivering prey. Licking her suddenly dry lips, Sakura focused on the questions circulating in her head. She needed to remain in control.

"You were at the fair," she began, inwardly cursing the way her voice wobbled precariously as she spoke. But she couldn't help it. Her body was devastatingly aware of his presence as he moved behind her. It was as though static charge had filled the space between them.

"Yes," he affirmed coolly, his liquid voice like silk-wrapped steel. She suppressed a shudder at how very close he was, how he seemed to have absolutely no regard for personal boundaries. As if he had every right in the world to stand at such proximity to her. _Don't think about him_ , she told herself, fixing her gaze on the moonlight coloured blooms directly before her. _Just concentrate on getting answers._

"You were waiting," it came little above a whisper as Sakura pieced together everything she already knew to be certain, in an attempt to build a fuller picture of what, exactly, Sasuke's motives were.

His silence confirmed her thoughts. She had known it, but it made the truth no easier to stomach. He had operated the carousel ride with the purpose of drawing her to it. He had known she would come and likely intended on snatching her back then, but Ino and Sai had arrived just in time to intervene-

Sakura's breath stilled. _Sai._ His drawing had shown a flower field. And that night, when he and Ino had found her, he had looked concerned, and somewhat distracted. Her mind raced. Had he known something was going to happen? And if he did, was there a chance that he had informed her mother? Hope filled her, but she quelled it. There was no way she could be certain that Sai knew anything at all.

"And- the field – how did you do that?" she got out with much difficulty. How had he split open the ground? How had he even known where to find her? How was it humanly possible for him to do either of those things?

A sudden possibility struck her, one so absurd that she almost released a hysterical laugh. She couldn't even believe she was entertaining the thought that the young man circling her was somehow not completely human. She had watched far too many supernatural thriller movies with Naruto over the last few months. She absolutely hated them, but Naruto always turned his huge, puppy-dog eyes to her and Sakura always found herself reluctantly indulging him.

But what other explanation was there? How could Sasuke have possibly caused a natural disaster? Unless it was all a crazy coincidence – which it couldn't be – because Sakura was indeed underground. She had seen it with her own eyes. And she most certainly _had_ fallen into a crevice. She still remembered the way her heart had leapt when the earth had slipped away like quicksand beneath her feet.

Sasuke stopped behind her. He could see the fine trembling of her shoulders, could sense her perplexity. She had managed to unravel enough to know that _something_ was not quite right about him – but her mind had not yet been able to settle on precisely _what_. He toyed with the idea of telling her, of putting her out of her agitated misery. On the other hand, her confusion was somewhat entertaining, and he wanted to see how long it would take her to arrive at her own conclusions.

"How can you live here?" she disregarded the mystery of how he had caused an earthquake and jumped to the next one.

There was a brief pause. Then, Sasuke replied, "It is my domain."

His domain? He made it sound like he was a king of sorts. But what kind of king resided underground? And in the company of dead people, no less?

Unless- Sakura's mind froze. Unless he was dead, also?

_No,_ she thought. That was ludicrous, and made no sense whatsoever; if Sasuke _was_ dead, he would be more like the spirit people she had seen on the river bank in appearance. Besides, the finger he had trailed down her cheek had been solid. Despite being certain of the fact that her kidnapper was very much alive, Sakura couldn't help but question, "Are- are you-" it was a struggle for her to get the final word out, "-dead?"

For a few horrible seconds, he was quiet. Sakura's heart had never galloped so fast. She didn't dare to breathe, her sense of horror mounting at his silence, when he finally supplied, "I rule the dead. I am not of them."

She slowly exhaled, her mind working to process the trickles of information he was providing her. He ruled the dead? What did he mean? How could he rule over spirits? Overcome by confusion, she rigidly turned to face him. He was regarding her with eyes that were rendered unearthly bright beneath the glow of the floating lights.

"What does that mean…?" Sakura asked in a hushed voice, her eyes wide as they trailed over his unreadable features. His regal beauty was mesmerising – yet so cold and distant. He was standing so close, and she knew she ought to move away, but somehow she couldn't. She was anticipating his every response, waiting to learn more.

Sasuke blinked. "You shall see," he answered shortly, cryptically. Sakura shook her head at him. That wasn't the kind of response she wanted. And she still had so many other queries. Her racing mind was suddenly overflowing, and all the questions she so desperately needed answers to were spilling in a jumbled rush from her tongue.

"What are all these lights? Those singing women – how did they know my mother's song? How did the spring freeze over? How come there are stars in the sky here if we're underground? And those boats - where do they lead?" In a despairing, broken whisper, she finished with the most burning query of all, "I don't _understand_ ; why have you brought me here? Why are you doing this to _me?_ "

Sasuke was silent. His attention had been snagged by her disclosure of the sirens singing a song which she claimed belonged to her mother. Deciding he would consider the implications of this when he was alone - for it was impossible for him to dwell on the matter with Sakura so close in front of him - he said, "I will answer you – if you eat."

Sakura inhaled sharply. He had completely and unremorsefully ruined her life, and he still had the nerve to enforce demands upon her? She stepped away. Casting an incredulous look at him, she exclaimed, "You _kidnapped_ me. You can't just expect me to- I'm not-" she fumbled for words beneath the weight of his stare, before bursting out, "I won't eat a thing until you give me an explanation!"

Something unbelievably hostile flashed across his dark eyes, and Sakura's temporary display of boldness rapidly shrivelled away. All at once Sasuke was advancing on her again, and an alarmed Sakura rapidly retreated, trying to maintain breathing space between them.

"To what end, _Sakura?_ " he hissed, placing great emphasis on her name. The way his tongue seemed to caress it sent a jolt of terror down her spine. "Depriving yourself of food and water will not kill you." He paused, before adding meaningfully, "You cannot die unless I permit it."

"Wha-?" Sakura floundered, unable to articulate anything more. The sweltering intensity of his eyes was rendering thinking straight a laborious task. She couldn't die unless he _permitted_ it? What did that even _mean?_

In a movement too fast for her to anticipate, Sasuke quickly stepped forward, closing the gap between them. She felt coolness against the back of her neck; his hand, she dizzily registered, far too late, had lifted to rest there. The skin on skin contact caused disturbing tingles to radiate through her. She tried to move back, to free herself from his hold, but it was as though her treacherous legs had frozen to the spot and she could no longer lift them. She remembered the golden bangles glued around her ankles, felt hysteria seeping through the mask of composure she'd fought so desperately to keep in place, as she wildly wondered whether the ornaments were responsible for her sudden inability to control her own two feet.

Sasuke's face lowered to within inches of her own, causing the oxygen to arrest entirely in her lungs. "If I wanted you dead, Sakura," he breathed, reading the frightened, unspoken thought in her eyes, "you would be."

Sakura's heart was thundering impossibly fast, shaking her body from the force of its beat. The terrifying thing was that she completely believed him. Sasuke looked like the sort of ruthless person who had absolutely no qualms about killing people. And that frightened her beyond anything. She was powerless to look away from his captivating gaze. It consumed her, swallowed her up, left her feeling asphyxiated. She could scarcely draw a breath, was aware of the air escaping her mouth in short, rapid bursts. And she was painfully conscious of his proximity, as he slid a hard, vice-like arm around her waist and jerked her forward against him, his eyes never leaving hers. Sakura's hands began to move instinctively with the intention of pushing him away, but what happened next was literally a blur. One moment she was standing with Sasuke in the garden – and the next, she had been transported, somehow, back inside the palace.

Sakura released a strangled little scream of alarm and backed hastily away from him, her legs under her command once more. She was in the banqueting hall again. But how in the world had Sasuke transported them like that? She hadn't felt a thing – just a quick rush of biting wind. Her head spun as she returned her gaze to him, her mind too overwhelmed to form a coherent sentence.

Suddenly the notion of Sasuke not being human didn't seem so ridiculous. And when he began to advance toward her, Sakura felt a primitive, overwhelming urge to run; the need for a prey to escape from its predator.

"How did you," she gasped hysterically, "how did you do that?"

He didn't answer, just continued to stalk forward. Something solid bumped against the back of Sakura's thighs, and she lost her balance, toppling backward into something comfortable. A chair, she realised; Sasuke had forced her back into one of the two dining chairs. She clambered back into it, raising her knees defensively to her chest, as if it was a barrier that could protect her from him. But Sasuke closed in, the look in his eyes positively menacing, as he leaned forward and placed his hands firmly on each arm-rest, effectively trapping her in her seat.

Lowering his face so that it was once again just inches away from hers, he uttered with complete authority, "You will not leave this room until you eat."

Sakura gulped. His eyes burned even brighter than the candles in their holders on the sprawling table behind her. She could do nothing but stare up at him in shock, and her heart lurched violently when Sasuke's gaze shifted to examine her lips. For an awful moment she was petrified that he was going to lean even closer toward her, frantically wondered how she could get away if he did, but his head suddenly snapped distractedly to his left, and he seemed to listen intently for a few seconds. Then, without another word, he straightened and stepped around her.

Sakura released a shaky breath and counted five seconds before peering around the massive chair's back, only to discover that he had already exited the food hall.

She hadn't even heard the door close behind him.

* * *

When Ino finally dragged herself out of bed and regarded her reflection in the mirror, she saw a pale-faced young woman with blood-shot eyes and dark circles. She hadn't slept at all the previous night; how could she, when her mind had been plagued with guilt and worry over her missing best friend's well-being? Her tortured thoughts had warded off any chances of slumberous respite. Was Sakura alright? Where was she at that moment? Ino desperately needed to know, but Sakura had been missing for over fifteen hours and nobody had heard a thing about her. The police had stopped by again to take further statements after Sakura's mother had left late the previous night, and had promised they were thoroughly investigating the matter. But they were seemingly making no progress at all, and that frustrated Ino to no end. She was ready to pull her beautiful hair out with grief.

How could they have found no other traces of Sakura whatsoever? It was baffling. Surely the detection dogs would have picked up on at least _something?_ How could she have just completely vanished into thin air?

Ino felt despairing tears sting at her eyes and angrily forced them back. She was supposed to be the strong one. If Sakura could see her now, see the quivering, anxious wreck that she had been reduced to, she wouldn't believe her eyes. Because the truth was, Ino relied on Sakura too. Her sensible best friend was the person who always kept her grounded. And not knowing where she was, and whether she was even alive and well, pained Ino more than anything.

After rinsing her mouth and scrubbing her face, Ino padded out of her en suite-bathroom and grabbed her purple cell phone from her desk. Her heart sank when she discovered the only new messages she had received were from a concerned Tenten and Hinata, asking whether she'd heard anything new. She hadn't. It was almost ten thirty, and a college day. But Ino had already decided she wouldn't be attending. How could she possibly concentrate on anything else? To think that just twenty-four hours earlier, Sakura had still been with them…

_Stop it_ , she scolded herself, swallowing miserably. _Stop thinking about her in the past tense. She's out there, and they're going to find her._

She _had_ to believe that Sakura was fine. Because believing the alternative was too agonising, proposed a reality that she couldn't handle. She began to change automatically, her mind so preoccupied that at first she didn't even hear her father's knock on her door.

"Ino?"

Ino's blinked out of her thoughts. "Huh? Dad?"

"Are you up?"

"Yeah." As _if_ she had slept. "Just getting dressed."

"Come down for breakfast when you're done. You've got a visitor."

Ino opened her mouth to ask who, but her father's sure footsteps were already treading back down the landing. She didn't think she could stomach any breakfast, but it was sweet of her stern yet caring father to prepare it for her. She quickly finished changing and secured her hair back in its signature, long ponytail, before exiting her bedroom. As she hurried down the stairs, she wondered who she'd find waiting for her. Her heart fluttered like a caged bird within her as she stepped into the kitchen to find none other than Shikamaru sitting at the table. A bowl of breakfast had been set in front of him, and Ino's pulse sped up when his eyes shifted to her.

"Ino," he greeted with a nod.

"Shikamaru, hi," she said, puzzled at his unexpected presence. She hadn't even heard him arrive, and she was quite certain she had been awake all night. "When did you get here?"

"About twenty minutes ago," Inoichi answered, placing another steaming bowl for his daughter opposite Shikamaru on the table. He gestured for her to sit down. She did so, and when Shikamaru picked up his chop-sticks, Ino felt her stomach rumble. Maybe she would be able to eat a little after all.

"Dad?" Ino noticed her father wasn't serving anything for himself. "Aren't you eating too?"

"I already did," he answered. "You two go ahead. I have a phone-call to make. Excuse me."

Shikamaru called his thanks after Inoichi, before turning his full attention to Ino. It was the first time he had stared at her so attentively, and Ino was certain her heart was ready to burst out of her. He was so handsome, carried such an _'I-really-don't-care-what-you-think'_ air about him. And she found that exciting.

She was quite content to simply watch him eat, as she questioned eagerly, "Any news?"

Shikamaru shook his head, taking a bite of his rice bowl. "Nothing."

Ino's happiness at seeing him promptly deflated. She buried her face in her hands and bemoaned, "How could she just _disappear?_ "

"It's definitely suspicious," Shikamaru agreed. "And those troublesome officers don't seem to know where to look."

Ino peeked at him through her fingers. "Then what are we going to do?"

Shikamaru gestured pointedly at her bowl with his chop-sticks. " _You're_ going to eat. You'll be of no use to Sakura sleep-deprived and hungry."

Ino flinched. Was it that obvious that she hadn't slept? She thought her foundation had covered it up quite well. But she knew the object of her affections wasn't specifically referring to her looks. It didn't take a genius – which Shikamaru was – to figure out that Sakura's best friend likely hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night after she'd gone missing.

She reluctantly picked up her chop-sticks and began poking at her bowl. What motives had Sakura's assailant had in attacking or abducting her? Apart from the obvious fact that Sakura was exotically beautiful. Their immediate fears of Sakura being raped had been laid to rest by the fact that no evidence had been found of a struggle or clothing and blood being shed. She hadn't been sexually assaulted in the forest at least; but who was to say that she hadn't been taken somewhere else and tied down, before someone disgusting had taken advantage of her?

Ino swallowed, any remnants of appetite vanishing at the dark thought. Tears began to blur at her eyes again and she desperately tried to suppress them. She couldn't cry in front of Shikamaru! But the fact that he was the one sitting before her only seemed to make matters worse, and she felt wholly pathetic as warm liquid streamed down her cheeks. She wiped hastily at the tears, trying to minimise the damage they were causing to her characteristically confident and composed exterior.

Shikamaru had set his chop-sticks down and was regarding her silently. "Ino," he began quietly.

"I'm sorry," Ino's voice quivered. "I'm just so worried. I'll be fine in a second."

He sighed, his eyes lowering as if seeing her in such a state made him uncomfortable. "I came to ask you about the Festival."

He didn't add that he had also stopped by to make sure that the young woman sitting across the kitchen table from him was alright.

"What about it?" she sniffled after a moment.

Shikamaru's eyes slid back to her face. "Tell me exactly where you found Sakura after we left the square."

Ino stared at him in confusion. Why was he asking about that? What relevance did the events of that night have to Sakura's situation? But she answered, "She was alone, next to some carousel ride."

"Was the ride operating?"

"No," Ino frowned.

"Then what was she doing there?"

"I don't-" Ino sucked in a breath, as it suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't even thought to ask Sakura what she'd been doing there. She'd been so caught up in her own little love cloud on the drive back to Sakura's house that she hadn't even noticed how preoccupied her best friend had seemed. It was funny, Ino thought, how she was remembering that now. "I didn't ask her," she finished in a near-whisper.

"You were with Sai when you found her," Shikamaru continued, like a police officer verifying the validity of witness statements.

"He helped me," Ino said, nodding. Now that she thought about it, it was almost like Sai had known exactly where to look. Wasn't that odd too? Or was she just being unreasonably paranoid?

"But Sai didn't return with you."

"Huh?" Ino blinked at him, feeling even more muddled and foolish. "No, he…" her voice trailed off as she recalled that they had left Sai behind. "He probably left after us on his own."

"But you're not sure," Shikamaru pounced, looking intently at her. She shook her head uncertainly at him.

"Shikamaru, what are you saying? That Sai has something to do with Sakura going missing?" she questioned incredulously. Sai was strange, but he didn't seem like the type who would purposefully harm anybody. Then again, Sakura had always acted uncomfortable around the pale-skinned young man.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. I don't think Sai's responsible," he answered slowly. Ino's shoulders relaxed; she was relieved to hear it. Shikamaru's gaze shifted away from her to stare into the distance, and he wore a thoughtful expression on his face for a minute. Then, abruptly, he rose from his seat.

"Where are you going?" Ino asked worriedly.

"I've got an errand to run," Shikamaru answered.

"Can I come with you?" Ino said, and felt heat pool into her cheeks when the love of her life raised his eyebrows in response. "I mean- I won't get in your way or anything. I just think I'll go a little crazy if I stay here."

Shikamaru looked hesitant, as he responded, "Not right now, but soon."

Ino blinked at him, perplexed. What did he mean by that? "Shikamaru-"

"I've gotta go," he nodded at her bowl. "Try and eat something. I'll call you if we hear anything."

Before she could protest, Shikamaru had left the kitchen. She thought she heard him say something to her father on his way out – something she didn't quite manage to catch – and then the front door shut, and with it sank the hope in her heart.

* * *

Tsunade scowled as her cell-phone rang for the umpteenth time. It was the hospital again. She'd ignored them up to that point, but she knew that if she kept doing so, she'd only continue to be inundated with pestering calls.

"Yes?" she practically barked into her mobile.

"Ah! Dr. Haruno," a voice spoke politely and formally on the other side of the line. "It's Dr. Yakushi-"

"What do you want, Kabuto?" Tsunade said acidly, throwing all formality out the window and reminding him that she was his superior. She thoroughly disliked the junior doctor and had been intending to remove Sakura from under his watch at the hospital. But now Sakura had been removed from everyone's watch, even her own. And Kabuto was the last person in the world who she desired to speak with.

"We were just wondering whether we should expect you in the operating theatre today. We've been trying to call you unsuccessfully for a couple of hours."

"I'm busy. And I won't be coming to work. Inform everybody; I don't want to be disturbed again," she ordered.

"Of course, but as you know, today is the day of Ai Tozuna's heart surgery, and it's a very complex operation-"

Tsunade's temper flared. Was the little weasel trying to play on her conscience? She was well aware that her patient had a slightly greater chance of dying if a less skilled surgeon performed the operation for her. But Tsunade's team were talented and possessed a brilliant track-record. She had every confidence that her head nurse Shizune would overlook matters in her absence.

"I already answered you," she answered frostily.

"I'm very sorry to trouble you," Kabuto apologised smoothly - a little too smoothly. His voice grated on her frayed nerves. "I do hope you and Sakura are well and enjoying the-"

She abruptly disconnected the call, and slowly exhaled. His words caused her heart to twinge in pain. The fool believed she had taken a day off to spend in her daughter's company. Little did he know the true reason why she was absent from work. Suddenly, none of her patients mattered. The only life she was concerned with preserving was her daughter's.

She slammed the cell onto the kitchen table and looked around the room. How quiet the house was without Sakura. How empty and devoid of warmth and the soothing, musical sound of her laughter.

_Damn it_ , Tsunade's eyes burned with unshed, frustrated tears. She was a woman of action, and sitting around and waiting was enough to drive her out of her mind. She glanced at the clock. It had been a couple of hours since Kakashi had departed. She wondered whether he had yet reached his destination; after all, it wasn't an easy place to get to, and many trials would stand in his way.

Her gaze moved to the windowsill by the sink, and stopped on the small geranium flower resting in its clay pot upon it. Her honey eyes widened as sudden realisation struck her. How had she not noticed before? Something was wrong with the flower's posture.

It looked like it was wilting.

* * *

Sasuke stared intently into the freezing white mist. Directly behind him, yawning like a gigantic, carnivorous mouth with icy stalactites and stalagmites forming jagged, rocky teeth was the dreaded entrance to the Underworld. It led to a winding, narrow path, at the end of which was the colossal, iron-coiled gateway that allowed passage into his realm. The gates were impenetrable, eerily glowing barriers, specifically constructed to allow the influx of souls but to prevent any outflow. There were no exceptions to the rules; once a person entered the land of the dead, there was no way out - not unless its ruler permitted it.

And Sasuke was not known to be a benevolent god.

He had received word from Nagato that his gate-keeper was growing restless, a sure sign that a living visitor was approaching the mouth of the Underworld, and had swiftly left Sakura to meet his guest, but whoever it was had yet to arrive. And so he stood in waiting, keeping a close, watchful eye on the ginormous, three-headed hell hound stationed dutifully at his post ahead of him.

Proud, wild Cerberus was gargantuan in size, a petrifying, blood-thirsty bulk of razor sharp teeth and steely muscle. He possessed a sleek black coat, long, shredding, blood-stained claws, and a lashing, stinging tail. Around each of Cerberus's individual heads were spiked collars of iron, and around its mighty paws thick shackles, imprinted with the will of his master. Eyes the colour of hell-fire blazed in slanted, feral sockets. They promised pain and suffering to any mortals who haplessly stumbled within his range.

Cerberus had an infamous penchant for living flesh; it was this fact that made him the perfect guardian of the gates to the Underworld. He allowed the deceased to pass freely into Sasuke's realm – and tore to pieces any mortals who dared to trespass in or sneak out. The overpowering stench of death and decay hung in the chilly air, and the sickening crunch of bones beneath Cerberus's hefty feet was a testament to the horror that awaited those who were foolhardy enough to attempt to defy the will of the Death God.

The beast's heads released a unified, famished growl, saliva dripping from ravenous jowls. Sasuke tensed, instantly on the alert.

"Stay," he murmured quietly, as he sensed a presence approaching. Cerberus released another rumbling sound of protest, before growing obediently still. Sasuke watched as a tall figure slowly materialised through the thick fog. His face remained completely impassive as his visitor casually strolled past a growling Cerberus without so much as a second glance, and came to a carefully measured stop before him. But beneath his aloof exterior, he was mildly surprise. He hadn't quite expected to face the person standing before him so soon.

"Sasuke," the voice was light, but laced with caution. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he sized his visitor up with open contempt. He hadn't changed much, but then, why would he? They were immortals, after all.

"Kakashi," he uttered coldly.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," the masked man apologised, "and it isn't my intention to trespass, but there's been a … development on the surface that I wish to discuss with you."

Sasuke was silent as the silver-haired man raised his hands. Sparks of blue-white light crackled and merged, forming a glowing ball that hovered between his palms. A familiar image began to take shape within it, pastel colours blending together, pink and green, apricot and yellow.

"Tsunade's child is missing. Her name is Sakura Haruno. She's eighteen, and this is her likeness." He looked down at Sakura's smiling face and paused, before adding casually, "You haven't, by any chance, seen her pass through your gates today?"

Sasuke's gaze lifted from the orb and rested on Kakashi. He didn't miss the way the masked fool was watching him closely whilst attempting to feign detachment.

"No," he answered curtly. It was not completely a lie; after all, Sakura hadn't actually passed through the mouth of the Underworld.

Kakashi sighed tiredly. "I see," he said simply, and the ball dispelled effortlessly from his hands. They stood in silence for a long moment. Kakashi thought that Sasuke appeared even colder and more withdrawn than when he had last seen him; but it had been a very long time.

"Then forgive my intrusion," he said politely. His gaze lowered sadly, as he added a much quieter afterthought, "I hope you have been keeping well?"

One corner of Sasuke's lips twisted into a scornful sneer. In response, he stated, "Leave." His eyes spoke out the remainder of the threat – _leave before I change my mind._

Without another word, the ruler of the Underworld spun dismissively on his heel and disappeared into the darkness.


	11. Chapter X

**Chapter X**

* * *

_Eyes that stab,_

_Through the dark,_

_Eyes that close,_

_To righteous light,_

_Will pierce and burn,_

_And leave their mark,_

_Upon an innocent,_

_Untainted mind,_

_And never again,_

_Will comfort, she find,_

_That imprint of crimson,_

_Singed into her skull.  
_

* * *

Bronze, gold and silver crockery glinted beneath the inviting glow of candlelight. Sakura sat hunched in her chair, staring miserably at the food-laden dishes before her.

Sasuke hadn't been jesting, she'd soon realised, when he'd informed her that she couldn't leave the banqueting hall until she'd eaten. Sakura had desperately tried to prise open the door after her kidnapper had departed, but it hadn't budged even an inch. She'd pounded on it with angry fists and cried out for assistance, but her pleas had echoed fruitlessly against the cold, tapestry-strewn walls. And she had known, even as she'd been screaming her throat hoarse that nobody would hear her protests. Nobody would unlock the door for her. Sasuke's word was clearly law, and she had already witnessed how nervous and anxious the very mention of him made the attendants who served under his rule.

Lowering her head to rest in the cradle of her arms, Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and did her best to ignore the gruelling hunger pangs. But it was impossible. Her stomach ached and gnawed agonisingly at itself, pleading for sustenance. She knew the sensible thing to do would be to ingest some food. It would heighten her sense of alertness as well as replenish her energy and strength. And she'd require all the stamina she could muster if she wanted to stand any chance at all of escaping from the haunting, resplendent palace that served as her prison.

But if she _did_ eat, she would be subserviently bowing to Sasuke's demands.

Sakura licked her parched lips, at war with her feistier, stubborn inner self. The reality was that Sasuke already had the upper hand. He had already won whatever sick, twisted game he'd set out to play. He'd chosen to kidnap her for reasons still unknown to Sakura, had successfully stolen her away from the people who loved and cared for her, and nobody had yet to find her. Sakura's heart sank as she wondered whether her mother or any of her friends would even be able to find the so-called Underworld beneath which she was now trapped.

How could they? What possible lead did they have? Sasuke didn't seem like the type to leave behind any incriminating evidence. They would find her bag in the field if she was lucky – but what would that prove?

She groaned in frustration. There _had_ to be some way to send out a message to those who she knew were searching frantically for her - but how?

_Eat a little. It'll help you to think. Or at least drink some water_ , an imploring voice in her head beseeched.

_No!_ Another conflicting voice roared back. _If you eat, you'll be giving in to that deranged psychopath. What would Ino say?_

Tears stung at her eyes again. Ino had always ordered her to never, under _any_ circumstances, submit to a guy, _ever_. She missed her best friend fiercely. If only Ino or one of the others were around, Sakura knew she'd feel so much braver, would be able to swallow back her fear and perhaps aggressively confront Sasuke. But she was utterly alone, and pathetic, and on the verge of giving into despair. If she ate, she would be relinquishing the only form of power she still possessed – control over her own appetite.

She knew she couldn't go on without nourishment for much longer. The dishes before her were undeniably appealing, but she didn't _want_ to eat Sasuke's food. Yet his decision to lock her in the food hall suggested he was engaging in an open battle of wills, and one that he clearly expected to win.

Fury sparked within Sakura at the thought, the force and heat of which left her shaking. This time the tears that burned behind her eyes were tears of rage. What gave the arrogant jerk the _right_ to dictate what she could and couldn't do? What gave him the right to ruin her life and to impose his commands upon her? Did he actually expect and believe that she would willingly comply, that she would just accept the situation he had enforced upon her and settle into a completely new existence? Sakura knew that Sasuke was taking full advantage of her fear and uncertainty, of her sense of displacement. What manner of sadistic criminal _was_ he?

Fracturing the earth, living amongst dead spirits, being some kind of self-proclaimed ruler of the dead, switching places in the blink of an eye – surely it was all madness. He'd orchestrated it all, _somehow_ , and was delighting in her terror. Sakura rose to her feet, anger fuelling the dangerously escalating concoction of recklessness brewing within her blood. She glared at the artistically-presented meals in frustration. She wouldn't eat a thing until he answered her. She'd show him what she thought of his food. If her captor believed that she was some docile little carpet he could walk all over, he was sorely mistaken. Politeness, her preferred method, clearly didn't work with Sasuke. Perhaps it was time for her to try and convey the message that she was _not_ about to cooperate with a madman in another, less subtle manner.

Sakura swallowed, steeling her nerves. She couldn't be blamed for what she was about to do. _It's his fault_ she told the nagging voice of conscience in her head that was warning her against doing something foolish. Sitting and sulking in a corner would wield her no results. She needed to do something drastic to provoke a reaction from Sasuke. Apprehension fluttered in the pits of her ravenous stomach as she realised there was no way of her actually knowing exactly _how_ Sasuke would react to her actions. Despite having no idea of precisely how much time she had spent in his palace, she was certain that more than a couple of hours had passed at the very least, and that was nowhere near enough to form a conclusion about her kidnapper's character. He seemed aloof and reserved, domineering and chauvinistic, and an all-round jerk. If there was anything else to discover about his personality – and Sakura sincerely doubted it – she didn't want to find out. She wanted absolutely _nothing_ to do with him. And if he couldn't understand that fact through normal communicative means, then he left her no other choice.

He'd claimed that he didn't wish to kill her; well, she had nothing to fear then, really.

Resolved, she stepped around the table and lifted the crystal jug of honey-coloured beverage. It shimmered hypnotically within, as if made of liquid gold. A sweet aroma drifted from it, a delicious smell that made Sakura's mouth salivate and her stomach rumble loudly, but she ignored it. With dreadful calmness, she tilted the jug over the steaming tray of rice and what she assumed was glazed duck. She dispersed the rest of the contents over a large bowl of fruit, the curious looking plaits of pastry, sushi, and salad, then over the luxurious table-cloth for decorative measure. The golden liquid sparkled off the surfaces of the dishes, and Sakura felt a twinge of genuine regret for wasting food when so many poor people in the world were going hungry. But she was sure that nobody in their right mind would want to eat Sasuke's food either. Apologising to any deity who cared to listen, Sakura set the jug back down and drew a deep breath, then proceeded to pick up the heavy, silver tray of rice-

-and let it fall with a satisfying, deafening clatter right onto the hard floor. She watched with wide, fascinated eyes as the plump rice grains splayed prettily everywhere, like a white starburst explosion. It was as though something snapped in her at that precise moment too. Perhaps it was internal anxiety at the knowledge that Sasuke was likely going to be _extremely_ displeased when he inevitably found out that his captive had ruined his dining table deliberately, or maybe it was exhilaration at the liberating feelings of power and carelessness that were rushing through her veins. All at once Sakura couldn't stop herself. She reached out and artfully inched cutlery toward the table's edge, followed by sterling plates and pristine goblets.

"Oops, my hand slipped," she muttered. The sound of glass shattering and steel clanging was music to her ears. She found comfort in the discord.

Sasuke had turned her life to chaos. It was only fair she returned the favour, though on a much smaller scale. Wasn't it? That was what Sakura kept telling herself as she flooded another dish with ice-cold water. Her heart pounded in awareness of the fact that Sasuke could walk through the door at any moment. But she couldn't turn back now. Adrenaline was coursing through her and the deed had been done.

She blithely mixed different foods together and tipped drinks into neighbouring decanters, watching as the liquids merged to form unexpected colours. Soon she had transformed the elegant table beyond recognition. It looked like it had been hit by a force of nature. A grim smile graced Sakura's lips as she dumped plate over plate, strangely delighting in the childish mess she was making.

Next Sakura picked up a small, elegant, hand-crafted wooden container. She shook it, heard the gentle sound of small particles moving within. Her eyes brightened. She tipped it over and began to sprinkle salt over everything. The granules fell like finest snow, dusting everything they touched. She flung the container to the ground when she was done, and proceeded to pluck juicy red grapes from their stems, strewing them all over the table and plonking them into goblets.

_Here's what I think of your food and your manners, you stuck up, crazy jerk!_ Her inner voice raged as she grabbed onto yet another plate. Smearing it with the splattered remains of a mixture of foods that were now unrecognisable, Sakura was just about to _accidentally_ release it when her eyes suddenly drew to stop on the bowl of ripe, full pomegranates.

One of the skins was peeled, revealing plump, appetising seeds. Sakura slowly lowered the plate in her hand and reached out to grasp the fruit. Its interior gleamed lustrous ruby and the seeds once again seemed to beg for consumption. It seemed a shame to waste such a fine fruit, and Sakura had always had a weak spot for sweet, juicy pomegranates.

_Maybe just a small mouthful_ , she reasoned, surprised by the sudden need to consume the food in her grasp. It glistened with moisture and she was so very thirsty… She lifted it to her lips, parted them to take a bite, when the sound of a lock unbolting caused Sakura to freeze in terror and drop the fruit in alarm. _No!_ Sasuke had returned far too soon-!

Relief almost caused her legs to buckle beneath her when Ume's small form hurried through the open doorway.

"Mistress, we heard an awful din-" she began, and gasped, a pale hand flying to her soft pink lips in shock as she spied the mess around Sakura. Chizu stepped in after her, and her eyes widening almost comically in turn.

"Goodness gracious! What in the world has happened here?" the older woman exclaimed in dismay.

Sakura placed a palm over her thundering heart. What explanation could she possibly offer to them? Couldn't they understand why she had done it? Chizu swiftly closed the door and rushed forward, surveying the damage Sakura had caused. The look of abstract horror on her face was mirrored by Ume, who cried, "Oh, we cannot let the Master discover this, we cannot!"

Chizu was silent for a long moment. Then she reigned in her expression and said quietly, "We see that you have had an unfortunate accident, Mistress. Please allow us to clean this up. Ume, the bucket and broom, make haste! And plenty of wash cloths, child! Inform the kitchen maids and cook that they are to prepare a fresh table immediately; quickly, now!"

Sakura's eyes widened disbelievingly. It wasn't the response she had wanted! She hadn't made a mess for them to discover and clean up before Sasuke even had the chance to look upon it. She held out a halting hand as Ume took a step back toward the door.

"Leave it!"

Ume hesitated, casting an apprehensive look at her elder. Chizu clenched her jaw and said in a tight voice, "We beseech your ladyship to allow us to handle this. Our lord would be most displeased if he were to return to find his banqueting hall in such a-" she swallowed before finishing carefully, "-state. Ume-"

The fragile blonde maid began to scamper back again, but was once more interrupted by Sakura's angry exclamation.

"Stop!" What was the _matter_ with these women? Why did they fear Sasuke so much? Yes, he was intimidating, but surely he wouldn't physically lay a hand on them? Her blood ran cold at the realisation that she couldn't assume anything. Sasuke had shown her no kindness. It seemed that he wasn't a merciful master either. She was momentarily stricken by guilt at the prospect that her attendants could very well be punished because of her actions, but quickly quelled it. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she said in a more polite tone of voice, "Please. I made this mess; I'll clean it up. You don't have to worry about explaining this to-" she hesitated, before continuing stiffly, "-Sasuke." She felt strange speaking his name aloud; it was a final acknowledgement, somehow, that he truly existed, and the madness that she had fallen into was really transpiring.

Ume and Chizu exchanged anxious glances. They didn't look any more reassured, so Sakura ventured, "You won't tell me why I'm here. And he won't answer me. He kidnapped me! From my mother. My friends," she paused, feeling warmth pooling in the corner of her eyes. She didn't bother to hold the tears back this time. Maybe if the maids standing before her witnessed how genuinely upset and afraid she was, they'd take pity on her. "I'm alone in a strange place and he told me he rules over dead people. I mean," Sakura released a strained laugh, realised that she was bordering on hysteria again, "isn't that just _crazy?_ "

Ume gasped again and Chizu inhaled sharply. "Mistress," she said in a voice that sent an unexpected jolt of fear down Sakura's spine, "I fear that you know not what you say-"

"Then tell me!" Sakura cried, flinging her arms out wildly. "Tell me who he is, and what he wants from me! _Tell me why I'm here!_ "

Little Ume seemed tortured, on the verge of tears herself. Chizu looked afraid, and opened her mouth to respond – when the echoing sound of the door opening caused all their gazes to dart to the banqueting hall's entrance.

Sasuke stepped gracefully into the room.

* * *

"I'll search the west campus. You head east. Call me if you locate him. We'll meet back here if we're unsuccessful, and cover the north point together. And Naruto," Naruto turned his head to glance back at Shikamaru. The Nara sighed heavily, before finishing, " _Try_ to be inconspicuous."

Naruto grinned, noting the resigned tone in his friend's voice. "I don't know what that means, but I'm sure this knuckle-head can figure it out," he joked, prompting Shikamaru to mutter 'Troublesome," beneath his breath. Then, without another word, they parted ways to hunt for their target.

Just over an hour earlier, Shikamaru had called him with the news that he'd stopped by at Ino's and discovered some new information that warranted investigation. On Festival night, Sakura had been found standing by a carousel ride that hadn't been in operation. That was directly where Sai had suggested to Ino they search first when he'd arrived at the park. But Sai hadn't left with Ino after they'd located Sakura. He had stayed behind. Naruto had known from his initial conversation with Sai that something didn't seem right. He knew, however, that Sai wasn't one to purposefully withhold information – not unless he had a really good reason to do so.

They had to find out what that reason was. Kakashi, Naruto was certain, as he stepped into the Academy's east campus, had already reached his destination and would be returning soon with his report. Naruto desperately hoped that he'd have nothing out of the ordinary to disclose.

He felt a stab of pain deep within his chest as a memory he'd never quite managed to suppress began to rear its ugly head once again. He could handle anybody being responsible. Anyone but _him_ \- the thought broke distractedly off as he peered through the rectangular window of the door leading into one of the college's large lecture theatres. It was empty. He turned away, and continued along the corridor.

Shikamaru had inquired after Sai's whereabouts at the administration office, employing the excuse that they needed to accompany their friend to an urgent medical appointment, only for the receptionist to inform them that Sai had a free slot. Which meant he could be anywhere on campus. They'd initially looked in the library, because they knew that Sai favoured quieter places – but he hadn't been there. So they'd decided to split up, to cover all areas of the Academy quicker.

"Searching like this'll take forever," Naruto muttered to himself as he followed the corridor down through a set of double-doors that led him toward the east campus's cafeteria. It was scattered with a few people ahead of lunch hour, but Naruto's eyes failed to spot a familiar ink-black head of hair. He did, however, notice Chouji sitting with Shino in one corner of the dining hall.

"Hey, losers!" Naruto greeted with a cheerfulness he didn't feel as he approached them.

"Oh," Chouji, who was munching on a bag of sweet snacks said between mouthfuls, "Hey Naruto."

"You were absent from morning class," Shino observed formally. "Why were you absent from morning class? You do not seem unwell to me."

"Oh, yeah, well, heh, I guess I feel kinda better now," Naruto said, and internally winced. So much for being subtle. Hastily changing the subject, he said "Uh, hey, have you guys seen Sai around by any chance?"

"Sai?" Chouji crunched thoughtfully. His face suddenly brightened, and Naruto's hopes lifted. "Oh, yeah! I saw him earlier. But he left right after first class."

"Left?" Naruto frowned, leaning forward eagerly. "Do you know where he went?"

"Nah," Chouji replied after a moment. "Sorry, Naruto."

Naruto's shoulders slumped. "Great," he huffed. Then, "Thanks. See you guys later."

He left the cafeteria, his frustration growing with every dead-end he encountered. Twenty minutes later he was on the verge of pulling his sunshine blond hair out when his cell phone suddenly rang. Naruto nearly dropped it in his eagerness to answer.

"Yeah!"

"I've found him. In the quad. Get over here _now_ , Naruto."

Naruto was running before his friend had even finished his sentence.

* * *

He had entered the banqueting hall expecting to find Sakura either eating resentfully, or weeping pathetically. What he had most certainly _not_ expected to discover was shattered crockery, dishes turned upside down – quite literally – and food and drink splattered everywhere.

And so it had taken some conscious effort on his part to keep the look of incredulity from openly registering upon his features.

A tense, heavy silence hung in the air, thick and smothering, charged with the same electrical current that Sasuke seemed to carry around with him. Sakura gulped, heart galloping uncontrollably inside her chest as his dark eyes trailed slowly over the mess she had created. Maybe acting so recklessly hadn't been such a wise idea. She had expected him to be irritated at the very least, but his infuriatingly handsome face remained perfectly composed and unaffected by the scene of utter ruin before him.

"M-m-master," Ume stammered violently. Sakura's eyes widened as she tore her gaze away from her silent captor and looked upon the young girl. Ume was trembling uncontrollably, seemed on the verge of hyperventilating from fear. Sakura felt an unpleasant twisting sensation in her gut, as though someone had plunged a dagger into her and was brutally jerking it around. She looked back to Sasuke. That he would invoke such a reaction…

Just how dangerous was he?

Chizu bravely took the burden of speaking. Her voice was stronger, more composed, but Sakura still detected the undertone of fear beneath it. "Lord; please allow us an opportunity to explain what you see before you, if you would permit us-"

"An accident!" Ume blurted out in fright. She seemed to physically shrink when Sasuke's fathomless gaze flicked briefly onto her. "I-i-it was an accident; w-we are m-most sorry for it, Master-"

"Yes indeed, we implore your forgiveness for our ineptness, Great Lord," Chizu curtsied low.

Sakura's lips parted in shock and she was struck with awful realisation. They were trying to cover up her actions. They were giving Sasuke the impression that they were accountable. Confusion made her mind whirl. Why would they do such a thing? It made no sense - unless they were somehow trying to protect her. But she wouldn't allow them to do so. If Sasuke wanted to punish anybody, then it would be her.

Swallowing back her own fear, she confessed, "I did it." Ume gasped and Chizu shot her a look of open dismay – before lowering her head respectfully again. Sakura braced herself as Sasuke's eyes slid onto her. He didn't seem surprised. In fact, she couldn't read any emotion on his face. Despair gnawed away at her, as strong as the hunger afflicting her belly. Her act of protest hadn't had the desired effect.

"Leave us," Sasuke instructed coldly to his servants. They bowed in obedience and immediately scuttled out of the hall. The resounding echoing of the door closing behind them sounded like a death bell to Sakura. The boldness she'd summoned when choosing to wreck the table had all but fizzled out, and she was left scared, uncertain, but ready to defend herself if necessary – though she knew she would stand a better chance at doing so verbally than physically.

Sasuke began walking slowly towards the table. She winced as the heels of his boots crunched over broken glass. He seemed to take another moment to examine the damage before speaking. His voice was as sharp and hard as the fragmented shards that littered the floor.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Sakura remained silent as he picked up a goblet, peered into it, before setting it down again in refined disgust. When she didn't reply, he prompted, "What purpose do your childish actions serve?"

She stiffened at the condescending tone in which the words were uttered. The angry fire that had been burning within her before roared back to life, causing her to snap back impertinently, "If I'm so childish, maybe I should be returned to my mother!"

His eyes flashed warningly at that and Sakura inwardly cursed herself. She'd planned to be confident and calm when confronting him. But it seemed that she couldn't be either of those things when conversing with Sasuke – if conversing was what they were even doing. It seemed to her more like she was locked in a losing battle every time they exchanged words. And that frustrated her to no end.

"Your _mother_ ," he spoke the word with plain distaste, as though it were not something uttered in polite society. He said nothing more, and Sakura blinked in confusion. She was thankful that the table formed a physical barrier between them, as it had when she'd first encountered him after waking. He made no other move toward her, simply rested his fingers lightly atop the table's surface and regarded her with probing eyes.

"She's looking for me," Sakura said, with more conviction than she felt beneath the devastating weight of his unnerving stare. "She'll find me."

Sasuke tilted his head back haughtily at that. "Only those I permit may pass through the gates."

He was speaking in that infuriatingly cryptic manner again. He knew perfectly well that she didn't know which 'gates' he was alluding to; he just wanted to unsettle her further. Sakura shook her head at him, her fear blotted out by mounting disbelief. "You just- saw me at the Festival and randomly decided to kidnap me? Is that _it_?"

What he calmly uttered next made her feel as though the ground had given way beneath her feet, as it had when he had first snatched her.

"Long before that, Sakura."

Sakura could feel her jaw sagging. Long before that? He'd known her before the Festival? A sudden, awful thought caused a sickening stillness to settle over her. Had Sasuke been _watching_ her, somehow? Stalking her? But _why_ would he do such a thing? What did he want from her? His disclosure was unexpected, and yet she knew from the look on his face that he was perfectly serious – either that or he was an incredible actor. Terror made her tremble all over again, as she choked out, "What? What do you mean, _long_ _before that_?" Then she asked the same question she had posed to him before, "How do you know my name?" She swallowed back cresting panic and forced herself to add, "You- have you been _watching_ me?"

His silence and the intensity with which he was regarding her were all the confirmation she needed. She gripped onto the table's edge and exhaled shakily. Horror was making it difficult to breathe, to think straight. He'd been _watching_ her. The implications of that were too horrible for her to even bear contemplating.

"Why?" she managed dizzily. "Why would you- how long have you…? I don't-"

"You must take sustenance."

His abrupt change of subject made her head spin further. He was essentially communicating, _Yeah, I've been watching you. So what? Now, eat._ As if it wasn't a big deal at all. She blinked and frowned at him. " _No._ How long have you been-?"

"You _will_ take sustenance," Sasuke interrupted once more, and her heart leapt into her throat when he began to circle around the length of the table.

He was issuing instructions to her again. Like she was one of his servants, but she _wasn't_. She shook her head resolutely, moving away from him in turn. "No! Not until you tell me-"

"Starve yourself. Protest all you wish. It will change _nothing_ , Sakura," he stated flatly, his eyes never leaving her face. "You will remain here."

Sakura's temper flared. "You can't just keep me here against my will!"

"I can," he deadpanned darkly, stopping again.

Sakura's right hand had unconsciously closed around an object – one of the goblets she had spared from flooding with a blend of mixed up beverages. She was clutching the handle tight enough to turn her knuckles white. His arrogance and self-assurance were unbearable. Who in the world did Sasuke think he was – some kind of untouchable, undeniable god of sorts? She had a life back home! And he had no right to interrupt it, to steal it away.

Her heart was racing with fury and adrenaline and palpitating from hunger and thirst. She felt physically sick, but knew that she couldn't let him detect it. So she did the only thing cornered, vulnerable prey could do when confronted by a superior predator. She lashed out in a desperate attempt to ward the encroaching danger away.

" _Why me?"_

"Because," he responded curtly, "I wish it."

It was the same answer he had given her before, and the final push that sent all lingering remnants of Sakura's restraint spiralling out control. With a frustrated cry she hurtled the goblet at him, too upset, enraged and caught up in the heat of the moment to care for the consequences - only to watch, in wide-eyed horror, as the goblet froze, mid-air, in the space between them.

Sakura released a choked scream, on the verge of losing her strongest and only ally - her mind - as all manner of logic evaded her.

How was he _doing_ that? He hadn't even lifted a finger. His eyes were still fixed onto her. As if to taunt her, the goblet hovered a little to the left. Sakura's gaze followed its movement incredulously. She was certain that she was on the brink of having a panic attack. How had things slipped so rapidly beyond her control again?

Just who, or _what_ , was she dealing with?

Then, slowly, as if it possessed a will of its own, the goblet lowered to rest on the table once more. It sat there, staring innocently back at her, as if to say, _what? Don't look at me. I didn't do anything._

Sakura's glazed gaze returned to Sasuke and she gaped at him. He was watching her intently, as if awaiting a particular reaction.

_No. Don't freak out. Do not freak out_ , she frantically told herself. Licking her parched lips, she floundered, "You're not- you can't be _normal_ …"

Sasuke's eyes lowered briefly. "Hn. You're right."

And then he disappeared. Just like that. One moment he was standing there, the next Sakura had blinked, and he had vanished from her sight. Her heart lurched violently and her eyes darted wildly around her, trying to anticipate where and when he'd reappear. She was certain that her body was ready to collapse from terror, when she sensed the slightest shift of air pressure behind her, followed by the smothering aura that encompassed Sasuke's form, and gasped, whirling around to find Sasuke towering over her, his charcoal gaze searing into her. With reflexes that were so much faster than her own sluggish responses, his hands seized her beneath her shoulders before she could attempt to dart away from him.

Pure pandemonium was running rampant within her. Sasuke's grip on her was like steel, and it seemed to Sakura that the harder she struggled the tighter it became. _Oh, God_ , she thought hysterically, seeing a flicker of _something_ in his eyes, something potent and frightening that didn't bode well for her, but she couldn't place it; her chaotic mind simply _refused_ to acknowledge what it was. What was he going to _do?_

"Let go," she gasped, feeling as though the blood in her veins was ready to petrify from his overwhelming proximity. " _Letmego-"_

In response, Sasuke released one of her arms, but before she could draw it back in an attempt to shove him away, or strike him as Ino had once taught her to do with any guys who bothered her, he had wound his other arm around her waist and tugged her forward against him, trapping her free hand behind her back. Sakura felt the heat of his body, and was positive that her booming heart was ready to explode out of her chest. His arm was a vice around her; he was too strong. She couldn't get away, and Sasuke seemed to be completely oblivious to her distress. His eyes had closed, and she anxiously wondered what he was going to do next, when the lids suddenly lifted, causing her to freeze against him.

Deep, vivid crimson pinned her in place, its unearthly luminescence rendering her breathless. Within the bloody irises she glimpsed three black tomoes, spinning lazily, hypnotically, weaving a dizzying, disorientating spell over her senses. She watched in alarmed fascination as the tomoes merged to form an intricate pattern resembling an overlapping, six-pointed star. It was the most striking and frightening thing she had ever seen. Sakura was all at once captured, suffocated, smothered. The intense, dark kaleidoscope pierced through her skull, into her mind, mesmerising her, captivating her soul. A voice in her head was screaming distantly at her to turn her face and _stop_ looking, but any effort to do so was prohibited by strong, cool fingers gripping her chin firmly in place.

"You will obey," an authoritative voice spoke to her, permeating through not only her ears and mind, but her entire body. Her limbs were beyond her control, but Sakura didn't have time to dwell on what was happening and how. A fleeting, sharp pain assaulted her senses, causing her lips to part in a soundless scream. She was at that moment lost in and consumed by a sea of blazing red. All other colours faded away into nothingness, and all she could see were his bottomless eyes. Sasuke's command then came to her, reverberating through her head like a maddening mantra, and one that she felt absolutely compelled to follow.

"You will take sustenance. _Now._ "

Sakura's breath hitched, her eyes glazing over as she grew limp against him.

* * *

Sai looked up from the book he'd been studying as a shadow suddenly fell upon him. Two familiar pairs of eyes stared down at him – one grey-brown, the other bright blue. The young man sighed and pulled his headphones out of his ears to give the two individuals standing over him his undivided attention. He'd sought refuge during his free lesson to study in the quad, beneath the quiet shade of a tree, but if he'd known earlier that morning that he'd be accosted by Naruto and Shikamaru, he might have chosen to leave campus entirely.

He already knew what they had come to discuss. "Hello, Shikamaru, Naruto," he greeted politely, offering his characteristic, blank smile.

"We need to talk," Naruto pointed at him, prompting Shikamaru to shoot him a swift, disapproving look. He'd specifically instructed Naruto to allow _him_ to do the talking, but Naruto had never been one to follow instructions well.

"Sai," the tall Nara sighed, casting a wary look around the quad. It was mostly empty, and he figured it was as good a place as any for them to ask their questions. "We wanted to ask you about-"

"Sakura," Sai sighed lightly in turn. The young men exchanged glances, but Shikamaru hastily spoke before Naruto could allow his emotions to get the better of him.

"Ino told me you found her next to a carousel on Festival night."

"That's right," Sai nodded.

"But it wasn't operating," Shikamaru followed.

Sai looked thoughtful. "Not that I recall."

"Do you have any idea what she was doing there?"

Sai slowly shook his head. "I didn't think to ask her," he said.

"Sai, try and remember!" Naruto urged. "This is Sakura-chan we're talking about!"

"Was she alone when you found her?" Shikamaru pressed.

Sai was silent for a moment, and Naruto's heart began to pick up pace. Something was wrong. He just _knew_ that Sai wasn't telling them everything-

"Yes," Sai replied. "She was alone when we arrived." Then, after another pause, he added, "I've already told you everything I know. I apologise that I can't be of more assistance-"

Without warning, Naruto reached out and grabbed the sketch-pad that was placed next to Sai's backpack. Sai's hand automatically shot out to reclaim it, but Shikamaru intercepted, allowing Naruto to flick open the pages. His eyes frantically scanned over each side, and dismay overcame him when he found nothing extraordinary painted onto paper. He allowed the cover to close and turned his dejected gaze to Shikamaru. Then he handed the sketch-pad back to a silent Sai.

"Sai," Shikamaru began again after a tense pause, "Ino said you suggested looking in the place where you found Sakura. How did you know to look there?"

"Sakura likes carousels," Sai answered softly.

"But you went straight to that particular carousel," Shikamaru pointed out.

Sai's dark eyes met his briefly. Then he turned to his backpack, unzipped it, and lifted out a small scroll of paper. Wordlessly he held it out. Naruto had to restrain himself from snatching as he accepted it and rolled it out to find a hastily sketched ink drawing.

His eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. "Huh? What's this?"

Realisation struck him a few seconds later. He recognised the lines of horses attached to poles, the circular platform; the familiar structure of a carousel. Shikamaru peered over his shoulder and Naruto heard his sharp intake of breath. Then both young men directed suspicious gazes at Sai – Naruto's significantly more accusing.

"You _knew?_ " Naruto demanded, anger blazing into his cobalt eyes. He held up the drawing and jabbed a finger aggressively at it. "Is _this_ how you knew where to find Sakura-chan? And you didn't _tell_ us?"

"Naruto," Shikamaru said quietly, casting a surreptitious glance around them. "Calm down-"

"No!" Naruto raged, flinging the paper disgustedly at an expressionless Sai. "I know this bastard's hiding something, damn it! _Where is Sakura-chan?_ "

Sai's gaze lowered. "I do not know," he answered.

"You're lying!" Naruto snarled. "That drawing has to mean something! Shikamaru!" He turned wild eyes to his friend, who was examining Sai closely. "He drew a field, where we found Sakura-chan's bag, and now a carousel- it can't be a coincidence!"

"Sai," Shikamaru frowned, his tone significantly lower than Naruto's. "Your artwork has held meanings before. If you know something about Sakura's whereabouts, if you've seen anything in your dreams that could give us any clue at all about what might have happened to her…"

Sai gathered the paper and carefully deposited it back inside his bag along with the book he'd been reading. Rising to his feet, he hoisted his backpack over his shoulder, tucked the sketch-pad underneath his arm and looked Naruto straight in the eye.

"I don't. I'm sorry," he said quietly. Then he stepped around them and walked away.

"Hey!" Naruto began furiously, "I'm not done with you yet! Come back here-"

"Naruto!" Shikamaru's harsh voice and tight grip on his shoulder caused his eyes to snap away from Sai's retreating back. "Get a hold of yourself! Remember where we are. People are staring, you troublesome idiot!"

Naruto blinked and then released a slow, agitated breath. "He knows something. I _know_ he does-"

"I know," Shikamaru said simply. Naruto faltered, his eyes widening.

"Huh? You agree with me?"

"It makes sense," Shikamaru relinquished his hold on his friend once he was absolutely certain that Naruto _wasn't_ going to run after Sai and attempt to beat information out of him. "And I don't think it is a coincidence." His eyebrows drew together to form another scowl. "But it isn't like Sai to keep things from us. Not unless he has good reason."

A brief silence ensued, in which Naruto was sure he could see the cogs in Shikamaru's intelligent mind turning.

"So now what?" he asked at length, in a voice laden with frustration.

Shikamaru met his gaze evenly. "We wait for Kakashi."

* * *

"See to it that she is well-fed," Sasuke instructed the maids he'd commanded to return to the banqueting hall. "Then return her to her chamber. And," he added in a mutter, casting a displeased glance over the disorderly dining table, "clean this up."

"Yes, at once, Great Lord," Chizu curtsied low, with Ume following her lead.

Sasuke glanced at where Sakura sat, perfectly still in one of the chairs. She was staring unseeingly at the candles flickering before her, a sure sign that she was securely trapped in the state of hypnosis he had induced upon her. He turned abruptly away from his servants before they could witness the scowl that settled over his features. This hadn't been the way he'd wanted Sakura to eat, but the stubborn little mortal had left him no other choice. Her physical shell would waste away if she kept denying herself nourishment. And he certainly didn't have a penchant for skin and bone.

Sasuke left the room and stalked broodingly out of the palace. He was disturbed to find that he was more intrigued than angered by Sakura's actions. The foolish girl had been impudent enough to wreck his dining table and hurl a goblet at him – proof that beneath her polite, docile appearance, she harboured a measure of fire.

It was an unexpected yet exciting discovery.

Sakura was resisting, but he would eventually break her, in mind, body and spirit. He'd consume it all, every last part of her. She had no way of knowing that his days of indulging her childish temper tantrums were extremely numbered. Nobody had ever dared to raise their voice and throw things at him before – nobody who lived to tell the tale.

_Except one_ , he recalled bitterly, and promptly severed the memory before it could resurface. Instead he turned his thoughts to a matter that required his urgent attention. He had to deal with it carefully and correctly, and after that, he would pay the messenger boy a visit. Then, once he was satisfied that all necessary precautions were in place, he could turn his full attention to studying Sakura, as he'd intended. Kakashi's visit had set matters swiftly in motion, and Sasuke knew that time was of the essence.

He blurred out of sight, reappearing by the river Acheron's bank, to find Juugo and Karin standing beside a tall, white-haired, sharp-toothed young man with eyes the colour of lavender. He sent a sharp, pointed look to his subjects, who quickly bowed their heads low and turned away to resume their duties.

"Heh, see ya," the white-haired young man waved genially after them. He was cloaked in purple and white, his favoured colours. He turned to Sasuke as the death deity approached him, his wide, unearthly eyes aglow with a smug, knowing light. Sasuke clenched his jaw. As he had suspected, the Sea God had likely already received information about Sakura's whereabouts.

"Suigetsu," he uttered nonchalantly.

"Sasuke," the water deity nodded. "How's life in this gloomy, depressing place?" Offering a deceptively bright smile, he cut straight to the chase. "A little bird tells me it's gotten a little more interesting around here for you." He paused, before his smile completely vanished. "Or should I say little sirens that are currently unaccounted for; you wouldn't happen to know anything about that now would you, hmm?"

Sasuke met his gaze squarely. If the fool thought that he had the upper hand, he was sorely mistaken. They both knew which of them was superior and more powerful.

"They disobeyed me," he answered the accusing question flatly.

Suigetsu flashed another toothy grin. "You're wrong there; you see, they were following _my_ commands."

So he _had_ sent them, just as Sasuke had thought. "They resided in my realm," the Death God pointed out.

Suigetsu sneered at him. "You can't twist your way out of this one, Sasuke. And you'd better watch that smart mouth of yours. You expect me to just accept the fact that you murdered seven of my subjects?"

Sasuke remained quiet, watching his visitor intently.

"Do you know who paid me a visit a couple of hours ago?" Suigetsu spoke on. "Someone by the name of Tsunade; that name ring a bell?"

The Underworld's ruler kept his rising anger in check beneath an exterior of perfect indifference as he allowed the mischief-loving deity before him to continue.

"Yeah. She looks pretty good for an older goddess," Suigetsu mused, before returning to the matter at hand. "Anyway, seems she's lost her daughter. Some hot chick called Sakura."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed marginally at the casual manner in which Suigetsu referred to the girl.

"And you know what's funny?" the water deity went on. "That's the exact same name my sirens relayed to me earlier. Of course, it could all just be a crazy coincidence-"

Sasuke's patience splintered cleanly in half. "Do not interfere," he hissed, his eyes flashing crimson warning.

But Suigetsu was unfazed. "Huh? You're threatening me? _Really?_ Listen, pretty boy. Don't get any ideas. The only reason I haven't blown your cover is because I'm curious. What the hell- no pun intended- are you up to, huh? You know who Tsunade is. She isn't exactly someone you want to screw over. Oh," he rolled his eyes, as if censuring himself, "I forgot. You're the high and mighty Sasuke, and you make a habit of screwing everyone over, even your own broth-" he choked off as an iron-grip clamped around his throat, and crimson eyes pierced hatefully into lavender, positively daring Suigetsu to complete the sentence. The white-haired deity coughed awkwardly, and finished, "You aren't exactly charming me in your favour here."

"You will not speak a word," Sasuke commanded.

Suigetsu snorted, ignoring the way the fingers around his neck tightened in response to his open derision. "Yeah? What's in it for me, huh?"

A small, sinister smirk slowly curved Sasuke's lips. "You live," he said simply.

"Hah," Suigetsu scoffed. "You can't kill me. We're immortals, remember?"

"Tartarus does not discriminate," Sasuke stated meaningfully.

Suigetsu's eyes widened fractionally – and then he reached out, attempting to sever Sasuke's grip on him. Sasuke had anticipated this and instantly caught hold of his fist. Suigetsu kicked at him, striking with snake-fast reflexes. But Sasuke was even faster. He evaded the attack, pushing himself off the ground and using the momentum and his hold on the Sea God to propel himself fluidly into the air. He landed gracefully behind Suigetsu and delivered a rough kick straight into his back, sending the grunting water deity hurtling forward from its force. Suigetsu whirled, quickly recovering, a vicious, hostile grin plastered on his face. His eyes were alight with open challenge.

"So that's how it is. I can't wait to land your stuck-up ass in hot-water. It's high time someone taught you a lesson, Uchiha," he sneered.

Sasuke blinked once – and an iron cage abruptly erupted from the ground at his will, its thick bars crackling with blinding electricity. Suigetsu was boxed in before he could even think of teleporting away, and gawked at Sasuke incredulously. His eyes widened as he glimpsed pinwheels spinning menacingly within the bottomless depths of the death deity's crimson irises.

"What the _fuck_ , Sasuke? Have you lost it?" Suigetsu demanded. He winced as a tendril of electricity snaked out toward him. The damned bastard was using his elemental weakness to full advantage. If there was one thing that could keep the Sea God grounded, one thing that bothered him more than anything else, it was the cursed strike of lightning. But his anger at the treatment he was being shown was momentarily dwarfed by a staggering sense of disbelief. He hadn't expected this from Sasuke, but then, the insolent brat had always been maddeningly unpredictable. Did the Underworld's king truly feel threatened enough to warrant imprisoning him? He was prepared to go to such outrageous lengths to keep his secret from spilling out - over a mere mortal girl? It made no sense – unless there was more to this 'Sakura' than what Tsunade had let on.

"You cannot be trusted," said Sasuke curtly.

"Asshole," Suigetsu spat. "You think I can't get out of here, just because you've cranked up the voltage?"

"If you'd prefer Tartarus, it can be arranged," Sasuke answered ominously. They both knew he was capable of flinging the water deity into the infernal pits before he could make an escape.

Suigetsu clenched his jaw, furious. "Do you realise what you're doing? Taking another god _hostage?_ You've lost it. All these years in the dark have messed you up. I have seas and oceans to run, you bastard. The surface might flood-"

"I care not," Sasuke quipped. Suigetsu opened his mouth to fire a particularly colourful insult back at him, only to find that his prison had been removed to another location in the blink of an eye. Sasuke had transported them away from the river's edge – away from Suigetsu's element. The only electricity-charged iron bars that remained were before the Sea God – the remainder of the cage had become solid, impermeable rock face. Suigetsu peered out at his new settings, glimpsed nothing but endless cavern-structures all around him.

"You just wait until I get out of here, asshole," Suigetsu promised, casting a murderous glare at an unperturbed Sasuke.

"Hn," Sasuke retorted dismissively, a response that wordlessly conveyed the hidden message: _if you make it out_. Then, in a whisper, he had vanished, leaving the Sea God fuming in his cell.

* * *

Tsunade already knew who was on the other side of the door even before she opened it. Kakashi's familiar aura was steady, reliable. She threw the barrier between them open and stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Well?" she practically yelled, heart pounding in anticipation of his news. His lone-eye drooped slightly, which caused Tsunade's shoulders to drop in turn.

"He refused to see you."

Kakashi sighed lightly and invited himself in. Tsunade closed the door behind him, clenching her teeth tightly.

"I saw him alright," Kakashi replied after a moment. "She hasn't passed through the Underworld's gates, Tsunade."

Tsunade released a relieved breath. She'd known all along that Sakura was still alive. Raising her eyes back to Kakashi's masked face she demanded next, "The Uchiha has not seen her at all?"

"No," Kakashi answered. Even as he spoke the word, he was filled with a nagging sense of doubt. There was absolutely no evidence for him to believe that Sasuke would have a conceivable reason to kidnap Sakura, and yet… something about Sasuke's particularly chilly reception had ignited his suspicions. But perhaps it was merely his imagination. It had been an awfully long time since he had visited and spoken with Sasuke, after all. Maybe his fanciful mind had simply forgotten just how much the governor of death utterly despised him.

"Suigetsu has agreed to send his sirens to help cover the search under water," Tsunade said sullenly, prompting Kakashi to raise an eyebrow.

"That's remarkably cooperative of him, considering."

"I made the young fool a deal," Tsunade muttered.

"Which was?"

"Never mind," she dismissed. Then she gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen. Kakashi did so, and came to a stop behind her by the sink.

"Less than twenty-four hours, and they're already withering," she said softly. Kakashi followed her gaze, noticed the wilting flower in its pot. A light frown creased his brow. What comfort could he offer the woman standing before him? He saw the way her characteristically proud shoulders shook with suppressed rage and grief.

"We'll find her, Tsunade. She's alive."

Tsunade was silent. Kakashi opened his mouth to suggest another course of action – when the front door slammed open behind them. He turned swiftly, unsheathing the dagger hidden in a discreet pouch at his waist – only to lower it a moment later as his surprised gaze came to rest on the identity of the intruder.

"Well, hello there, Kakashi!" a deep voice boomed heartily. A towering, strongly built man with long, white hair that framed a slightly tanned and sun-creased face at the front and spiked like a jagged river at the back beamed widely at him. In his left hand he held a green, glass bottle of sake. A clue of his true identity. "It's been a long time!"


	12. Chapter XI

**Chapter XI**

* * *

_She is his jewel,_

_His trinket,_

_The brightest that e'er shone,_

_His sweetest possession,_

_Unblemished,_

_Untouched,_

_By none other's hands,_

_Save Death's alone.  
_

* * *

Kakashi heard a sharp intake of breath behind him. A hasty glance over his shoulder revealed that Tsunade's eyes had widened considerably. Her beautiful face was frozen with an emotion he couldn't quite place, but one he was certain nestled suspiciously between incredulity and rage.

"Well, now," the new arrival exclaimed, "I expected a somewhat more enthusiastic welcome!"

A brief silence ensued. Kakashi cleared his throat uncomfortably, painfully aware of the now unmistakable aura of fury that was radiating menacingly from the woman at his back. But before he could speak a word, Tsunade snarled, "A _welcome?_ After a full _year's_ absence?"

The tall man placed a hand to the back of his head and grinned sheepishly, causing the thin streaks of red that trailed from the outer corners of his eyes like tear-marks to crinkle. "Come, Tsunade, you know how my journeys of discovery cause me to lose track of-"

"You mean your journeys to find whores to bed," Tsunade interjected snappily, stepping around Kakashi to direct a withering glare at the jovial man.

His amiable expression shifted to one of half-hearted offence. "Now that's quite uncalled for, old girl…"

Tsunade released a bark of harsh laughter. It sounded like brittle glass breaking. "Then tell me, _old fool_ ," she shot back, her eyes flashing with challenge, "what else was more important than women and wine that kept you from attending the Council meeting?"

In response, the intruder raised the bottle in his hand to his lips and took a leisurely swig of alcohol from it. Tsunade's lips twitched and she was ready to throw the nearest object – a glass plate on the counter – at him, when he lowered the bottle and replied indignantly, "I was gathering intelligence. Not that you'd be prepared to believe me on that…"

Kakashi sighed and spoke before Tsunade could hurtle any other insults at their guest. "Jiraiya. It's good to see you."

"Aha!" The man, Jiraiya, beamed at him. "Some appreciation at last!"

Tsunade allowed Jiraiya's comment to slide. "What intelligence, exactly, have you managed to gather?" she demanded suspiciously.

Jiraiya turned his nose up to the air dismissively. "Well, since I am evidently not welcome here…"

Kakashi cringed in anticipation as Tsunade stormed forward and grabbed the taller man by the collar of his long, loose, burgundy jacket. Nobody else was foolish enough to test the woman's patience and short temper except for the man who had invited himself into the building. Jiraiya had always been a sucker for punishment from Tsunade. He'd held a candle for her for as long as Kakashi could remember – but Tsunade had always kept him firmly at arm's length, at the bare minimum – and usually much further away.

"Now is _not_ the time for your deranged games!" she hissed at him. "Tell me what you know!"

"Always so demanding," Jiraiya murmured appreciatively down at her, enjoying the way his words caused her to scowl more intensely. He reached up to carefully disengage her hold on him, and gestured gallantly toward the couches in the lounge behind him. "Shall we converse like the civilised immortals we are? I have plenty of wine to soothe your taught nerves. And yours, Kakashi," Jiraiya added, winking at the masked man, who merely offered a light sigh in response and followed.

Tsunade released a snort at that. _Civilised_ wasn't exactly a word that came to mind when she thought about Jiraiya. Not that she ever thought about him. But she grudgingly relented and stalked past him, settling tensely on the edge of the couch she had found Sakura sleeping on just two days prior. The memory caused the ache in her chest to deepen.

"Save your wine," she said shortly, before Jiraiya could magic a goblet and a fresh bottle out of thin air. "Talk."

Jiraiya remained standing, but his expression sobered – something that was a rare occurrence, as he began, "Of course I heard about the girl; though not from you," he added, casting a pointed, accusing look at Tsunade. Allowing a brief but telling pause to linger following these words, he continued, "I happened upon Gai, who explained everything. The child is important to us all, so naturally I dispersed my subjects to investigate."

Kakashi noted the way Tsunade's body had leaned forward at Jiraiya's words. She seemed to be holding her breath. But what was revealed to her next was not what she had wanted to hear.

"Sakura isn't underwater, Tsunade."

Tsunade slowly exhaled. Her visit to the Sea God had revealed little; after much coaxing on her part, Suigetsu had stated that he would keep an eye out for any girl who fit Sakura's description but he hadn't ruled out the fact that Sakura was submerged. That Jiraiya had just done so didn't make sense. Wouldn't the water deity have known better? She felt a prickling sensation, a sense of foreboding. The only reasons that could account for Suigetsu failing to disclose such information were that he had genuinely not known it at the time – or he had chosen to purposefully conceal it from her.

Kakashi's thoughts were following the same lines. "Tsunade paid Suigetsu a visit, and he failed to supply that."

Jiraiya looked intrigued. Scratching his chin, he mused, "Really, now? How odd."

"You are certain?" Tsunade pressed. "Your subjects covered all bodies of water?"

"Every river, sea, spring, ocean, pool and lake," Jiraiya affirmed.

Tsunade raised a hand to her head, clutched angrily at a fistful of hair. "Damn it," she cursed.

"I, ah, take it that you ventured down to _his_ kingdom," Jiraiya nodded at Kakashi, whose sole visible eye drooped slightly.

"Yes," he replied. "Sakura hasn't passed through the Underworld's gates."

Jiraiya released a surprised chuckle of laughter. "You returned in one piece _and_ managed to gain an answer from that grouchy little rascal? Surely that's progress, Kakashi."

"No," Kakashi sighed tiredly once more. "Sasuke was as unreceptive as always."

"Not on the surface, not beneath the sea, not underground," Tsunade muttered in frustration. "The only other place is-" she inhaled sharply, her eyes flying up to meet Jiraiya's dark ones. Any lingering mirth had vanished. He looked solemn. Troubled, almost. It was so uncharacteristic of him to wear such an expression that against her wishes Tsunade's heart began to pound to a slow but sickening beat.

"There is nowhere else," Kakashi agreed quietly. "The only place we haven't looked is skyward."

Tsunade's eyes still held Jiraiya's. She thought she saw something flicker in them - pain, or perhaps she was imagining it – and then he sighed heavily, and lowered his gaze from hers. "If the girl has been taken there…"

His voice trailed off, and the room plunged into subdued silence.

* * *

Ume waved a hand before Sakura's face for the umpteenth time. She didn't even blink. Her eyes were glazed, unseeing, as if she were lost within the depths of her own mind - which was precisely where Sasuke had sent her consciousness.

"Stop that," Chizu censured. "Fill that goblet with more water. The poor child's lips are parched from thirst."

"Can she not even hear us?" Ume questioned, dutifully refilling the cup.

"I know not," Chizu answered, lifting a fork speared with a slice of duck meat to Sakura's mouth, which opened mechanically to accept the food. She chewed and swallowed it down but otherwise remained motionless.

"How will we know when she is sated?" Ume queried next.

Chizu took the goblet from her and gently tilted Sakura's head back to pour cool liquid down her throat. She wiped at the girl's chin with a napkin before any water could trickle down and dampen her clothing.

"I suppose she will cease to open her mouth," the older attendant said, though she was not entirely certain herself.

Ume stood by the chair her elder had drawn beside Sakura's and silently watched as their young charge took the food she had previously refused to willingly ingest. A twinge of guilt filled her. She felt sorry and awful that they had to feed their guest against her will. Sakura's eyes were blank, but her brows were drawn together in the softest of frowns, as if she were in some manner of discomfort.

"Matron?" she spoke again.

"Yes, child?" Chizu sighed with motherly patience.

Hesitantly, Ume quietly spoke the question that had been plaguing her since she'd first set sight upon an entranced Sakura. "What did the Master do to her?"

Chizu pursed her lips into a firm line and sent the girl a warning look which reminded her that they were not permitted to question their lord's actions.

"I just- she looks like she might be in pain," Ume defended quickly. Sakura's tears and misery reminded her all too much of her own unfortunate and untimely demise in the living world. "I want to help her…" she added in a sad whisper.

"No," Chizu swallowed. She, too, felt pity for their beautiful and innocent captive, but she knew she could never allow such feelings to interfere with her duties. "Our allegiances are to our lord. Never forget that child. You know to whom you have sworn an oath."

"Y-yes, of course," Ume stammered, her heart picking up speed as the striking image of their master flashed across her mind. "But perhaps we could tell her who the master is, at least?"

Chizu gave her a sharp look. "If you wish to keep that tongue, you had better remain silent," she cautioned.

Ume's shoulder's fell in defeat. "I understand," she said softly. The only time her master had shown her any trace of compassion was when he'd first proposed the deal that she had accepted, to be reborn to a new life after completing service to him. She had to be guarded. Sakura seemed like a girl she could have befriended in her previous life. But they couldn't really be friends. Because Ume knew that if they did become so, there was a danger her own trusting heart would become too attached. She would try to help Sakura escape, and disobey her lord in the process. And then her soul would surely be sent to rot in Tartarus. She suppressed a frightened shudder. She couldn't risk such a thing happening.

"I think that is enough," Chizu remarked after a few more minutes of silence. She had fed the girl everything she'd loaded onto a full plate.

"Perhaps she would like some fruit?" Ume suggested. "Look, there is a pomegranate here-" she plucked it from its bowl and held it out, only to gasp in shock when Chizu slapped it quickly away, causing the plump fruit to fall to the floor with a dull thud.

"No!" Chizu exclaimed, her eyes wide, fearful. "I am quite certain the lady is satisfied."

Ume frowned in confusion. "I-I am sorry," she apologised. Chizu drew a deep breath, composing herself again. But the younger attendant was certain she still detected anxiety and something that bordered on guilt in the older woman's eyes.

"Let us return her to her chamber as the lord desired," Chizu quickly changed the subject. "Then we will help the kitchen boys tidy this mess," she sent a displeased glance at the disorderly table, before reaching out to grasp Sakura's tiny, delicately-boned wrist.

"Take her other side," she instructed Ume, who immediately went to support Sakura's left. They gently helped the girl to stand. She walked as if in a trance and the journey back to her bedroom was a slow and awkward one. When they finally arrived, they guided Sakura to the bed, where she sat, staring vacantly into space, her breathing shallow yet even.

Both attendants stood back and regarded Sakura quietly for a long minute, as if expecting her to blink out of her hypnosis at any second. When she didn't, Chizu turned away, gesturing for Ume to follow after her.

"Come. Let her rest."

Ume shook her head. "Perhaps I ought to stay with her. She might require assistance when she-"

The remainder of her sentence was lost as the doors behind them swung swiftly open to reveal the tall, darkly handsome form of their master. Sasuke strode in, his charcoal eyes locking immediately onto Sakura, before flickering briefly to the curtsying maids attending her.

He raised an expectant eyebrow, wordlessly conveying his question to them.

"She has eaten as you requested, Great Lord," Chizu kept her eyes lowered reverentially.

Sasuke offered a curt nod. Then his gaze slipped to Ume, who ducked her head and hunched her shoulders, fearful of his retribution at having caught her staring openly at him. But Sasuke was not angry. Instead, he said coolly, "You will not disclose anything to her unless instructed."

"Yes, lord," Chizu curtsied lower.

"Y-yes, master," Ume followed her elder's lead, her cheeks flaming heat and her heart hammering within her. Was it merely a coincidence that the Death God was giving them such a specific order, when they had been discussing the very same thing in the banqueting hall? Or had their conversation been overheard?

Sasuke regarded them for another moment, before abruptly dismissing, "Leave."

Bowing low as they passed him, the women hurried out, closing the doors quietly behind them. But Sasuke scarcely heard them exit the room. His attention was fully absorbed by Sakura. She was still lost in the illusion he had cast upon her ensnared mind, an endless scene that he'd set to replay over and over again, as many times as it took for her to eat until her belly was full. A cruel vision that she was safe, back in her mother's house on the surface, with protective, loving Tsunade feeding her a feast of her favourite foods. Pomegranates, sweet dumplings; Sasuke knew all about Sakura's penchant for tantalisingly sugary things.

He knew other things about her too; such as the way she fiddled with the ends of her hair when she was nervous, the way she chewed on her sensuous lower lip whenever she was anxious or deep in thought. But he wanted to learn more. Walking forward, the death deity reached her in three swift strides and came to a stop directly before her. His eyes trailed over her face, pleased to find that the colour had returned to her soft cheeks. At least she was certain not to faint again, not unless she was overtly overcome by shock. He would be careful to ensure that no other unpleasant surprises would spring themselves upon her for the remainder of the day's duration. She'd had quite enough to deal with in a short space of time already.

He thought then of Suigetsu, who had seemingly come to a mutually beneficial arrangement with Tsunade, and anger flared within him. That the fool would dare to work against him; the only reason Sasuke hadn't flung his treacherous hide into the pits of Tartarus was because the Sea God's extended disappearance would raise even further suspicions from the Council. Sasuke ground his teeth together in frustration. He needed to entice Sakura to ingest the food of the dead willingly, and soon. He didn't have much time to spare before Tsunade's hunt for the girl would lead the others to realise that she was not on the surface, beneath any ocean, or up in the heavens. And when lands eventually flooded and they discovered that Suigetsu, in turn, was missing, they would connect all the dots and venture down to the Underworld to confront him.

He couldn't have that. Not because he couldn't take them on individually, or even four of them at once, but all eleven at the same time? And with _him_ likely leading them? Sasuke was perfectly confident in his impressive abilities, so much so that his self-assuredness often passed off as arrogance – but he was not so disillusioned to be foolhardy. He knew that if all eleven stormed his realm, one of them, at least, would make it to Sakura.

His face darkened as a vision of the woman who had shielded Sakura for her entire life flashed through his mind. _Tsunade._ He would _never_ hand the girl back to her. If things got out of hand and spiralled beyond his control – and he was quite certain that they would not – he would simply end Sakura's life. In death, her soul would belong forever to him. But it was not his preferred solution. Her soul alone was not enough. He wanted the warm body he could see before him.

He wanted every part of her.

Sasuke reached out to run his hands through her long, exotically pale tresses. The locks felt like silk between his fingers, and so did her skin, as he allowed his fingertips to lightly trace the delicious curve of her jawline. Sakura remained perfectly still as his index finger slid down to caress the left side of her neck. Her mind was his prisoner, and if he wished it, so too would her body succumb to him. He merely had to inject his will through prolonged eye-contact and he would have her sprawled beneath him, ready to receive his touches. Sasuke felt a pulsating heat that had lain dormant for more years than he cared to remember ignite in his loins. The realisation that he could, in theory, take Sakura then caused his pulse and breath to quicken. She would be vulnerable, defenceless. He needed only to bend her to his command and her innocence would be his. She wouldn't even realise, because he would erase any memory upon her regaining full consciousness and control of her own actions. And eventually she would accept him willingly. She would come to understand that she belonged to him. Nobody else could ever have her. Sasuke would personally make sure of it.

The very idea of any other man touching Sakura filled him with disgust, made him see red. Literally. With a possessive snarl, he reached out and hastily unbound the sash at the waist of her robe, pushing it back from her shoulders. His eyes hungrily drank up the creamy, exposed skin of her shoulders and arms. Then they fell to the glimpse of cleavage peeking enticingly out from beneath the low neckline of her nightgown and he was inflamed with need. His right hand moved, fingers brushing along the satin edge. For a moment the hand hovered, as Sasuke wrestled with the overwhelming lust raging within him. He had waited too long already. She wouldn't remember a thing. If he took her now, made her his, she would not deny him. He would shred the hindering clothing from her body, pin her down by those tiny, feeble wrists, and-

_No!_ His fingers curled to form angry, tortured fists as he struggled to reign in his galloping heart. The force of his desire was smothering, overpowering, and he was furious to realise how very close he had come to allowing his dark fantasies to transpire. That she held the ability to sway him… She was so delectable. So very alluring. Nothing but his iron-like resolve was preventing him from ravaging her at that very second. He wanted Sakura – but he wanted her to be aware when he took her. He didn't want a mindless puppet. He would not consume her when she was not even control of her own actions. What manner of victory would that offer? He would not truly be gratified if he did not have her writhing and moaning beneath him.

Releasing a barely audible, shuddering breath, Sasuke pulled the nightgown back up over her shoulders and secured it firmly once more. Then he took a moment to collect himself. When the heat within him had again been suppressed and his pulse had slowed to a respectable pace, he reached out, cupping Sakura's chin in his left hand.

Angling her face so that he could gaze deeply and without hindrance into her eyes the death deity commanded, "Look at me."

Sakura released a hitched breath as her irises – so very green – met his. He allowed his own to bleed to crimson, as he uttered next, "In one minute, you shall awaken."

Her long lashes fluttered in silent acknowledgement of his words. He drew his arm back and turned away, counting the seconds in his mind, preparing for her confrontation. Taking a seat on the cushioned armchair by the fireplace, Sasuke tapped a long index finger against the arm-rest and raised his eyes expectantly to her face as the fifty-ninth second passed.

At sixty, Sakura gasped, her eyes blurring with tears as her mind was mercilessly flung out of its mental cage.

* * *

Tsunade stared down at her hands, at the fingers clasped tightly together. What good were her abilities if she couldn't put them to use? Sakura had been taken, and she hadn't the faintest clue where to find her. Whoever had stolen the child had left behind no trail to follow. Her bag had been found in a field amongst scattered flowers. They had no lead to chase.

Who would take the girl? Where, and why?

_Think, Tsunade_ , she urged her overburdened mind. _Think!_

"Whoever – or whatever – took Sakura, isn't mortal," Kakashi broke the heavy silence. "That much is certain."

Jiraiya nodded his agreement. "It would take a very skilled human indeed to slip by our detectors. Higher powers are at work here."

"But what would they want with Sakura?" Tsunade spoke up, glaring at the floor in frustration. Shaking her head, she added, "The child is innocent; she played no part in what happened back then."

Kakashi was silent. Then he said slowly, "Perhaps that is precisely why she has been taken."

Jiraiya and Tsunade's eyes locked onto him. Shrugging, the silver-haired man followed, "This is merely a speculative theory, but whoever has taken her likely did so to use her as leverage of some kind. Any other explanation would make little sense."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hm," he mused. "The question is, for what purpose?"

Tsunade rose to her feet. "We have no choice," she stated, her voice hard. "We must venture skyward. _He_ is the only other person left to question."

"Ah," Kakashi raised an objecting hand. "If he _isn't_ involved, we'll be drawing his attention onto us. Are you certain that is wise?"

"We have nothing to hide," Tsunade replied acidly. "I cannot say the same for him. I didn't trust him then; time hasn't changed that."

"Think carefully, Tsunade," Jiraiya advised. "Do you truly wish for him to search for Sakura? Who is to say he won't use her as leverage if he is successful in locating her? If he chooses to look into her soul with his eyes, he may very well find what we have worked so hard to keep hidden. Let us wait. We may find clues yet."

" _Wait?_ " Tsunade exploded, whirling to regard him with furious eyes. "I cannot wait another minute! How can you expect me to be idle when Sakura is likely in danger? This is her life! You know what would happen if she were to-" she took a deep breath to compose her emotions, before continuing in a voice that trembled with anger, "A flower here has already begun to wilt. We _must_ find her. I promised-" she broke off again, her fingers curling tightly into fists once again.

Jiraiya glanced at Kakashi. "You say that Sasuke confirmed she was not dead?"

Kakashi shrugged. "He merely disclosed that she has not passed through the gates. I took this to mean as such." His eye drooped at the recollection of just how standoffish the death deity had been.

"I don't suppose we could somehow persuade the scoundrel to cooperate?" Jiraiya said half-heartedly. "He possesses the cloak of invisibility after all. It would be most useful in this case. We could offer him something in return, perhaps."

Tsunade snorted in a most ungracious manner. "I wouldn't trust the fool if my very existence depended upon it. That boy is bound to his cursed world. He is forbidden to venture to the skies." Underneath her breath, she added in a mutter, "That was the only thing his brother got right."

Kakashi shook his head. "Sasuke won't cooperate. He made that quite apparent." Besides, he mentally thought, they had nothing to offer that would satisfy the unpredictable death deity's demands.

Jiraiya sighed. "I will send my subjects to infiltrate his realm. He runs a busy schedule, as we all know; they should be able to get in and out without his notice."

"That isn't necessary," Tsunade scowled. "Suigetsu has already deployed his sirens."

"Any word from them, or him?" Jiraiya prompted.

"Not yet," Tsunade responded through clenched teeth.

"Then I see no problem with me sending back-up," Jiraiya grinned.

Kakashi placed a despairing hand to his forehead. "Intentionally provoking the God of Death is not a wise course of action, Jiraiya," he cautioned. "His world is separate to ours, but we know what he is capable of; nothing slips by his watch."

"Let him come to confront us about our intrusions," Jiraiya waved. "It would be the perfect opportunity for us to confront him in turn."

Tsunade released another brittle laugh. "Are you proposing that Sasuke might in some way be involved in this? _Sasuke Uchiha_?"

"I don't see why we should rule him out," Jiraiya said, causing Kakashi to stiffen.

"Now wait a minute-" he began to protest, frowning once again behind his mask.

"Sasuke is the least obvious culprit in this instance, but he does hate us all a great deal, does he not? I wouldn't put it past the rascal to cause trouble."

" _No,"_ Kakashi disagreed, shooting a harsh look at Jiraiya. "It is forbidden for him to keep a living mortal in his realm. We don't see eye to eye, but if he wanted to cause trouble for us, don't you think he would have already done so by now? Why would he wait all these centuries to act?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Even now, even after everything he partook in, you protect him."

Kakashi's eye lowered. "No. Sasuke turned from us a long time ago. But he is no fool. He wouldn't do this."

Jiraiya sighed loudly. "You're probably right, but I see no harm in summoning him to the Council either way. We are earth-bound also, and he can traverse to the surface. If he has nothing to hide, he will attend." His eyes trailed back to Tsunade, and he raised his bottle to her. "Don't do anything rash, Tsunade! I know that feisty temper of yours all too well."

She glared back at him. "I suppose you'll disappear for another ten months, as you always do," she snapped.

"I know women. If you're so upset about it, then you must miss me terribly," Jiraiya flirted back, and laughed heartily as she grabbed a pillow and hurtled it rather childishly at him. He side-stepped to avoid it and then strode to the front door. "I'll be back," he winked at her, and disappeared a second later.

"That idiot," Tsunade muttered disgustedly after him. Then she turned her attention back to Kakashi.

"I'll check on Naruto and Shikamaru's progress," he nodded.

"Fine, fine," she waved distractedly, scarcely hearing him as he exited the house. Walking back to the kitchen, she stared at the wilting flower, as if it could give her the answers she so desperately sought.

_Sakura_ , she thought out intently to it. _Where are you?_

* * *

It took Sakura a few minutes to fully regain her senses and regulate her breathing. She felt dizzy and disorientated, and her head throbbed. Her eyes were burning, and she wiped absentmindedly at the tears that were blurring her vision. She realised once they cleared that she was back in her bedchamber, and strained to remember what, exactly, had happened.

Recollection hit her a moment later, causing her to inhale sharply. She had been in the banqueting hall and made a mess in protest at Sasuke's locking her in the room until she yielded and accepted food, but she had refused to cooperate. Then Sasuke had arrived and he'd-

Her thoughts abruptly diverted as she became aware of a pleasant sensation in her stomach. She lifted her right hand, placed it over her belly. The crippling feeling of hunger had vanished entirely. She felt satisfyingly full, and somewhat sleepy - as though she had eaten something warm and delicious and consumed lots of it. Her thirst had also seemingly been quenched. Sakura's lips parted in horror, as intense crimson eyes flashed across her memory. _Sasuke._ Sasuke's gaze had done _something_ to her.

It was then that she became conscious of something else, something that made her feel tense, on edge; the unnerving, prickling sensation that she was being watched. She slowly shifted her head to the left, and her heart jumped in fright when she finally noticed who was sitting so calmly in the chair by the roaring hearth.

Sasuke's eyes were fire-tinged obsidian, spearing through her like hot, sooty coals. Sakura stared back at him in alarmed, frozen surprise for a moment – and then she was scrambling back on the massive bed, until she had reached the other side, where she clambered off and stood up, placing the impressive piece of furniture between them like it could serve to shield her somehow from him.

"You!" she exclaimed senselessly. "What did you do to me?"

Sasuke remained nonchalantly in place, did not deign to explain himself – as usual. Sakura grit her teeth. There was no denying what had happened. He'd forced her to eat against her wishes. She couldn't remember precisely how, but she did know that his eyes had been responsible. He couldn't have drugged her – she hadn't ingested anything prior to his gaze bleeding from onyx to red. She definitely had _not_ imagined it. The notion that Sasuke wasn't human was no longer an absurdity. To Sakura, it seemed to be a certainty, however illogical and impossible that was.

Her pulse was galloping out of control as she questioned, "What are you…?"

He blinked at her, before lowering his eyes pointedly to examine the rich rug beneath his feet.

"You aren't human," she whispered, gripping onto the foot of the bed's elegantly carved canopy post as if it could anchor her to sanity. "You can't be."

"Hn," was all Sasuke offered. So she was finally beginning to accept that he was nothing like her, or anyone else she had ever encountered. That, at least, was progress. Sweeping his piercing gaze up to her face once more, he intoned silkily, and with great interest, "Then what am I, Sakura?"

Her heart thumped more erratically at the way his tongue stroked tantalisingly over her name. Even the rich smoothness and darkness of his voice was unworldly. Sakura's breath hitched as an outrageous possibility suddenly presented itself to her, the result of fragmented pieces cementing together.

Yes, Sasuke was certainly beautiful and fast enough, though not as deathly pale as she would have expected. That was probably because he had an endless supply of his own kind of _sustenance_ to keep him living. He resided in a place surrounded by dead people. Her overactive and slightly hysterical imagination supplied that the young man seated so elegantly before her had probably killed all those people himself. He lived in a haunted, majestic castle. He wore black. And his eyes turned red. She unconsciously lifted a hand to her throat, was relieved when she felt nothing but smooth skin on both sides.

It didn't matter that he hadn't bitten her - _yet._ She knew that vampires couldn't possibly exist, but if they did, then Sasuke definitely qualified as one of the undead.

"You're a vampire," she blurted, knowing it to be a ridiculous accusation, but she couldn't think of anything else to account for his unearthly reflexes, his ability to disappear in a blur of movement, and the inhuman luminosity she had seen in his crimson eyes. The more she thought about it, the more certain she became. She had been abducted and was trapped in her very own horror story. It was a sick, twisted punishment for reading so much – far too much.

Sasuke raised a dark brow at her words and snorted contemptuously. Human superstitions were so entertaining, and yet he found her naivety astonishing. Just how sheltered a life had the girl lived, that she could not even begin to grasp what he truly was? He'd thought that he had provided her with enough clues. Evidently, however, he hadn't.

Sakura faltered, uncertain. If he wasn't a vampire, and he dealt with dead people, then what else could he be?

"A demon," she guessed next. This time Sasuke's expression verged on insulted, as he scowled at her senseless prediction.

"No," he uttered shortly, "I am not."

Sakura was almost relieved to discover that he was neither vampire nor hellish being. The thought of Sasuke having another less… _aesthetically pleasing_ form would have been enough to push her sanity over the brink. But the fact remained that he was definitely _not_ a normal person. She needed to discover what he was, and fast. She needed to know just who and what she was dealing with, in order to formulate an escape strategy.

Her mind raced. Sasuke lived amongst the dead. He proclaimed the underworld to be his domain. Which meant he was a ruler of some kind. And if he wasn't a demon or one of the undead, then what else was there? Who else could possess such breath-taking reflexes? What else had the power to split open the ground as if it were nothing but glass? Her thoughts hit against an impermeable mental block. She didn't _know_. She couldn't _think_ with him consuming all her attention. And her head – it hurt so much.

Pressing her fingers to her aching temples, she squeezed her eyes shut briefly and said, "You made me eat." It wasn't a question. She already knew he had done it, although she didn't understand the means through which he had been able to manipulate her awareness. A jolt of fear quaked through her at the realisation that if Sasuke was able to make her accept food against her will then he surely had the power to force her to engage in _other_ things as well.

The very fact made her skin crawl and her blood turn to ice.

"You tested my patience," Sasuke answered simply, as if his actions had been perfectly acceptable given the circumstances. Sakura's eyes flew open to regard him. He was still sitting casually in his seat. She blinked incredulously. _She_ had tested _his_ patience? She almost released a hysterical little giggle. Surely Sasuke knew that he was trampling on hers to a far greater degree? _He_ was the one who owed her answers. And yet he never provided them, choosing instead to throw her scatters of information that she could never quite assemble to form a clearer, fuller picture.

"You can't keep me here," she said quietly, lowering her eyes, her voice shaking with frustration and despair. "I have a life. I have exams. I have to get back home and study for-"

What he said next was something she hadn't expected to hear.

"You fear death."

She caught her breath, her gaze darting back to Sasuke's handsome face to find him watching her intently. He'd spoken with such conviction, as if he was absolutely certain of what he was talking about. After a few seconds of wordless floundering, she managed perplexedly, "What? No, I-"

"You fear it," Sasuke repeated, his eyes narrowing unnervingly at her. "But it is inevitable, Sakura. Death is the only certainty in life. Delaying its natural course is foolish."

Her heart fluttered as he finally rose from the armchair.

"You cannot reverse it," he continued, taking slow, measured strides towards her. Sakura found that she could not move, could do nothing but stand and listen to his compelling words. His voice seemed to weave a dangerous and frightening spell over her senses. He had, up until that moment, been brief and curt with her. But the subject she had inadvertently opened was clearly one on which Sasuke had more than a few words to share. He was suddenly perfectly fluent and articulate, and Sakura's ears were captivated. He had her full and undivided attention.

"It is the end result for all mortal things. Life is fleeting, transitory. Death," he finished, coming to a stop before her, "is eternal."

Sakura heard rapid, shallow breathing, realised it was coming from her parted, astonished lips. When Sasuke reached out with a hand, she flinched, but otherwise remained frozen in place. The greatest movement came from within her; she was now quite convinced that her poor heart was ready to explode straight out of her chest.

"You cannot deny it," Sasuke added, his eyes locked onto her face. She felt cool fingertips brush against the column of her throat, and could not help the shudder that racked along her spine. But as much as her mind was screaming at her to beware, to not allow herself to make the same mistake twice, she just couldn't look away from Sasuke. Her gaze trailed over his features in alarmed wonder. He was so sinfully handsome.

The fingers trailed down, to hover over the satin material that hid her heart from him.

"This organ will still at my command," he stated, staring deeply into Sakura's wide, green gaze. "Your desire to preserve lives… it is futile, Sakura."

Sakura felt as though the world was spinning around her. She could feel her jaw lowering as she gaped up at him in open confusion. How did he know that she wanted to become a doctor and save lives? How long had he been watching her for, and how could he have done so without her even suspecting that she was under anybody's scrutiny?

"I…" it was suddenly difficult to form coherent words. He was standing so close, once again completely disregarding her need for personal space. Like he had every right in the world to intrude upon her boundaries, and to touch her. But Sakura was too thrown to be angry at that moment. "How do you know that I…?"

He blinked and drew his arm back, moving to step away from her. Pure desperation to understand filled Sakura and caused her to act on impulse. She was reaching out with her right hand before her mind could register it and stop her, reaching to grasp onto the front of the dark, tunic-like over-shirt he wore beneath the flowing cloak.

Sasuke stopped immediately, his eyes moving to regard the small, slender fingers clutching onto the fabric over his chest. Desire enflamed him once more. How easy it would be to pull Sakura closer, to trap her within the circle of his arms, to capture her lips with his own. Then, perhaps, she would comprehend. His gaze moved to rest on the fullness of her sweet little mouth as she pleaded with him to explain.

"Please! Answer me!"

Smouldering onyx narrowed dangerously. The foolish girl didn't realise the peril she was in, how her proximity taunted and tempted him. He disengaged her hand - firmly, but not roughly – and uttered icily, "You are not a prisoner here, Sakura."

Sakura exhaled in astonished surprise, unable to believe what she was hearing. Was he- was he _mocking_ her? They both knew very well that he had kidnapped her and was keeping her against her will. Tears of rage prickled at her eyes. She still had to ask him about the golden clasps around her ankles, opened her mouth to do so, but Sasuke was already walking gracefully toward the doors.

He added stonily, "Roam where you please." Pausing to throw an unreadable glance over a broad shoulder at her, he finished nonchalantly, "Find a path back to the surface, and you may leave."

With that, he swiftly exited the room, leaving an incredulous Sakura in his wake.

* * *

Naruto held his breath, his cerulean eyes wide as he anxiously awaited Kakashi's response to the information they had disclosed to him about their earlier meeting with Sai. The masked man had called Shikamaru an hour earlier, requesting that they meet at his apartment. Naruto had sped them over, and almost knocked the front door down in his eagerness to hear Kakashi's news, only to be disappointed by a sad shake of the head. Kakashi had stubbornly refused to elaborate on any details of his journey beneath the surface, and after much pleading and whinging, Naruto had finally relented – only to pipe up again once Shikamaru had started to relay their encounter with Sai.

"Well," Kakashi sighed at length. "This certainly confirms that he isn't telling us everything, though it's debatable why."

"He wouldn't hide anything from us, unless he has good reason to do so," Shikamaru nodded.

"So what do we do?" Naruto demanded, always one who preferred to jump into action rather than waste time drafting up any battle-plans. "We've gotta make him talk!"

Kakashi stared thoughtfully into the distance. "If Sai is unable to cooperate, then he doesn't leave us much of a choice," he shook his head, and plucked the cell phone out of his grey shirt pocket. Sliding the cover up, he speed-dialled the required number.

"Eh?" Naruto frowned. "Who're you calling?"

Kakashi raised a hand, signalling for the boisterous blond to be quiet. The young men waited for the cell to connect, and who Kakashi was calling soon became apparent.

"Inoichi," Kakashi spoke into the mobile. "I'm sorry to disturb you – are you free to stop by?" He paused, nodded, before replying, "I understand. Shikamaru will return to keep an eye on your daughter."

Shikamaru's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest, but Naruto elbowed him in the side, grinning mischievously, as Kakashi continued, "Good. Please meet me here in twenty minutes. Of course. I'll send him right away." With that, he disconnected and cast an expectant glance at Shikamaru.

"Kakashi…" Shikamaru scowled. The thought of being alone with Ino Yamanaka wasn't exactly his worst nightmare, but he wasn't certain he was up to the emotional toll it would undoubtedly take upon his already overburdened system.

"Sorry," Kakashi's eye crinkled into an apologetic smile. "But Inoichi's an expert at extracting information from the unwilling, and we can't afford to waste any more time. I'll call you back immediately and fill you in."

Shikamaru sighed wearily. "How troublesome," he muttered, but dutifully rose to his feet, pointedly ignoring the teasing smile Naruto was directing his way.

"Heheh, have fun, Shikamaru," the blond youth called as his glaring friend grabbed his car keys and exited the apartment. No sooner had the door closed after him, Naruto's expression changed entirely to one of marked concern. He turned his attention immediately back to Kakashi and met the older man's sole gaze directly.

Quietly, he questioned, "How is he?"

* * *

Sai exhaled, watching his breath vaporise in the cool, spring night air. He'd decided to spend another sleepless night in the park, one of his preferred places, and had even managed to draw a few decent sketches. He was sitting on one of the many benches dispersed around the park's grounds, beneath the light of a lamp. His inky eyes lowered to the pad resting on his knees, trailing over the messy lines his pencil had formed. Then his gaze returned to the tree he had been studying. He supposed it would have to do, though it wasn't his best work by any means. With a light sigh, the young man gathered his backpack, carefully inserting his art equipment back into it and zipping it securely, before rising to his feet.

He knew why he had truly avoided returning to his apartment. There was a chance that Naruto, Shikamaru, or one of the others would seek him out there. He didn't know how much longer he could go on, withholding the information he knew. He felt terrible about it, and the guilt was a crushing weight on his chest. But he had given another god his word. And of all the gods to swear an oath to, he'd been unfortunate enough to be bound to one of the most heartless and dangerous of all.

He walked absentmindedly down the path, his feet leading him automatically. He had traversed the route so often that it was second nature to him to find the exit he was heading toward. A gentle ripple of breeze swayed the leaves in the trees. He suppressed a shudder. It was surprisingly cold, but he supposed that was because spring had only just begun to settle in.

_Spring._ His thoughts trailed inadvertently to Sakura. He had tried to banish her from his mind, but how could he? What if Kakashi confronted him again? He didn't think he could throw the sharp-minded man off his trail successfully a second time. It was a wonder that he'd even managed to-

Abruptly, the lamp light above him winked off. Sai turned his head up, caught unaware, only to find the remainder of the lights blinking out ahead and behind him, plunging him into utter blackness. The air around him seemed to plummet then, and his heart was racing in dread-filled realisation even before his mind could comprehend what was happening.

And when the deceptively smooth voice of death spoke out to him from the shadows, Sai's very blood froze over with terror.

"We meet again… _messenger_."


	13. Chapter XII

**Chapter XII**

* * *

_That bane,_

_Betrayal,_

_Spears the heart,_

_Skewers to pieces,_

_Precious trust,_

_And love is snatched,_

_And torn apart,_

_Verily do they,_

_Lament its fall,_

_As friendships withers,_

_And turns to dust,_

_Its memory gone,_

_Beyond recall._

* * *

Sakura stood by the fireplace, watching as the strong flames crackled steadily in the hearth. The warmth they radiated was scarcely felt by her body. On the inside, she was numb. Her head ached, a lingering side-effect of whatever diabolical spell Sasuke had woven upon her senses. But her energy-replenished mind was racing at blinding speed in an attempt to process the true meaning behind her captor's parting words.

He had told her that she wasn't a prisoner. Her initial reaction had been one of fury; he was taunting her helplessness, delighting in her fear and distress. He was nothing more than a cruel, demented sadist who, for reasons that eluded her, had been secretly watching her for an unspecified length of time. Then Sakura had recalled that he hadn't actually pursued her when she'd fled from the palace. Her teeth dug anxiously into her lower lip as a soft frown marred her brow. It didn't make any sense. Why would Sasuke kidnap her, only to inform her that she was free to leave – provided she could find a way out?

Cold realisation settled in the depths of her stomach like an unpleasant block of ice. Sasuke was likely so confident, so absolutely certain that she _couldn't_ find the escape route that he was inviting her to make an attempt. Because her efforts would surely entertain his twisted mind. It was the only valid explanation and one that caused Sakura's small fingers to curl into angry fists.

Sasuke clearly knew more about her than he let on and that fact alarmed and disconcerted her. That he'd chosen to breach the topic of death, to claim that it was hopeless for her to want to preserve lives was proof enough of that.

_The_ _creep,_ Sakura thought _,_ glaring with enough heat to rival the flames before her. The moment she got out, she vowed that she'd get her mother's top lawyer onto Sasuke's case. She'd have him arrested and see him behind bars for the horror he was putting her through. She wasn't a bad person. She'd never done anything to warrant such torment. Sasuke didn't seem to have a rational excuse to account for his actions, other than that he _wished_ it.

Well, Sakura wasn't about to give up fighting him. She'd find a way back home to her mother – somehow. Yes, Sasuke terrified her - so much so that she was convinced her cardiovascular system was ready to shut down whenever she glimpsed him – but that didn't mean she would make things easy for him. They were strangers. There was no reason for her to be polite. Besides, she had already witnessed that the civilised approach didn't work with him. He was not a civilised individual. He was barbaric, a lunatic, someone she couldn't possibly communicate with, and if he believed for a second that she had any intention of humouring whatever disgusting designs he was harbouring-

Her mind abruptly screeched to a halt. Maybe- maybe her approach was wrong? Her eyes gazed intently at the flames lapping hungrily over one another for dominance as she allowed the thought to slowly unwind. She'd seen that confrontation was futile; screaming and shouting at Sasuke and falling into hysterics achieved nothing. He was like an impenetrable wall against which all her protests harmlessly rebounded. But, if she adopted a more subtle strategy…. if she gave him the impression that she was giving up the fight, if she behaved herself and busied herself with other things, and tried to make courteous conversation with him…

Sakura blinked, pressing the palms of her hands against her eyelids in frustration. What was she _thinking_? How could she even entertain such an outrageous idea? Even if it _was_ smarter than the methods she had already utilised, how could she possibly compose herself and rein in her anger enough to speak to Sasuke politely? It meant swallowing her pride and dignity and succumbing to his wishes. Her kidnapper didn't strike her as the kind of person who was easily fooled. What if she played nice, only for him to discover her true intentions? What would she do then?

Sakura had never been a good liar. She wore her heart on her sleeve; her emotions, in many ways, were her greatest weaknesses. How could she possibly conceal the truth of her actions from someone whose very gaze seemed to pierce straight through her skull?

She groaned. The only way was to actually stop searching for an escape. To do the opposite of what he very clearly expected. Sakura knew she would have to lay low for a while – the longer, the more believable. Perhaps Sasuke would eventually cease to be suspicious of her. She would slowly but surely learn more, and when she knew enough, and when he least expected it, she would make a mad dash for freedom.

At least, that was the plan. It seemed like a very dangerous and haphazard one to Sakura, but the logical voice in her head - which she was surprised hadn't yet abandoned her given the circumstances - argued that it was a much more sensible and viable option than dissolving into fits of tears and hysteria whenever she encountered Sasuke. Or locking herself in her bedroom and sulking. And she only really had two choices of action – to yield to panic and kick up a fuss, making blind-sighted attempts at escaping, or to quietly observe, learn, and then map out a strategy once she was better informed on what, exactly, her situation was. Admittedly it was a much more painfully slow process, and results were not guaranteed – but what other alternative was there?

Sakura turned distractedly away from the grand fireplace, her decision made. She would simply avoid Sasuke for as long as possible. And if he did stop by to see her, or summoned her to him, she would dutifully play the part of a timid, frightened mouse, which wouldn't be too difficult a role to fall into, considering just how much he set her on edge.

He had granted her permission to wander where she pleased. Sakura's eyes turned to the double doors that led out to the sprawling, black-marbled hall. Wandering was precisely what she planned to do. She walked toward the doors, reached out to open them, when they suddenly parted before her, revealing the surprised faces of her attendants.

"Oh!" Ume exclaimed, her eyes wide, and, Sakura was certain, a little guilty. "Mistress! You are awake!"

Sakura's gaze darted between the women. She noticed how they seemed to avoid eye-contact, and immediately deduced that they had likely been the ones who had fed her when she had been… out of it. At least, she hoped that they had; the thought of Sasuke doing it sent her heart into a wild gallop.

"We hope you are well rested," Chizu followed, curtsying respectfully. Sakura released a light sigh. She wondered whether befriending her maids would be possible, and to her benefit. She reasoned that as long as she didn't ask questions about their master, there would be no obstacles in gaining their trust. Acting sceptically toward them wouldn't do her any favours. The initial shock and disbelief of what had happened to her had finally started to sink in, and although remnants still lingered, particularly in relation to Sasuke and _what,_ exactly, he was, Sakura knew she couldn't afford to lose her composure anymore. She needed to remain level-headed if she wanted to hold any hope at all of her plan succeeding.

"Please," Sakura entreated. "I already asked you not to address me so formally."

"Forgive us," Chizu apologised, her eyes slowly lifting to regard their charge. Sakura read the uncertainty in them, as if the woman was expecting her to bolt off again at any moment, and offered a tiny, tentative smile.

_Win their trust,_ the voice of practicality whispered in her head.

"Well… I do feel a little better now. I was wondering…" here she paused, allowing them to see her own hesitancy, "I'd like to take a look around; I mean, if that's alright with you?"

Ume beamed, and Sakura felt an unexpected tug at her heart. She fleetingly wondered how the girl and her older supervisor had even ended up serving a madman like Sasuke. Had he kidnapped them also? Sakura suppressed a shudder at the realisation that such a possibility, if it were indeed true, would not surprise her.

It was Chizu who replied, "We would be most pleased to provide you with a tour of the palace. Which area would you like to visit first?"

"The east wing has such splendid galleries," Ume gushed excitedly. "And a library Mistress; such a wonderful sight! Do you like to read? Oh," she seemed to catch herself, and averted her eyes bashfully. "I am sorry to be so forward-"

"Please show me," Sakura interjected reassuringly.

"If it would please you to accompany us," Chizu said, gesturing to the hallway beyond the doorway's threshold. Sakura nodded and followed after them. Chizu walked ahead, while Ume kept pace beside Sakura. They guided her along the central corridor toward the royal staircase and the ground floor. As they made their way down the steps, Chizu led Sakura to the left, in the direction opposite to the banqueting hall, passing beneath the archways and several doors. Chizu explained to Sakura that it was relatively easy to navigate through the palace despite its immense size, if one simply divided it into four sections – the east wing, the west wing, the northern quarters and its terraces and the southern entrance behind them.

Sakura followed quietly, listening closely to every piece of information the elder of her attendants disclosed, painting a mental map in her mind of the palace's different segments. She'd always possessed a good sense of special awareness throughout her schooling. Chizu led them through the regal door at the very back of the entrance hall and into yet another wide hallway, lined with more armoured knight statues. Elaborate, illuminated chandeliers hung from the high arched ceiling. Eventually the hallway ended, merging into another wide, arch-shaped opening in the wall which led through to another shorter passageway. The black marble floor was replaced by pure silver, and Sakura's eyes were dazzled by the richness of its sheen. Ivory angels stood in lamentation around the area's perimeter and rich tapestries bearing the same red and white fan insignia Sakura had spied outside of the palace were hung upon the pale grey stone walls. An uchiwa fan, Sakura recognised, wondering what manner of significance it bore.

Chizu drew to a stop by a pair of enormous, solid gold doors, encrusted with what appeared to be genuine sapphire gem stones. Swirled around the precious, diamond shaped jewels were burnt silver filigree designs. Sakura's jaw dropped in astonishment. The door was another work of fabulous art, and she was mesmerised by the clarity of light that shone within the gems.

"This here is the ballroom, Mistress," Chizu informed her, reaching out to open the doors. Sakura, who had expected them to way a tonne, was surprised when they parted effortlessly. They stepped into the room and onto the spacious landing of a gigantic, porcelain staircase that boasted ornate, golden banisters, coiled with the same beautiful filigree designs that featured decoratively around the rest of the palace. The stairway was enclosed at the front but swept out to form two separate majestic staircases at the sides, gently curving inward they descended. And when Sakura's eyes fell upon what was beyond them she felt the air leave her lungs.

Pure splendour overwhelmed her eyes and her senses. The ballroom was a sprawling, shimmering masterpiece, a picture of utter grandeur, lined on both sides by Palladian-like, stained-glass balcony doors and windows. They were crowned by elaborate, solid gold cornices, from which hung gauzy, semi-transparent crimson drapes, drawn back and held in place by twists of golden rope. Candles burned steadily in tall, three-headed floor candelabra, placed before the strips of wall that separated the rainbow-coloured glass. Golden light glinted off the ruby tear-droplets attached to the ornate bronze frames. The bases of the walls were painted rich, deep gold, as were the arms of the three gigantic, crystal chandeliers that hung from the gold-lined ceiling. And as Sakura turned her bedazzled gaze up to the sight towering high above her, she was overcome by a fresh wave of awe.

The exquisitely painted ceiling was a beautiful pale sky blue and white, depicting many winged angels and other graceful figures who she assumed were gods and goddesses. A glorious sun shone behind them, painted in spectacular shades of yellow and yet more gold. Exotic birds and flowers breathed further life into the breath-taking artwork. The scene portrayed a world that was fantastically mythical. Sakura felt a rush of light-headedness just staring up at it, knew she could spend hours poring over its delightful details. She then turned her attention to the ballroom's golden-hued floor. The firelight's warm glow threw an array of colours from the glass windows and doors onto the ground's shimmering surface. It was polished to perfection, mirroring the chandelier above it as well as her astounded reflection.

Around the vast room were placed low, elegant, ornately-decorated golden chaise longue sofas. Their cushions were crimson, matching the curtain draperies. Sakura shook her head in disbelieving wonder as she walked forward in admiration, and was about to turn back to her waiting attendants, when she spotted the most striking grand piano she had ever laid eyes upon in the far left-hand corner of the room ahead of her. It was elegantly cut, its sides encrusted with filigree engraved gold. The keys were pristine, perfect ivory and the underside of the lid boasted another gorgeous painting depicting even more angels. The piano's golden stool matched the elaborate design on the magnificent instrument's body and fall cover. Sakura slowly exhaled, turning to look around the area once again. Deep, sensuous crimson and gold, illuminated by warm candlelight - it was an enchanting, magical combination, and her mind couldn't quite comprehend the stunning beauty of it.

"This is…" she spoke in a hushed voice, almost afraid that the imperial vision before her would dispel if she raised her tone any higher. "This is wonderful…"

"It is indeed," Chizu replied.

"I knew you would like it!" Ume enthused.

"And if it would please your ladyship, you may come to play on that piano any time you wish."

Sakura's eyes lingered appreciatively on the instrument, before turning back to regard Chizu. "Oh," she said, raising a hand self-consciously to her hair, "I'm not really any good. I mean, my mother taught me, but that was…" her voice trailed off at the thought of her mother, and her heart constricted tightly within her. Swallowing back the misery that threatened to consume her at that very moment, she finished quietly, "That was a long time ago."

A brief yet heavy silence ensued, in which Chizu and Ume exchanged uncomfortable glances, when Sakura piped up, "I'd like to see more – if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course!" Ume burst out, her sweet features brightening with relief. "Oh, please let us show her the library, matron!"

"Very well," Chizu answered, a small smile gracing her lips as she gestured back toward the direction of the staircase. "This way, if it would please you to follow us."

* * *

Sai felt the blood drain from his face, causing his frighteningly pale complexion to ashen even further. His thoughts had all at once become a jumbled, frenzied mess. The only coherent thing that ricocheted through his mind was that death, upon reflection, had found no reason to allow him to live any further and had surely returned to finish him off once and for all.

The rapid, unsteady bursts of air escaping his lips vaporised into the freezing atmosphere that had settled like a suffocating blanket around him. When the tall figure coalesced from the darkness and began to circle him with predator-like grace Sai was convinced that his heart was ready to go into cardiac arrest.

"Great God," he managed to greet, bowing his head in reverence. The electric energy that crackled through the air was asphyxiating. Sai's nerve endings were on fire, anticipating a bolt of agonising pain at any moment.

His terror was magnified ten-fold when the punishment did not immediately come, when Sasuke stopped directly in front of him and instead reached out to grab him roughly – but not painfully – by the collar of his grey top.

"We will not talk here," he uttered coldly, and Sai sensed a rapid fall in pressure around him. His mouth opened in horror, his sprinting mind immediately acknowledging what was about to happen, but he could do nothing to avoid it. Disobeying Sasuke would be foolish, dangerous. And so he closed his eyes, felt freezing, biting wind assault him as the ground fell away beneath his feet and his world spun out of control – and when he touched down again and opened his eyes once more, his fears were confirmed. They were standing by the misty mouth of the Underworld – Sasuke's territory.

The ginormous hound Cerberus stood at growling attention, watching the morsel that had been spirited into his range keenly and hungrily. But his master's iron will kept him firmly at bay.

Sai's vision blurred when Sasuke abruptly released him. Vertigo took over, causing him to stumble unsteadily on his feet, overcome with nausea and an escalating sense of panic. His right foot caught against protruding rock on the ground, sending him sprawling to the floor. He sat up, clutching his pounding head, trying to restore order to his breathing.

"Pathetic," Sasuke quipped, his voice dripping with open contempt. And then, mercilessly, "Get up."

Sai tried to push himself off the ground, only for the world to tilt violently again. With an impatient snarl, Sasuke stepped forward and aggressively yanked him to his feet, maintaining a tight grip on the fabric over the disorientated youth's chest. Sai wheezed for oxygen and forced himself to remain as still as possible. Eventually, blessedly, his vision cleared, and though he still felt lightheaded, he was able to stand unassisted without falling over. Seeing this, Sasuke withdrew his hand and narrowed his eyes intimidatingly.

"You assume I have the girl."

Sai wasn't able to stem the sharp inhalation of air in time. It was all the confirmation Sasuke needed, as he folded his arms smugly across his chest, and confirmed tauntingly, "You are correct."

It took every ounce of Sai's willpower to keep his gaze from flying up to stare at the Death God in stupefied shock. Sasuke was actually _admitting_ that he had kidnapped Sakura? Of course he had suspected it all along, but to have it openly confirmed; that didn't bode well for Sai. It was surely the final nail in the coffin Sasuke had long been preparing for him. He was about to die; Sasuke was just ensuring that his end was all the more cruel.

Keeping his eyes trained onto the ground, he said shakily, "I have spoken nothing to them-"

"And you will speak nothing," Sasuke interjected briskly. "You will inform me of every action they take."

Sai released an astonished breath, this time unable to stop his eyes from rising to the death deity's face. Overcome by a head-whirling combination of confusion and uncertainty, he began, "Forgive me- but I do not-"

"You will report their progress to me," Sasuke clarified.

Sai blinked as understanding slowly began to dawn upon him. Sasuke wanted him to spy on Tsunade and the others' search for Sakura. He was rendered mute with horror. Sasuke was asking him to not only lie, but to stab the people who had only ever treated him kindly in the back. How could he do such a thing? What manner of person would it make him if he consented?

He knew the answer, of course; he would be lower than scum, unworthy of the powers that had been bestowed unto him. Heart racing, he bravely began to shake his head in rejection of the command, for he couldn't betray the people who trusted him, but the cruel, callous smirk that curved one corner of Sasuke's lips communicated that he had no choice.

"Do this and I will release you of your debt. You have my word."

Sai swallowed thickly. To be free… to live without fear of looking over his shoulder, expecting death to claim him at any moment; painful longing tugged at his heart. But it was quickly replaced by an icy bitterness. Could he really betray Naruto, and Tsunade, the very goddess who had saved his life? And Kakashi, Shikamaru, Ino, and all the other friends he had made; how could he ever face them again if he agreed?

Sensing his lingering hesitance, Sasuke added what he knew would be the seal on the deal, "Your brother's soul will enter Elysium."

Sai's shoulder's tensed for a brief moment before slumping, head bowing low as he despondently averted his gaze. The mention of his deceased brother sparked too many agonising memories, but within the swirl of despair was white-hot anger. Sasuke was an unjust and master manipulator who abused his powers to bend others to his will. He was undeserving of his title as God of the Dead, a monster who was capricious in nature and thoroughly unsympathetic to the plights of others. And yet, Sai was not foolish enough to defy him. Sasuke would likely kill him if he refused, but he would never allow Sai's soul to pass on for disobeying him. He would keep it in captivity and torture it forever.

"They will question me again," the messenger said dejectedly. "I fear I cannot throw them off trail this time-"

In response, Sasuke raised his left arm, holding his palm out toward Sai. The youth flinched fearfully, his heart immediately jumping into his throat as he watched Sasuke's hand glow an eerie blue-white. A strange, tingling feeling began to radiate in Sai's mouth, and he realised in alarm a split-second later that it was originating from the back of his tongue. The tingling became a burning pain, choking his throat shut, and for a few moments he couldn't draw breath. Then the unpleasant feeling passed, vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared. Sai coughed and raised wide, ink-black eyes up to Sasuke's face, to find the death deity regarding him aloofly down the barrel of his straight, aristocratic nose.

"A seal now rests upon your tongue. If you speak, you die," he stated matter-of-factly. Narrowing his gaze at Sai, he supplemented threateningly, "You are watched at all times, messenger."

Sai gulped. His mind was racing with panic. How in the world was he supposed to infiltrate into the plans of his friends without being exposed as a spy? Kakashi, Tsunade and the others were not simpletons. They would suspect him immediately. But Sasuke didn't look like he was worried about that. It was down to Sai to get the information the death deity desired. The means through which he did so were none of Sasuke's concern.

"How will I contact you?" Sai questioned uncertainly.

"I will find you," Sasuke replied ominously.

Sai swallowed again, and slowly nodded, plagued by a horrible, crushing sense of guilt. But he had no other alternative. At least if he was found out, he could surely attempt to reason with Naruto and the others. With Sasuke, he had no such luxury.

"As you wish, Great God. But," he added hesitantly, before his nerve could abandon him, "I would like to see Sakura before I depart."

Sasuke's onyx eyes glinted dangerously, possessively. "No," he uttered curtly, automatically.

"Please; only for a minute. I will do as you ask, but I would like to see that she is well and unharmed-"

"She is unharmed," Sasuke snapped, his tone warning Sai to dismiss the very idea. "Now leave – before I relinquish my control of Cerberus."

Sai cast a nervous glance at the ravenous, salivating three-headed beast and knew he had outstayed his short welcome. Sasuke was clearly not about to consent to his request; the menacing expression on the death deity's face informed Sai that there was absolutely no way he would be able to meet and converse with Sakura. Bowing his head submissively, he closed his eyes, immediately felt the same biting, freezing wind as the ground gave way beneath him once again.

When he opened his eyes, he was back in the lamp-illuminated park.

* * *

"Can you do it?" Naruto's large blue eyes stared intently and hopefully at Inoichi. Ino's father was as stern and grave as ever as he raised the small cup of steaming tea which Kakashi had served him to his lips and took a sip.

"It would require me to tap into my own seal," he replied after swallowing his mouthful. They were seated in a triangular formation on the floor, with the tray of refreshments resting between them. Directing a level look at Kakashi, he added, "If I were to do this, it would only be a matter of time before _he_ finds out. You understand what could happen, Kakashi. You understand that the only reason we continue to be is because of the oaths we gave."

"Yes," Kakashi sighed wearily. "But we have little other choice. Sai isn't telling us everything. We need to find out what, exactly, he knows."

Inoichi looked displeased. "Kakashi," he said, the serious tone of his voice causing Naruto's heart to pick up pace. "Each of us, with the exception of Naruto, sealed off our own powers and swore never to call upon them again. In return, we were banished but permitted to exist."

"We promised never to use them to try to get back on top of the mountain," Naruto argued. "This is different-"

"No, Naruto," Inoichi shot him a sharp look. "If we are prepared to tap into our seals for this purpose then who is to say we will not choose to meddle with them again in future? He also swore to a truce. He agreed that he would bring no harm to us and to humanity, so long as we stay to our word. He cannot venture down to the Earth to wreak his war-mongering upon it, and we cannot ascend to confront him."

"What about _my dad?_ " Naruto spat, his eyes flashing with a pain he had kept suppressed for too long. "He promised not to harm any of us – so why isn't my dad here?"

Kakashi reached out to lay a soothing hand on Naruto's shoulder, but the young man batted it away and was on his feet in an instant. "Answer me!" he exclaimed angrily.

"The Yellow Flash was our leader. Even he feared your father," Inoichi answered evenly. "And so he saw fit to-"

"Inoichi," Kakashi warned. Then, turning his attention back to Naruto, he entreated, "Please calm down, Naruto-"

"No!" Naruto's chest heaved with rage. "That bastard can't accuse us of breaking our promises when he broke his own oath the very first day he made it! What the fuck is he even doing up there? How do we know he isn't plotting something else? We can't trust him! How do we know _he_ isn't the one who took Sakura-chan?"

"We don't!" Inoichi snapped, finally losing his temper. "But we cannot go charging in making accusations when we have absolutely no evidence in our possession!" Inhaling deeply following this outburst, he added a censuring, "You're still as rash and undisciplined as ever, Naruto!"

Naruto's jaw clenched in fury and he pointed an accusing finger at Inoichi, who stiffened. "You weren't there when my dad needed you. The least you can do is help me find Sakura-chan now! Would you just be sitting here and talking at me if it was _Ino_ who was missing?"

Kakashi grabbed hold of Naruto's outstretched arm and jerked the youth back to his knees on the floor. "That's enough, Naruto," he reprimanded. "You've overstepped the mark."

Naruto glared at him, before directing unrepentant eyes back to Inoichi, who regarded him coolly. A tense, heavy silence ensued, in which the two remained locked in a silent struggle of wills.

Finally, Inoichi sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "If I didn't hold Minato in such high regard, I'd have cut out that insolent tongue," he muttered. Then he lifted his eyelids and met Naruto's heated gaze directly.

"Very well," he reluctantly agreed. "I will look into Sai's mind; but you must be prepared to bear the consequences."

* * *

Suigetsu leaned back against the wall of his prison, his arms folded impatiently across his chest. How much longer was he supposed to endure the humiliation of being stuck right where Sasuke wanted him? The Sea God knew he was capable of escaping through the lightning-charged bars of his cage; it wouldn't be a pleasant experience, but neither would it be particularly difficult. However, doing so would trigger the sensors that Sasuke had undoubtedly placed within the bars. The governor of death would be alerted the instant Suigetsu's body passed through the metal rods and rush back to confront him, to keep him from exiting the Underworld.

"Bastard," the water deity muttered in disgust. Sasuke was so cocky, so sure of himself all the time, walking around with his perfect, snooty nose turned up in the air like he was better than the rest of them, when in reality he was a pathetic coward. The fact that he'd resorted to _kidnapping_ a human girl was proof enough of that fact.

Suigetsu sneered. Had the unfortunate child – Sakura – refused Sasuke? Was that why he had stolen her away from her mother? _What an idiot_ , he thought derisively to himself. Sasuke clearly didn't know much about women if abduction was his wooing method of choice.

He huffed, rolling his eyes up to regard the low, rocky ceiling of his drab cell. _Come on,_ he urged. How many times did he need to transmit his mental call before he was heard? He was ready to send a particularly colourful message out to his chosen receiver, when the trudging of boots along the path caused his eyes to brighten expectantly.

"Dammit, Suigetsu!" the familiar voice snapped. "You've given me a headache, stupid!"

He pushed himself off the wall and walked forward to peer at Karin through the glowing bars. "Always so pleased to see me," he said, flashing a toothy grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

But Karin was too surprised to notice. "What are you doing in there, idiot?" she demanded. Then, quickly realising that there was only one possible explanation, she began to cackle at him. Suigetsu's insincere smile quickly dissolved, to be replaced by a positively murderous glare.

"Bitch," he seethed. "You won't be laughing when I get out of here."

" _If_ you get out. Sasuke put you in there, didn't he?" She sighed dreamily. " _So_ forceful," she purred.

Suigetsu's jaw dropped. Then he began to snicker and was soon hooting with laughter. It was Karin's turn to scowl. She desperately rued the fact that she couldn't clobber him on the head, as she used to do whenever he bothered her on the surface.

"Idiot! What's so funny?"

"Y-you!" Suigetsu gasped. "Still trying to get into that bastard's pants! Hahahahaha!"

Karin's cheeks turned as scarlet as her hair, as she spluttered indignantly, "W-what? Shut up!"

Suigetsu sniggered some more, before supplying amusedly, "You know he's got a girl here with him, right? A human? And she's a thousand times hotter than you are; you've got no chance."

"Shut _up!_ " Karin ground out through tightly clenched teeth.

"He's probably taking his pleasure of her right now," Suigetsu continued to casually taunt, watching Karin's tortured expression gleefully. "You know what they say about-"

"SHUT UP!" Karin screamed, hurtling a rock at him in rage. It struck the lightning bars and sizzled into harmless debris. She stood, chest heaving with the intensity of her emotions. Then she inwardly cursed. She'd allowed Suigetsu to get under her skin again. He'd demonstrated an infuriating knack for that over the centuries. Exhaling slowly, she straightened her glasses and snarled, "I've got a job to do, bastard."

"Not so fast," Suigetsu said seriously as she moved to turn away. "Get me out of here."

Karin threw a derisive look back over her shoulder at him. Did the idiot truly think she would oblige him after how angry he'd just made her? More importantly, did he really think she was prepared to betray Sasuke?

"In your dreams, stupid! I serve Sasuke, now!"

"You're a _water_ nymph," Suigetsu's lavender eyes narrowed as he emphasised the element pointedly. "I saved your life once, bitch. You owe me."

"Aren't you supposed to be the mighty Sea God?" Karin mocked. "Can't even get out of one little cage?"

"That's not it and you know it. Sasuke wants me in the Underworld because he knows I'll snitch on his ass. But if you help me out," he lowered his voice and raised his eyebrows, "I'll get Sakura out of here too and out of your way. Face it; you don't want her around."

"Sasuke hasn't brought her here for _that_ , idiot!" Karin hissed.

The water deity snorted. "Oh yeah? Can you think of any other reason why he'd go through all the trouble to steal her away _and_ keep her away from her mother?" When Karin stared blankly back at him, Suigetsu realised that she didn't know who Sakura's mother was. Deciding not to disclose the information, he amended, "There're people looking for Sakura. _Important_ people. And if they find out that she's here, and that you did nothing to help her escape – then death will be the least of your worries."

He saw uncertainty flicker within Karin's eyes. If there was one thing he knew about Karin, it was that she always looked out for herself first. Sensing her hesitation, he added, "I'll get you out, too. You can stay underwater until Sasuke gets over his tantrum. He can't reach you there."

Karin swallowed. Suigetsu held his breath hopefully when she remained silent. Finally, she shook her head. "No. He isn't like the others. I won't betray him." Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes at the Sea God, she finished, "Don't call me again, idiot!" Then she turned and began to stomp away.

"You think he gives a damn about you?" Suigetsu yelled after her. "He's using you Karin! The same way he uses everyone else!"

His words echoed in the darkness and fell upon unreceptive ears as Karin disappeared out of his sight.

* * *

Sakura hadn't quite known what to expect before she stepped into the library, but nothing could have prepared her for the brilliance that met her eyes when Chizu parted the emerald encrusted doors. She saw gold and pristine white – and shelves upon shelves of books, leading up to an impossibly high ceiling supported by gently arching, ornate gold beams. The books formed two different levels, enclosed within elegant golden railings, up to which climbed two, gently swirling staircases, placed on either sides of the massive room. The floor was immaculately polished and boasted pretty, geometrical patterns that reminded Sakura of the shapes formed by a kaleidoscope. She released an amazed gasp, turning her eyes up to the ceiling again. It displayed a beautifully painted golden sun, surrounded by rings of glorious flame. Exotic, mosaic-like patterns provided extraordinary detail, and Sakura wished that she could somehow get closer to examine every part of the masterpiece looming above her. The picture itself seemed to somehow illuminate the room with light. Three colossal chandeliers added to the warm, magical glow about the space. They boasted ruby-droplets, much like the smaller floor candelabras she had glimpsed in the ballroom. Sakura's gaze lowered and noticed the long ladders attached to horizontal tracks between the book shelves, allowing easy access to higher-up books.

"Do you like it?" Ume asked, peering anxiously into Sakura's face. Sakura's mouth moved, but for a few seconds, she couldn't summon any words to answer her young attendant.

"I believe she does," Chizu smiled, watching Sakura's flabbergasted expression with open amusement.

It was the biggest, most breath-taking library she had ever seen. Sakura couldn't even begin to guess the number of books it housed, and felt genuine excitement bubble within her for the first time since she had woken up in the Underworld. She absolutely _loved_ reading and in a library this size, there had to be books under every topic that existed beneath the sun. She hurried over to the left staircase and climbed up to the second level, her eyes trailing over the helpful labels, scrawled on small, rectangular golden plates, fixed neatly onto the base of the shelves.

Social science was divided into rows and rows of sub-sections – anthropology, sociology, linguistics, communication and philosophy, to name but a few. Sakura shook her head in amazement. The amount of knowledge contained in the room; how could one even begin to measure it? She walked around, reading labels of words she didn't even understand. Then she noticed that the railings on both sides of the upper level joined together at the end and tapered off to form another mini-landing with a staircase leading up to a secret section that had been concealed from her sight on the bottom floor by an arching beam.

She peered down at where Ume and Chizu were waiting for her.

"I'd like to stay here for a while," she called to them.

They turned their faces up to her, hearing the eagerness in her voice.

"Of course, Mistress. Do you require any assistance?" Chizu asked.

"No, thank you," Sakura answered politely, "I'd like to explore, if that's alright."

"Do you wish for us to wait for you?" Ume questioned.

"Oh, no! I might be a while," said Sakura distractedly.

"Then we will return for you in an hour. Will that suffice?" Chizu enquired next.

Sakura's eyes moved back to the staircase before her. "Yes. Thank you for bringing me here!"

She heard them chuckle in response, but scarcely noticed when the doors closed behind them as they left her to enjoy the library at her own pace. Sakura climbed up the stairs, turning her face back to the library's ceiling. The sun was closer, and glinted gold in the light that radiated from the chandeliers. She reached the top landing of the stairs and found herself in another section that possessed a gigantic, old-fashioned looking globe and brass telescopes resting on a large, circular table in the middle of the room. Maps and other star-gazing and astronomical contraptions were scattered on another rectangular oak table, as was an ink pot and, to Sakura's bewilderment, an actual feather quill.

Sasuke didn't even possess biro pens? Or a pencil? A fresh feeling of displacement was starting to creep over Sakura again. There was another wooden study table and a chair with a comfortable-looking, supportive cushion at its back in the right corner of the room. Smaller wooden bookshelves lined the large, square-shaped space and a rich, deep crimson carpet on the floor muffled her footsteps. Sakura turned her face up to the ceiling and gasped in delight. It was dome shaped and black, but twinkled with tiny lights that were reminiscent of actual stars.

When she finally managed to tear her eyes away from the pretty display, she turned to examine the rows of books. As she pulled a large, leather-bound one out and opened it, she was met with small, unfamiliar print, and frowned. Were all the books written in a language she couldn't read? Replacing the book, she pulled another out, only to find that it possessed the same foreign characters. Another three revealed the same result. Dismayed, Sakura turned and made her way back down the stairs and drew a random book from one of the second level's shelves. She sighed with relief when she found familiar text staring innocently back up at her.

Deciding that she should explore the ground floor first, Sakura climbed back down the curving staircase and walked over to the furthest, left-sided corner of the library, her eyes searching eagerly for their target. Where were all the stories? She couldn't find any label in the area that said _fiction_. Perhaps Sasuke didn't read fiction? He didn't seem like the type, but then, she knew nothing about him. Every library possessed a fiction collection – there surely _had_ to be one. She followed the bottom shelves along but didn't find what she was looking for. Sakura supposed she might as well have been searching for a needle in a haystack. There were just too many books, and she didn't know where to start.

Well, at least she had another place to pass the time, she told herself, along with the enchanting gardens. She reached out to pull the sliding ladder along the track, drawing it closer to her. Then, carefully, she began to climb up the rungs, being careful with her slipper-clad feet. She peered left and right, spying books about all kinds and forms of art. No, this wasn't the right section. A quick glance down made her realise that the ladder was much higher up than it looked from the bottom. She grabbed the ledge above her and began to shuffle the ladder along, knowing it was a precarious method of transportation along the rack, but she couldn't be bothered to climb down again. She came to a stop by another section, only to scowl unhappily when she once again found herself in the wrong area. Perhaps the fiction books were on the other side? Why hadn't she thought of asking Chizu and Ume?

Seeing no other alternative than to climb back down, Sakura slowly began to descend. When she was certain she had gotten the hang of the spacing between the rungs, she picked up pace, eager to reach the bottom and to investigate the other side of the room, when her right foot unexpectedly misplaced on a rung, and her hands, which had been in transition to the next step down, lost their grip. Knocked off-balance, Sakura shrieked as gravity began to pull her backwards. Surely the fall would hurt; even halfway up was high enough to break bones. She flailed, trying to catch onto the ladder, but she was already plummeting to the ground, and squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the pain-

-only to feel warm, strong arms supporting her weight instead. She cracked her eyes open and tensed to find Sasuke's face hovering inches from hers. She hadn't even heard him enter the library. But he had, and he had caught her, and was holding her in a sweeping manner that mimicked the way new grooms carried their brides. Sakura's heart was racing instantly, and she felt sudden heat bloom into her face. Sasuke's dark eyes held hers for a long moment, causing her pulse to quicken further – and then he slowly lowered her, setting her safely onto the ground. Sakura's legs felt like jelly as she stepped back to place a respectable distance between them, awfully self-conscious of her flushed cheeks.

"Thank you," she stammered automatically, and was shocked when her mind registered a second later that she was actually expressing _gratitude_ toward her deranged and dangerous abductor. Feeling thoroughly awkward, she looked down at her treacherous feet and added stupidly, "These slippers- they- I slipped-"

_Oh, nice_ , her inner voice taunted sarcastically. Turning into an incoherent mess around Sasuke was _not_ how she had intended to execute her new, subtle shift in demeanour toward him.

Sasuke remained quiet. He was far too busy examining the curious pink tinge her cheeks had adopted and contemplating how lovelier she looked with them to really pay much heed to her stuttering excuses.

The manner in which he was watching her only caused Sakura's blush to deepen. His eyes were so intense. Didn't he realise how uncomfortable his silent staring made her? In an attempt to change the subject, she blurted, "Chizu and Ume brought me here."

Sasuke blinked, and then finally, blessedly, removed his gaze from her, instead turning it up to drift over the shelves. Sakura used the precious few seconds to scream at the heat in her cheeks to disappear, but her face still felt like it was on fire. And Sasuke's eyes returned to her far too soon, as he questioned, "Does it suffice?"

"Huh?" she blinked uncomprehendingly at him. He raised a dark eyebrow, before gesturing around the room with his right hand.

"The library," he stated pointedly.

Oh. _Oh._ Of _course_ he had meant the library. Sakura hesitated despite herself. The sensible voice in her head was telling her that now was the time to begin implementing her plan, but the more indignant and rebellious part of her was screaming at her to not even _dare_ to be civil to someone who had shown her absolutely no politeness or kindness whatsoever.

That was when she became distinctly aware of the fact that Sasuke was watching her very closely, waiting for her answer. And that they were perhaps on the verge of having something that resembled a normal conversation – pending on her choice of response.

If she chose to ignore him, or to confront him about what he had said to her earlier, she knew he would wall off completely. His current expression was still unreadable, and he still radiated danger – but the difference was that he was actually asking her for her opinion _about_ his property – and seemed genuinely interested to know it.

Swallowing nervously, Sakura answered, "It's..." she paused, before forcing herself to openly disclose, "…wonderful."

He blinked, and Sakura thought she detected a flicker of _something_ in his dark eyes – but it was gone before she could identify it. Hastily averting her gaze, she added tentatively, "I-I don't suppose you have any fiction books…?"

Sasuke made a sound that she took to be a scornful snort. "You enjoy fantasy."

Sakura's eyes flew back to his face. "I enjoy classical and mythological literature," she defended indignantly.

"Hn," was all he offered in response. Then he nodded once to his right, signalling the area she had been scouring the shelves to find. Sakura wandered over to it, and stared at the section he had indicated in disbelief. More mythological fiction books than she could count were stacked upon shelf after shelf. Where had Sasuke even gotten all these materials from? He lived underground. It didn't make any sense – not unless there was a special delivery service that shipped packages through secret tunnels beneath the earth. Which, of course, was ridiculous.

Wasn't it?

She directed an uncertain look at him. He was still standing in the same place, watching her intently. She opened her mouth to question him, but quickly reminded herself that Sasuke didn't answer anything about himself. Her queries had to be non-personal. If her prediction was correct, he would answer.

Still, it felt strange and unnatural speaking to him without any animosity, when all she really wanted to do was demand all the answers he was refusing to give her. _Be patient_ , said the voice of reason in her mind. Trying to make her tone sound as casual as possible – and probably failing spectacularly at it – she said, "How many books are in here?"

Sasuke turned his gaze back to the endless rows of shelves. Sakura held her breath – and her heart fluttered when her calculation proved to be right. Sasuke answered her, though his smooth voice seemed somewhat guarded – as if he did not expect her sudden display of politeness to last.

"A million, at least."

"Wow," Sakura breathed, sincerely impressed. Sasuke's eyes locked back onto her, and her sense of paranoia was convinced that he was giving her a suspicious look – but she quickly turned her face away, grateful for the silky curtain her hair formed between them as she busied herself with one of the shelves.

_Keep talking_ , she urged herself, biting her lower lip, her mind frantically searching for something to talk _about._ Then she had it. "I saw the ballroom too. It's really magnificent."

He didn't respond, but she heard his footsteps drawing closer to her. She looked up from the book she had pulled out and been idly flicking through, to find Sasuke staring hard at her. She swallowed. The concentration of his gaze was startling, and he was surely doing precisely what she had dreaded – scrutinising her with the intention of sussing out exactly _what_ she was thinking and playing at, being civil to him all of a sudden. She abruptly dropped the book and backed away from him. The fear she allowed to show on her face was not an act. Sasuke was scaring her.

His eyes lowered to the book, and for a long moment, remained fixed on it. Then he seemed to make up his mind about something. Meeting Sakura's gaze once more, he intoned, "Do you wish to see more?"

Sakura rigidly shook her head. "I've seen enough for today," she replied tensely. Then she remembered that she didn't even know what time it was, but decided not to push her luck. She was quite certain that Sasuke wouldn't answer her if she asked him about it. And so she wound her arms around herself and hurriedly exited the room, half-expecting Sasuke to follow her. Thankfully, he didn't. She kept walking until she reached the entrance hall, nearly bounding up the steps in her eagerness to return to her bedchamber. She took one wrong turn, but was able to retrace her steps and eventually found her room unassisted. Only when the doors were closed firmly behind her did she allow herself to release a shaky breath.

She couldn't do it. So much for her resolve to remain composed. She became aware then of the fact that her entire body was trembling. She couldn't pretend, couldn't treat Sasuke as though nothing had happened. As though he was just a normal guy she happened to be stuck with. Just attempting to do so had taken so much out of her, emotionally.

Tears stung at her eyes. Her heart was still racing with the strange adrenaline that Sasuke's presence seemed to spark within her veins. She _couldn't._ He upset her too much, petrified her too much. Complimenting his palace? What had she been _thinking?_ How had she gone from throwing a goblet at him, to _that?_

Sakura knew the answer, of course. She was slowly but steadily losing her mind. She'd foolishly thought that she was being sensible by attempting to converse politely with him, but she'd only succeeded in igniting his suspicions. He clearly trusted her as little as she trusted him.

She walked over to the roaring fireplace, slumped down in the comfortable arm-chair, feeling drained, exhausted. She was back to square one. Trapped. Despair began to creep through her once again. She couldn't outwit Sasuke. He would see right through her. Neither could she relax enough to be herself around him. It was hopeless, a lost cause. She could never escape. And she would never see her mother again.

The tears were falling before she could stop them. Sakura wept without a sound.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes remained fixed on the fallen book on the ground, a scowl plastered firmly onto his face. Sakura, he had discovered, was unpredictable. Nothing like what he had been expecting. His proximity unsettled and intimidated her; he knew that much was certain. But she had just seemingly attempted to communicate with him. And he had been guarded and mistrustful, expecting her sudden display of politeness to be a ploy of some sort and a fresh attempt at extracting information from him.

But Sakura had abruptly left, before he had been able to fully analyse her intentions. And not knowing her mind frustrated him. The fact that he now had Sai tracking the progress of the hunt for Sakura on the surface did not change the fact that Sasuke needed to find a way to get her to eat the food of the dead. But how, when she was too afraid to remain in his presence for more than a few minutes?

He glared at the book, as if it were somehow responsible for the dissatisfying way their brief encounter had ended. Then he bent down to pick it up, and as he closed the cover, his eyes trailed over the title of the story.

It read: _Of Myths and Star-Crossed Lovers._

With a contemptuous sneer, Sasuke shoved the offending book back into the gap in the shelf. Then he stormed out of the library, pulling the doors forcefully with his mind, causing them to slam shut behind him.


	14. Chapter XIII

**Chapter XIII  
**

* * *

_They proclaim that ignorance,_

_Is heavenly bliss,_

_Verily no saying,_

_Is truer than this,_

_So brace thy frame,_

_For tempestuous rain,_

_When clarity dawns,_

_So too shall pain.  
_

* * *

Tsunade alighted behind the forms of her steadfast companions. Asuma and Gai immediately sensed her presence and turned to their friend, troubled expressions weighing upon both their faces.

"Well?" she questioned expectantly, a one-word request for them to explain why they had summoned her with such urgency.

"We have scoured every body of water there is," Gai informed her. "There is no sign of her."

Tsunade nodded stiffly. Jiraiya had already informed her as much.

"Furthermore," Asuma continued, "we have noticed that there have been some strange disturbances in the waters over the last few hours."

Tsunade's gaze darted between the men. "What do you mean?"

They gestured for her to step forward. Tsunade did so, moving to peer over the edge of the precipice.

The waves far below were tempestuous, unsettled. They crashed against the cliff with cold, liquid vengeance, as if seeking to devour the rock-face. Tsunade's eyes trailed slowly over the raging sea. There had been no reports of an impending storm; why was the body of water so unbridled in its fury?

She pursed her lips. "Have you called to Suigetsu?"

"Five times at least," Asuma nodded. "His subjects aren't answering us, either."

Tsunade frowned and focused her mind, channelling a mental call to the water element's god. Nothing but the sound of angry waves and crying seagulls met her ears. She strained to hear Suigetsu's response over the din, for his voice was one with the oceans, but there was no doubt about it; he was either uncharacteristically ignoring them, or not present in his throne-room at the bottom of the sea-bed.

Her mind raced. Suigetsu was as changeable and mischievous as the seas he commanded, but he always answered their calls, unless he was particularly busy overseeing the vast depths of his realm. Suspicion flared; was he purposefully choosing to neglect her summon? Was he hiding something from them?

She would have believed it with conviction – were it not for the scene of disorder she was witnessing before her very eyes. The waves were angry – which meant their master was also.

The question was, _why?_

There was now no doubt in Tsunade's mind; the fact that something – or someone- had actually succeeded in riling a laid-back and lackadaisical Suigetsu was proof enough that something was very wrong indeed.

* * *

Sasuke paced the room that housed the black orb, scowling irritably. Sakura had locked herself in her chamber for almost two hours. What was she _doing?_ She certainly wasn't slumbering; the connection offered by the possessive shackles he'd bonded to her ankles informed him as much.

He'd considered finding out in person, but had stayed the impulse. He'd done a good enough job of unsettling her in the library. She needed space – though that fact gnawed on his rapidly thinning patience. His face darkened further. He had not transported the girl to his domain for her to shut him out and avoid him. But humans were complicated things, and if he wanted to get her to eat the binding food of his realm, then she needed to lower her guard. And the only way to do that was not to startle her, to somehow coax her into relaxing. Charging into her room unannounced would _not_ help his cause.

Sasuke knew what a large part of the problem was, of course; Sakura still didn't realise what he was. She was on the brink of grasping it, yes – but the possibility of him being a deity was clearly too outrageous for her mind to grasp, much less accept. He ran a frustrated hand through his raven hair. Did he have to spell it out?

"Show me Sakura," he snapped, whirling abruptly to the orb. It glowed and began to clear obediently at his harsh command. She was sitting in the armchair by the fireplace, staring into the hearth. Likely thinking of her damned _mother_ again.

There was a way for Sasuke to make her forget everything. It trickled through his mind, a whispering suggestion that argued his task would be so much easier if he accepted the tempting proposition. To make her drink from the River of Forgetfulness, Lethe, so that she could no longer recall where she had come from, and why she was with him. He would then be free to weave any story of his choice upon her. Poor little Sakura would be none the wiser.

But… she wouldn't be the same. Sasuke exhaled as he acknowledged that he could do no such thing to her. Besides, it would be too easy. She'd be little more than a mindless puppet in his hands. She would no longer be the Sakura he had watched for so long, desired for so long.

He lowered his head and placed his hands on the sides of the column supporting the orb, allowing the image of a silent Sakura to fade slowly from view. Yearning for her was like an unbearable ache that crushed heavily upon him. How much longer could he and would he endure it? When the very sight of her set his blood alight…

Sasuke clenched his jaw tightly as he wondered whether the maddening fire that raged within him would diminish when he took his pleasure of her, or whether it would flare beyond even his control, until his actions destroyed them both.

 _Sakura,_ he thought, and even her name inflicted torture upon his fixated mind. _You…_

The words that had been ready to follow were swallowed into oblivion as Sasuke's head suddenly snapped up, the longing and frustration in his eyes immediately replaced by coldness as Juugo's mental call reached him. There was a disturbance on the shore, one his subjects were struggling to contain.

In the blink of an eye, the death deity vanished.

* * *

Sakura had no grasp of just how long she remained seated by the fireplace. She derived a strange source of comfort from its warmth and the hypnotising way in which the flames danced within the hearth. Her thoughts had been occupied by her mother and her friends back on the surface. Was Naruto doing a good job of keeping everybody positive, as he had never failed to do in the past? Or was he despairing also?

The notion of her sunny, knuckle-headed friend giving into despondency caused Sakura's heart to swell. No. Naruto _never_ gave up. She knew he was scouring every corner of the earth for her at that very moment, whilst keeping everybody else's hopes alive.

The fond smile on her lips immediately waned as darker thoughts began to infringe on her happier recollections. She wasn't on the surface; how would Naruto, her mother, or any of her other precious people know where to find her?

Her mind went blank, for it had no answer to supply to such a question. After what seemed to Sakura to be a couple of hours at least, she finally stirred, stretching out the legs she'd drawn up close to her chest. Then she rose to her feet and looked around the luxurious room. She was thirsty again, and no water had been left for her to drink. She considered calling to Ume and Chizu, but quickly shook the thought out of her head. She would be better off descending to the banqueting hall - which she guiltily recalled she had quite childishly wrecked - and obtaining a thirst-quencher from there. At least then she would be free to explore on her own once again, without the watchful eyes of her attendants upon her.

Sakura approached the doors and opened them, peering tentatively out into the hallway. It was empty. She stepped out of her bedchamber, securing the sash of the night-robe around her waist tightly as she made her way toward the ground floor. As she stepped off the final stair, she hesitated before the palace's imposing entrance doors, recalling the two individuals she had encountered by the river's edge. Juugo and Karin. Perhaps they would be able to shed further light on her situation? She had all but given up on obtaining information from Chizu and Ume; their lips were clearly firmly sealed by Sasuke's command.

But Juugo - he had been the first person to tell her where she was. Maybe, if she played her cards correctly, she could learn more from him. Sakura's teeth indented anxiously into her lower lip. What if she couldn't find her way back to the bank with the boats? She had done so by complete chance the first time around; did she really want to go back out into the cold, gloomy dimness and wander aimlessly about with absolutely no sense of direction?

The alternative was to resume her tour around the palace. But what could she realistically hope to discover within it? Sakura was almost completely certain that her escape route lay beyond the towering doors before her. She would walk around calmly this time, rationally, and pay better attention to her surroundings.

There was just one small problem, of course. Sasuke. His handsome profile flashed behind her eyes, causing her to exhale. She had left her abductor in the library, and there was no telling where he was at that moment. Her skin began to crawl as sudden paranoia crept over her. What if he was somehow _watching_ her? She quickly pushed the idea out of her head before it could branch out enough to change her mind. If he was tracking her, she reasoned, she would soon find out. He had told her she could roam wherever she pleased – she was only taking up the kind invitation.

And if she got really, really lost, well; she was sure that a glaring Sasuke would eventually appear to retrieve her – however uncomfortable the thought was.

Her decision made, Sakura decided to disregard her thirst and stepped up to the doors. She expected she would have to push against them to get them to budge, but they parted silently before her palms even contacted with their surface. She stepped out onto the landing overlooking the tree-lined route ahead of her, noted once again how dark the sky was. But she didn't waste any time deliberating over it – like a soldier on a mission she marched down the long path. The strangely beautiful trees shed their petals as she passed them like crimson tear-drops. Eventually, Sakura reached the colossal walls and eerily glowing gates that enclosed the palace grounds and swallowed nervously when she stared out into the endless mist beyond them once again.

 _It's alright_ , she reassured her trembling hands as they reached out to grip onto the coiled gates. _You've done this once; you can do it again_. The gates swung open at her touch, leaving her facing the thick white haze with no protecting barrier. Taking a deep gulp of oxygen to calm her thundering heart, Sakura stepped forward, flinching as the fog closed rapidly over her like a freezing blanket. She shuffled forward, teeth chattering, and prayed that nothing would sneak up on her from behind as she made her way along what she could only hope was the silver pathway. Eventually, however, she knew that she had drifted off it as she had the previous time when she heard gravel crunching beneath her feet.

The stones dug uncomfortably through the thin soles of her slippers and Sakura scowled at herself. If she had actually planned her actions carefully, she would have bothered to go back up to her bedroom to grab a pair of sandals. But she might have encountered Ume and Chizu along the way, or even worse, Sasuke. And so she decided that her little oversight with regards to her choice of footwear was excusable in that instance.

Time seemed to drag on at a phenomenally slow pace and Sakura was starting to think she was unwittingly moving in circles when the mist blessedly began to clear before her. After walking several further metres she finally stepped out into the dimness of the yawning caverns that formed the landscape beyond Sasuke's palace. Her eyes darted left and right, but found no tell-tale blue-fire torches. Neither could she see the silver path that she had followed the last time. The cavern stretched on endlessly in both directions and Sakura was uncertain of which route to take. Hadn't she gone left before? But she was certain she had stepped out into a different section. The stalactites that hung from the walls here bore an eerie red hue.

She frowned lightly, placing a hand to her head as she tried to recall what the area she had drifted into the previous time looked like; similar, certainly, but not the same.

 _Calm down_ , she ordered herself; _maybe this place has paths that interlink? Just go left again; see what happens._

Left she ventured, and wandered for quite a while in the dimness, her ears straining to hear any sound at all. Nothing but unsettling silence and the even more unsettling crunching of her feet over gravel echoed throughout the gigantic cave. Again she was struck by its sheer size; Sasuke had surely stolen her away to a most remote location and one that nobody was likely to discover any time soon.

Her eyes kept searching for other bodies, any other sign of life. They found none. The caverns were, quite literally, dead. And when she finally came to a collection of boulders and sat to rest on them, she was ready to despair all over again. She should have known better than to take such a stupid chance. Her poor little feet hurt, she was utterly lost, and was convinced that she had been walking for half an hour at the very minimum.

"Perfect," she mumbled, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. Where were the damned lights? Had Sasuke removed them to make her quest for escape all the more difficult?

 _That… that bastard_ , she internally fumed, and was startled at the vehemence behind the thought. She rarely used such language; but then, she had never hated anyone as much as she despised Sasuke. Civil conversation with him? What _had_ she been thinking? He didn't deserve an ounce of her courtesy. He deserved a fist to the face – if her inner, braver counterpart ever overcame its endless battle with her more demure and ladylike self. She almost released a snort, a sound her mother would have scowled at her for making. Who was she fooling? She'd lost her temper with Sasuke already, but the second he closed the distance between them, her nerve completely abandoned her. She'd never have the courage to truly confront him. She was a wimp, pathetic, didn't even have the power to defend herself and had all the bravery of a timid, cowardly kitten-

"Well," a cool, light voice suddenly spoke up unexpectedly from the darkness, causing Sakura's body to stiffen in surprise and her heart to almost leap out of her throat, "at least the reason I'm cooped up in here is worth it, after all."

Her head whipped around, ears trying to locate the direction from which the voice had radiated. When all remained quiet for several minutes, she was ready to tear her hair out in certainty that she was hearing things and so _had_ to have lost her mind, when it spoke again.

"Aren't you gonna come over here, kid?"

Sakura jumped to her feet, instantly alert. "Where are you?" she questioned, her eyes darting anxiously around her. But she couldn't see anything – nothing but dimness.

"Move left," the male voice instructed, before releasing a disapproving tut. "No, turn around first; _now_ side-step to your left."

Sakura did so, waiting for him to stop her

"Now stop and walk forward about eight paces."

Sakura complied and was perplexed when she found nothing but blackness once again. "I can't see anything," she informed the voice, frowning confusedly around her.

"Of course you can't," snorted the stranger. "That bastard's cloaked the cell from your mortal eyes. But I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve," he added slyly. A moment later bright blue light flared to her left like a blazing fire-torch, and Sakura yelped in surprise, instinctively stepping away from the sudden sight of glowing cell bars enclosing a rocky alcove. Beyond the bars was a hovering ball of light, illuminating a tall, pale-haired young man with pleasant features and an athletic build. He was cloaked in purple and white and was grinning toothily at her. Sakura stared back uncertainly. His almond-shaped eyes were bright – and a little _too_ interested. She had the sudden and uncanny sensation that she was an interesting experiment under the scrutiny of an over-enthusiastic scientist.

"Hey there," he greeted, his gaze trailing appreciatively over her. "You're cute."

Sakura's jaw lowered in astonishment. The bold manner in which the compliment had been paid caused heat to creep into her cheeks. Embarrassed, she chose to ignore his flattery, and replied instead, "Who are you?"

"You interested?" he quipped back. Again, Sakura faltered. She didn't exactly have a great track-record of dealing with shameless flirts as this stranger appeared to be; usually Ino managed creepy nuisances for her, always promising a most painful death behind her dazzling smile.

"Um," she shifted uncomfortably on her feet, "I'm-"

"Sakura Haruno," he interjected casually. "Yeah, I know who you are."

"You do?" Sakura blinked back, stunned. Her heartbeat began to accelerate; another stranger who knew who she was? What was going on?

"Don't look so surprised," the stranger remarked. "You're breaking news on the surface."

Sakura inhaled sharply as hope blossomed within her. "You know my mother?"

The pale-haired young man tilted his head quizzically at her. "Maybe, maybe not," he answered cryptically.

Sakura stepped forward, reaching out to grip the bars. "Please, I'm-"

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you. He's charged them with lightning. Although, I'm not sure it'd kill you," the stranger mused. "He obviously doesn't want you dead, and I can see why." He flashed another grin as he added, "I wouldn't want you dead, either."

"Huh?" Sakura frowned, staring at the innocently glowing bars. They didn't look harmful to her. But she decided to listen to the warning and lowered her arms, peering through the narrow gaps at the prisoner within. "Did _he_ put you in there?" she questioned.

The stranger's expression darkened and Sakura's heart leapt. All of a sudden, he didn't look friendly. He seemed somewhat frightening. Menacing, even.

"That arrogant bastard's gonna be sorry when I get out."

Sakura shook her head. "Who are you?" she tried again.

The young man continued to sulk for a moment, before blinking his attention back to her. "Oh, me? Name's Suigetsu."

 _Suigetsu._ Sakura looked him carefully over. He was a captive, much like she was, but could she trust him? She nervously fidgeted with her fingers - a gesture that made her fleetingly remember Hinata – before venturing tentatively, "Please… can you help me?"

Suigetsu tossed her a look. "Why would I want to do that?" he enquired, his tone a lazy drawl. "Tried that once and look where I ended up."

Sakura's eyebrows drew together to form a soft frown. What did he mean by that? Shaking her head, she persisted, "Please; I can try and get you out."

A peculiar look passed briefly over Suigetsu's face, as he said, "You sure you want to let me out of here? How do you know I don't want to harm you?" His strange, jagged teeth curved to form another smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he added, "I'm thinking some pretty unfriendly things right now."

Sakura hesitated despite herself – and then shook her head once again. "You're trapped here, too."

He scoffed. "Only temporarily." Then he seemed to reconsider. "You'd really offer your help to a stranger you know nothing about?"

Sakura nodded. Suigetsu looked thoughtful – and then shrugged his shoulders. "If I help you, then you've got to promise me a favour later."

Uncertainty fluttered through her. Did she really want to give her word to a man she knew nothing about? But surely he wasn't as bad as Sasuke. Nobody could be as heartlessly evil as her kidnapper was. And besides, what other choice did she have? She obviously wasn't going to be finding her own way out of the underground caverns anytime soon. She needed all the help she could get.

Taking a deep breath, she agreed, "Deal."

Suigetsu looked pleased. "Heh. Smart girl. You know, Sasuke'll be pretty pissed off when he finds out we've talked. In fact, I'm surprised he isn't here already. There has to be a good reason for that, but I'm not complaining." He folded his arms and leaned casually back against the right wall of his prison to regard her askance. "Listen up, Pinky; you know what this place is, right?"

Sakura's heart was pounding. _Finally_ , she was about to gain some answers! "No," she said, ignoring the overly familiar nickname and trying to contain the eagerness in her voice.

"Huh?" Suigetsu blinked incredulously at her. "You mean Sasuke hasn't actually told you-?" he broke off abruptly, narrowing his eyes at her. It caused Sakura's stomach to tighten. This _Suigetsu_ switched from perfectly amiable to perfectly intimidating in a matter of seconds. It was disconcerting, and she was finding it difficult to keep up with his mercurial mood swings.

"Do you even know who he is?"

The manner in which the question was posed to her made Sakura's pulse quicken further. Caused dread to whisper through her veins once again. She stared back at Suigetsu through the bars, her eyes wide, fearful. "He- he said this is his domain. He's some kind of ruler, but I thought he was just crazy-"

Suigetsu blinked at her twice - then threw his head back and laughed. _A lot._ Sakura swallowed, feeling thoroughly perplexed, her frustration rapidly cresting. It wasn't her _fault_ that she didn't understand when Sasuke had refused to explain anything to her.

"Oh, man," Suigetsu managed between snickers of amusement. "What a _bastard!_ To think he hasn't even told you _that_ ; he has the social skills of a caveman. Can you blame him, being cooped down here for all these centuries? At least Itachi was courteous and eloquent. But that Sasuke, he's an embarrassment – a fucking _joke._ "

Sakura didn't recognise the other name Suigetsu had mentioned. Her mind was too engrossed with something else he'd allowed to slip; specifically the fact that Sasuke had seemingly been underground for _centuries_. But she couldn't and downright refused to acknowledge the statement, so much so that she found herself laughing in turn. A hysterical, disbelieving sound that ended with her exclaiming, "You aren't serious- _centuries_ …?" She shook her head, before quickly accusing, "You- you're in on his little game too, aren't you? He probably set this up to-"

But the flash of anger in Suigetsu's eyes could not have been fabricated. He looked genuinely insulted. "In league with that asshole? Hah! No way. I made that mistake once; I wouldn't do something so stupid again."

Sakura released a shaky breath. She had confronted Sasuke about his not being human, but to hear open confirmation, and the fact that Sasuke was apparently hundreds and hundreds of years old – no, it was crazy, impossible. He didn't look much older than her, perhaps pushing twenty-one at the very most. If he really _was_ as old as Suigetsu was claiming, then how in the world did he look so young?

Unless – unless the beautiful, flawless exterior was not in fact his true form. A smothering sense of horror began to overcome Sakura. She half-wanted to cover her ears, to save herself from whatever else Suigetsu was surely about to divulge to her. But she couldn't. She couldn't help but listen.

"Yeah," Suigetsu was continuing, "this is Sasuke's haunt. He's King of the Underworld. And judging from those clasps around your ankles," here he nodded towards Sakura's feet, "I'd say that he's planning on keeping you for a while."

Sakura glanced down at the gold bracelets peeking out from the bottom hem of her night-dress and frowned.

"I woke up with them," she began, returning her gaze to the imprisoned young man.

"He probably put them on to keep tabs on you."

Sakura was horrified. The bangles were some kind of _tracking_ devices? Suddenly it all made awful sense; that was why Sasuke hadn't followed her when she'd first attempted to escape - because he had known _precisely_ where she'd been heading. She looked down again and was ready to try to tear them off once more, but Suigetsu seemed to read her mind.

"Don't bother," he remarked. "They're fused onto your skin with magic. Only he can remove them."

Sakura was dismayed to feel tears of frustration prickling at her eyes. She fought them back, and whispered, "I don't understand; why is he doing this to _me?"_

Suigetsu was silent for a brief moment – and then he released a scornful snort. "Really? You haven't figured it out, Pinky? It's pretty obvious. I mean, just _look_ at you." When Sakura simply blinked large, perplexed eyes at him, he sighed, "Listen. Sasuke doesn't _need_ a reason. He just takes whatever he wants without giving a fuck about the consequences. He's a spoilt, arrogant asshole."

Sakura silently seconded his accurate description of her captor. Resentment caused her hands to tighten into fists. "He can't just kidnap me and force me to stay here with him!"

"Hey, don't get mad at me," Suigetsu raised his hands. "I'm stuck here too, no thanks to you."

"What?" Sakura stared at him.

"That bastard killed my sirens. I came to confront him about it; I didn't think he'd get so touchy over _you_ , though."

Sakura gasped. Sasuke had _killed_ the singing women in the spring? She felt physically sick, needed to sit down. He was a murderer and far more dangerous than she had initially realised. She reached out to steady herself against the rock face beside the glowing bars. Then, when she had collected her thoughts enough to speak again, she managed, "You sent them? They knew my mother's song…"

"Well, fancy that," Suigetsu quipped lightly.

Sakura drew a deep breath, desperately trying to regulate her breathing, to calm her galloping heart. "This is…" she began, her voice shaking precariously, "this is just- so crazy. He can't- he has no right to do this!"

And that was when Suigetsu said it; something that caused Sakura to feel like she was being sucked into a terrifying, suffocating black hole. All at once she couldn't see, couldn't think. Her world was falling apart all over again.

"Yeah, well; he's the God of Death. It's his job to ruin lives."

* * *

It was well past midnight when Sai finally trudged up the stairs leading to his apartment. The guilt weighing upon his chest was so devastating that he was finding it difficult to draw breath. The cycle back from the park had felt like the longest of his existence as he'd tried to determine a way to do Sasuke's bidding. But anything he had come up with hadn't been good enough, or conceivable. Kakashi and the others were going to read him like an open book. And when they eventually found out the truth, and that Sai had unwillingly concealed it from them, he knew that Sasuke would not hesitate to erase him, forever, from both the Earth's surface and the afterlife.

He raised his right arm, placing the key into the lock – and froze when his distracted gaze finally noticed that a light was on in his cosy-sized living room. It peeked out between the small gaps formed by hastily drawn curtains. He knew who was present therein. He could sense them as surely as they sensed him.

It was time. He couldn't keep running and avoiding them. Drawing a deep breath, Sai twisted the key and stepped into his apartment. The familiar, wooden floors and black and white décor were supposed to be a comforting sight to his tired eyes – but Sai was feeling anything but relaxed. He was tense as he deposited his backpack by the stairs and walked rigidly into the lounge through the door opening on his left – to find three familiar figures seated on the two leather sofas arranged around a plain glass coffee table.

Naruto and Kakashi he had expected, but as the third person turned to regard him with a stern blue gaze, Sai felt his gut churn with dread.

Inoichi Yamanaka. It was over. He was doomed.

And yet, even knowing this, the blank mask he always portrayed to the world was already slipping in place.

"Ah," he greeted, pleased that he could at least manage to compose his voice despite the way his heart was pounding within him. "This is- unexpected."

"Sai," Naruto was the first to rise to his feet. "We've come to-"

"Sit him down," Inoichi hissed to Kakashi, who reached out to yank a spluttering Naruto back into his seat.

"We've been waiting for you, Sai," Kakashi began carefully. "For an hour, at least"

Sai stared blankly back, hearing the unspoken question in the silver-haired man's words. Then he shrugged. "Forgive me; I could not sleep. So I decided to take a walk."

Kakashi nodded. Then, his lone eye looking apologetic, he continued, "Sai. Rest assured that Inoichi is here as a last resort. We'd really prefer not to call on his abilities-"

Sai released a light sigh. "You believe I am withholding information from you," he said quietly.

Inoichi said stiffly, "Not without good reason, we're sure. You have only ever been loyal to us in the past, Sai."

The guilt became a smothering deadweight. For a horrible minute, Sai couldn't form any words. Luckily, Naruto spoke up, saving him.

"Just tell us what you know, already!"

Sai's mind raced. How could he possibly get out of this situation? But before he had even properly thought his strategy through, he blurted, "You are right."

They all stared at him in surprise. When an uncertain and heavy silence ensued, Naruto prompted, "Huh?"

"I have not been entirely honest with you," Sai conceded, lowering himself to sit on the unoccupied space beside Inoichi. Casting an inky-black glance at the blond-haired man, he added, "Your intervention is not required here, Inoichi-san. I will tell you all I know."

Inoichi nodded. He almost looked relieved.

Naruto was on his feet again in an instant, his blue eyes wide. "You know where Sakura-chan is?"

Sai slowly shook his head. "That I cannot tell for certain," he replied, and was surprised by how convincing he sounded. Self-loathing overcame him as he recalled Sasuke's final, echoing words to him once he had reappeared back in the park.

' _Suigetsu is anchored to my realm. Choose wisely, messenger.'_

It suddenly occurred to Sai that the words hadn't been a random imparting of information – Sasuke had offered it to him as a lifeline of sorts. If the Sea God was also missing, then he couldn't be confronted. Sasuke had let him know – because he expected Sai to use the fact that Suigetsu was also trapped in the Underworld to his advantage.

It would essentially lead the men who were staring so expectantly at him on a wild-goose chase; which seemed to be precisely what Sasuke wanted. It would buy the Death God time – but for what purpose, Sai did not know.

It was the only choice he had. The only convincing, buyable story that would get them off his back – if only for a short time – whilst allowing him to assist them, and to become actively involved in the search for Sakura.

And so Sai did what he had adept skill at doing; he killed his emotions for the sake of survival.

"On the day of the festival, I received a vision in the afternoon, and somehow I knew that the carousel sketch meant something – something relating to Sakura," he paused. That much, at least, was no lie. "And when I arrived, and discovered that she was missing, I somehow knew where to search. After Ino and I had found her, I remained behind. I…" he hesitated, before continuing, "I sensed another presence and was confronted by the Sea God."

Naruto's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in disbelief. _"Suigetsu?"_ he practically shrieked.

Sai was silent. He was, in some horrible, twisted way, telling the truth – just substituting the true perpetrator's name with the water deity's. He supposed that Suigetsu would wish to kill him too once he inevitably found out. The odds were, undoubtedly, entirely stacked against him.

"And," Kakashi questioned, reaching out to tug Naruto back beside him again, "what did he say?"

Sai closed his eyes. "Forgive me," he apologised. "Forgive me for withholding this from you, but he threatened me. He told me that I had interfered, somehow; as if my finding Sakura by the carousel was a hindrance to him."

"That- that bastard!" Naruto raged. They all knew that Suigetsu liked to play games – but this time he had gone too far.

"Now, wait a minute," Inoichi frowned in confusion. "Suigetsu is assisting Tsunade, is he not?"

"To throw us off his trail, it seems," said Kakashi quietly.

"But why would he do this? It seems a little far-fetched, even for him," Inoichi argued.

Sai's heart was racing. Swallowing, he added, "And the vision of the flower-field-"

Naruto inhaled sharply. "Damn it; there was a large lake right behind that field!" He turned furious eyes to Kakashi. "He took her! That bastard took Sakura-chan!"

"Sai," Kakashi met the pale-youth's gaze directly. "Are you quite certain that that is all you know?"

"Yes," Sai nodded. "But if you would like to make absolutely certain, then please, Inoichi-san," he said to the blue-eyed man, who regarded him intently. Sai's pulse thundered even faster. He had to resist the overwhelming urge to avert his gaze guiltily.

"Kakashi?" Inoichi glanced questioningly at his friend. "Do you still wish me to examine his mind?"

Kakashi regarded Sai for a long moment, and slowly shook his head. "That won't be necessary now; I'm sure Sai is telling us the truth. We have to relay this information to Tsunade-"

"I'm going to _kill_ him!" Naruto snarled, and before anyone could stop him, he leapt off the couch and stormed out of the apartment.

Kakashi sighed heavily. "I'll follow him," he said. Then, to Inoichi and Sai, "Inform Tsunade immediately; I'll be in touch as soon as I retrieve Naruto and calm him down."

In a blur of movement, he disappeared after the outraged blond.

* * *

It took Sakura a whole minute before she could clear the chaos in her mind enough to form coherent words. And even then, all she could manage was an incredulous whisper.

"Wh-what did you say…?"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Oh, come _on_ , Pinky. Don't tell me you didn't even manage to figure _that_ one out? Why else do you think he lives in a place full of dead people? Haven't you noticed how cheerful the bastard is?"

 _Oh,_ thought Sakura. _Oh._ Of course it made perfect sense, and explained almost everything; the palace, the boats bearing souls onto the next part of their journey, Sasuke's unashamed arrogance, his expectance for her to comply with his wishes, his unearthly beauty, his breath-taking reflexes, how he'd hypnotised her into eating and how he'd managed to suspend a goblet in mid-air. How he'd watched her without her knowledge, and how he had caused the earth to split effortlessly beneath her feet.

But a god. A _god._ She had been abducted… by a deity…?

Suigetsu observed that the blood had all but drained from Sakura's pretty cheeks. Sighing, he added, "Look; you'd better get going. As much as I enjoy spoiling Sasuke's fun, if he catches us now, we won't talk again."

But Sakura was scarcely listening. She felt shell-shocked, numbed. Part of her screamed it was all a sick, disgusting stunt – but she now knew better. Suigetsu wasn't lying to her. It wasn't a joke. What had happened and what was happening were very real, and if she didn't accept it, she surely _would_ be driven to insanity.

"A death god…?" she shook her head, feeling dizzy, faint. "He- he kills people?"

Suigetsu cast a wary glance out at their surroundings from behind the restricting view offered by the bars. "No, he collects souls and sends them on their way. You must've seen the boats?"

Sakura nodded.

"Listen; it's fucked up of him to keep all this from you, but there's no time for us to-" Suigetsu began, but Sakura interrupted him, her eyes impossibly wide.

"A god? L-like, the one people say their prayers to?" she stammered stupidly.

Suigetsu blinked, hiking an eyebrow. The girl looked like she was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown – not that he could blame her. Their existence was meant to be concealed from humankind for the precise reason he was witnessing before him – mortals couldn't accept that deities could adopt human-like forms too. In their minds, they believed that sacred beings were invisible.

"Yeah, something like that; he's just one god, though, and nobody worships Sasuke – well, anymore. He does a good enough job worshipping himself, the bastard," Suigetsu paused, before adding, "Nowadays you humans confuse him with the angel of death, but that isn't what he is. He decides when it's time for someone to die. And he decides where souls go, depending on their actions in life."

"Oh," said Sakura weakly, clutching senselessly at her chest. Suddenly the words Sasuke had spoken to her made sense. He had told her that she couldn't die unless he permitted it. Now she knew precisely why.

"You get it now?" Suigetsu enquired casually. "Okay, lesson's over. Get going, Pinky. I'd tell you not to tell him that we've met, but it's written all over your pretty face. Oh well," he sighed. "He'll find out anyway, and when he comes to confront me about it, I'll kick his ass this time."

"Please," Sakura said desperately. The revelation that Sasuke was far beyond anything her mind had even been able to measure sent panic spiralling out of control within her. The same panic she had worked so hard to contain within a box of composure. She was staggered far beyond disbelief. Sasuke was a _god._ Just one of apparently many. How many ordinary people knew that, apart from her? "What does a- a god want with me?"

Suigetsu merely stared back at her. His silence caused Sakura's fear to escalate to hysteria-inducing heights. Her eyes fixed onto the tell-tale hovering orb of light by his face, as she squeaked, "You're one too?"

"Maybe, maybe not," he answered, though the small, amused grin on his face was all the confirmation Sakura needed.

She released a stricken breath. "Help me!" she begged him.

Suigetsu looked away. "Get going," he ordered again.

"But I…" Sakura began helplessly, and trailed off when Suigetsu's eyes locked warningly back onto her.

How could he drop such a bombshell on her and expect her to deal with it alone?

"How will I find you again?" she whispered.

All traces of amity vanished from Suigetsu's face as he urged seriously, "I'll contact you. Keep your eyes open. Now get out of here!"

The intensity of his command seemed to spurn her frozen body into action at last. Sakura stumbled away from his cell, and the light flickered swiftly out, leaving her gazing at a plain rock-face once again. Then she was running, blindly, unthinkingly, her thoughts hurtling at a thousand miles an hour.

What did Sasuke _want_? She was oddly relieved to know that he wasn't human after all; it made her situation easier to deal with somehow – though marginally. But it made her reasons for being abducted all the more mind-boggling. Was she being judged, somehow? Tested? And if so, why?

Her breath caught in her throat as her legs continued to propel her sightlessly forward. Was this her punishment for cursing death so often? For hating it with every fibre of her being? If so, then she was sorry. She accepted that death was part of life. Maybe if she explained that to Sasuke, he would let her go.

So lost was she in compiling a list of possible reasons for her imprisonment beneath the Earth's surface, that Sakura only noticed she'd been inadvertently following a silver path when she stepped out of a passage between two rock faces to find herself back at the river bank she'd been searching for to begin with. She came to a sudden halt, her lungs heaving, her legs aching. She had no idea how long she'd been running for, and her feet felt like they were bruised beyond repair.

Without bothering to catch her breath, she hurried forward, following the gentle curve of rock as it tapered off to reveal the large area of land upon which souls waited to board their boats – and abruptly stopped, her lips parting in astonishment as her wide eyes immediately locked onto the sight directly ahead of her.

Sasuke stood, his back turned to her – and a middle-aged, hysterical woman was on her knees at his feet, clutching tightly onto his left wrist, sobbing, pleading for clemency.

"Please! I beg of you, most merciful god! Most just, most wise, most eternal; have pity on my wretched, sinful soul! Let me be with my child! Oh, I beg of you, I beg of you!"

Sakura's body trembled so violently that she struggled to remain standing. Her legs retreated, until her back hit the end of the rock-face behind her. Her blood turned to ice as undeniable reality crashed like a ruthless wave upon her, drowning out the last slips of composure. The scene that was unfolding before her very eyes was confirmation of all that Suigetsu had told her – and her mind was flung into turmoil.

Sasuke's shoulders were set proudly, regally, his face tilted aloofly back to regard the pitiful soul clutching so desperately onto him – when he seemed to sense Sakura at last, and shifted his head to direct a piercing look over his left shoulder.

Sakura met his smouldering dark gaze, and time seemed to suspend for a moment as they stared at each other – and when it resumed, her entire body was overcome with blind, choking terror. She released an alarmed gasp, feeling as though she had been caught seeing something that Sasuke had never intended for her to see – and then she was stumbling back, the only coherent thought in her head being that she needed to get away from him.

But even as she was directing her reeling head to her left, she knew it was hopeless. How did one outsmart, outrun, out-anything a god? When a steely hand clamped onto her right arm mere moments later, she babbled incoherently, her knees buckling beneath her so that the only things keeping her standing were Sasuke's hard arms as they wrapped around her.

"P-p-pleasedon'tkillme," Sakura panted in a hysteria-induced rush, her words blending nonsensically together. She was unable to keep her shaking at bay. A sense of impending doom was rapidly closing in on her, and she could do nothing to ward it off. "Ohgodplease, I-I'm only eight-t-teen, don't w-wantadie- please-!"

"Sakura," his voice was like cool, liquid silk brushing over her. She wildly registered from his tone that he seemed to be trying to calm her down, but she couldn't, she couldn't possibly calm down. She was being held by Death itself; by an all-powerful, all-knowing god who decreed precisely which hour a human died, where they died, and in which manner.

"I'm s-sorry," she sobbed, clutching as senselessly onto him as the woman she had witnessed at his feet. She was trying to avoid his gaze, trying to keep herself from looking into that face. "I'm- I-"

"Be still," he said, and again his voice seemed to be softer, quieter – as though he understood what the weight of her realisation was making her feel. Petrified, she tried to obey, but her body wouldn't cease its trembling. And her heart – could he feel it thundering against him? She felt cold, and wanted her mother more than ever. But nobody else was there to comfort her. Nobody but Sasuke.

"Please," she whimpered again.

"I told you," Sasuke murmured. "It is not my will to kill you."

Her eyes did fly up to meet his, then. He was regarding her solemnly, and with such serious intensity. And although she believed him, his verbal assurance did little to lessen her fear. Their faces were very close – close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath when he spoke.

He breathed like a human. And yet he wasn't one. He was something far greater, far older than her mind could even begin to comprehend. Sasuke's gaze held hers, swallowed her up, directing her attention away from what was about to happen around them. The rushing of air was all the warning Sakura received before she was whisked off her feet and engulfed in a blinding whirlwind of blue-white light.

Directly opposite the spot where they had vanished from sight, a scarlet-haired young woman stood, frozen in place, her bespectacled eyes wide, her lips parted in open, incredulous shock.

Karin had seen the placating manner in which her master had quietened the hysterical girl. She had seen everything.


	15. Chapter XIV

**Chapter XIV**

* * *

_Deep beneath the crater of her maternal earth,_

_Does she seek comfort, by the hearth,_

_Plaintive of what was left behind,_

_But stay – a thread of faith is found,_

_The Hope that sprung from Pandora's box,_

_Is not yet in abandon lost._

* * *

When the blinding funnel of light finally dissipated, Sakura's vision was swimming. She felt wheezy and utterly disorientated as she lifted her head from where it had been buried in terror against the solid wall of Sasuke's chest, and for a few alarming minutes, her eyes were unable to focus on anything around her. She felt herself being lowered, slowly and carefully, into a seat. The motion caused vertigo to overwhelm her, and her body was toppling sideways before she could stop it. The warmth of Sasuke's arms had fallen away, but a hand reached out to steady her, lingering by her left shoulder.

 _Breathe!_ Sakura internally screamed at herself, trying to break through the disorderly din that was causing utter discord within her. She frantically sucked in oxygen, her nails digging into the arm-rests of her seat in a desperate attempt to anchor her floating body to something, _anything_ , solid.

Gradually, her vision began to clear and the world ceased spinning enough for her to blink through her tears, to discover that Sasuke had transported them back to the banqueting hall in his palace.

It had been restored to its splendid, immaculate condition following her tantrum. The last time she had been in the vast room, she had believed that Sasuke was a dangerous, deranged psychopath. Now she knew he was an immortal deity - and that fact changed the reality of her situation entirely.

Sakura lifted her gaze fearfully to him, her heart still pounding uncontrollably within her. He had been standing by her left side, observing her quietly. Upon seeing that her eyes had regained clarity once again, he abruptly looked away and stepped around the table, lifting the stopper from a crystal decanter full of shimmering, golden liquid. Sakura watched as he wordlessly poured a small amount into a goblet and moved back to her, extending his arm.

She tensed, instinctively shrinking back into the bejewelled chair. She couldn't tear her gaze off him. If it had been difficult to do so before, it was absolutely impossible now, when she kept expecting to find a sign on his face indicating that all she had witnessed by the river bank had been a crazy setup of some kind. But she saw nothing except a silent command in his dark eyes for her to accept the offering of refreshment.

Sakura's attention shifted to stare stupidly at the goblet – and his fingers. They were long and slender, like a sculptor's, and she found herself arbitrarily wondering why the undersides of his fingertips were calloused. What kind of physical work did a god who effortlessly ripped souls out of bodies do? And how could it be that such elegant, _human_ -looking hands possessed such awful, devastating power?

She frantically tried to supress the fresh bubble of alarm that was threatening to rupture within her. _No._ She wouldn't submit to mindless panic again. She _couldn't._ So everything had been turned upside down once more, but it was alright; she would deal with it - somehow. After all, Sasuke had told her twice that he didn't want her dead. She had nothing to be afraid of – but how very afraid she was!

That was when she noticed the ring on the index finger of his right hand. Its platinum frame encased a beautiful, deep red jewel inscribed with a black insignia. Sakura stared senselessly at it – when a very strange and startling sense of déjà vu suddenly began to crawl over her. The insignia's image caused something to stir in the deepest catacombs of her mind; something she couldn't quite assemble, a whisper that dispelled into silence when she tried to grasp at it. The more she gazed at the ring, the more she felt like-

Sasuke shoved the goblet impatiently forward so that it was practically in her face, snapping her abruptly out of her peculiar reverie.

"Drink," he instructed.

Sakura couldn't keep the tremors from afflicting her fingers as she reached out to accept the goblet. Her hand wobbled precariously as she took it from him, nearly dropping the cup in the process. Her heart leapt when Sasuke's cool fingers closed around hers, steadily guiding the goblet to her lips. Once it was there, and she had taken a gulp from it, he retracted his hand.

Sakura blinked as she swallowed the sweet liquid down. A moment later her jumbled mind registered that it tasted somewhat familiar. Then it struck her; it was remarkably like the medicine her mother gave to her on the rare occasions when she woke up just before dawn with sudden, crushing chest cramps – as if something was ready to burst out from within her. The condition only ever happened during the springtime. Sometimes the pain got so bad that it left Sakura breathless, but a single teaspoon of the miracle remedy her mother fed her always alleviated the discomfort immediately.

Hospital scans and blood tests conducted by Shizune had always revealed perfectly normal results, and nobody had been able to diagnose exactly what the problem was. Heartburn, her mother had mumbled once, reassuring Sakura not to worry and that although it was unpleasant, it most certainly was _not_ life-threatening if it happened only occasionally.

And so Sakura was bemused when the golden liquid that Sasuke had given her seemed to work in precisely the same manner as the medicine only her mother was allowed to administer to her. It was rich honey down her throat, warming her chest and soothing away almost all of her agitation. Oddly, she began to feel a little calmer. As she finished the pitiful amount served to her, she looked longingly back at the crystal decanter housing the delicious beverage. Was it some kind of rare blend of sake? Whatever it was, she wanted more.

Sasuke, who seemed to know precisely what she was thinking, said firmly, "That is enough."

Her greed had been effortlessly decoded by a god. Sakura flinched guiltily, hunching her shoulders, and placed the goblet back onto the table. Silence hung like a dead weight between them as she tried to assemble her chaotic thoughts by looking at anything _but_ the deity standing to the left side of the table. It was no easy task. Sasuke had a certain, overpowering magnetism that always drew her full attention to him. The tangible, overwhelming aura of an immortal, she realised. And it didn't help matters that he happened to be so outrageously gorgeous too-

 _Gorgeous?_ Surely it was some kind of sacred violation for her to internally marvel over his looks? But it was difficult for her to absorb the fact that Sasuke wasn't just a striking guy about her own age. She knew it would take her a while to really _fully_ accept that.

Something else suddenly occurred to her then; could Sasuke hear everything she was thinking inside her head? Her heart fluttered apprehensively. If so, then she would have to be extremely careful with her internal dialogue. In fact, it would probably be for the best if she just refrained from thinking altogether in his presence – however impossible that was.

"You're… really a god?"

The question flew from Sakura's lips in an unsteady wobble. Another tremor of fear quivered through her as she realised that interrogating him over the matter was probably a sin in itself. What if he considered her a faithless disbeliever? Her gaze flew away from where it had been arbitrarily admiring the decorative tassels at the overflowing hem of the luxurious table-cloth by her feet - and up to find that Sasuke's back had turned to her.

He reached out, plucking what seemed to be a small cherry tomato from a deep salad bowl, which he then proceeded to roll expertly between his index finger and thumb. Sakura didn't know what it was about the casual motion that caused her heart to pick up further speed as she ripped her eyes away to rest on the proud, fetching lines of his broad shoulders again.

"Yes," he answered after a brief pause, turning his head very slightly to the right, so that she could view the handsome profile of his face without feeling the weight of his unnerving stare upon her.

There. He had confirmed it. Sakura exhaled, giving her stunned brain a moment to register full-blown reality. But it answered her back with agitated, buzzing thoughts that ricocheted against the walls of her head, leaving her disturbed by the sheer lack of answers she had at her disposal.

_But he looks so human. Why would a god take human form?_

_He looks human? Are you blind? Have you ever seen a guy who looks –that- flawless?_

_That must not be what he really looks like. Gods can take any form - can't they?_

_If he really is death, wouldn't he look more unpleasant?_

_No. He just rules over death._

_He isn't the god who created people. He can't be._

_Isn't he? How do you know that?_

_Are there really other gods out there?_

_What does he want? Is he… punishing me…?_

Sakura scoured the depths of her mind. What had she done so scandalously wrong in her short life to warrant abduction by a deity? Sure, she had an inner self who often raged at the people who upset or irritated her, was almost gluttonous when it came to chocolate and sweet treats, but what else _was_ there?

 _You hate death_ , a little voice reminded her through her confusion. _You despise how it tears hearts apart, how it turns people who were once so full of life into shells of their former selves._

Sakura's eyes widened in alarm as she continued to gaze at Sasuke's back. That was it. That _had_ to be it. Just the other week, she had internally cursed death for looming over Mr. Arakawa like a sinister shadow that was impossible to chase away. Sasuke had overheard her thoughts – and chosen to punish her.

But even as Sakura arrived at this conclusion she still had trouble accepting it. Of all the evil, sinful, twisted people in the world – the God of Death had selected _her_ to judge? It didn't make sense. And yet there was no other explanation.

Before she could even realise the nature of the words that had deployed themselves onto the tip of her tongue, she blurted out, "I'm not an atheist."

Sasuke's fingers stopped twirling the tomato. He did cast a look over his shoulder, then. One dark eyebrow lifted at her odd choice of words.

Sakura felt heat creep into her cheeks and ducked her eyes meekly, amending, "I-I mean, I'm not a disbeliever." Once she had started talking, she couldn't seem to shut up. The aftermath of shock, she distantly registered, as her mouth rambled on, "I've always believed in god. I say my prayers every night and- and I help people. I even help animals. At the shelters. And I'm always grateful. I might not show it well, but I-I am."

Sasuke had turned to regard her, his expression indecipherable.

"S-so please," Sakura continued in a rush, "I haven't done anything wrong. I know that death is a part of life, and I never meant to-"

"Sakura."

She caught her breath sharply, breaking off. Her stomach twisted tightly in dread when she noted the mild scowl that had formed on Sasuke's sculpted features – as if he didn't care at all for the gibbering excuses she was throwing so desperately at him.

"I do not judge the living."

Of course Sasuke had read her fears as easily as if he were reading off an open page in a book. He was a _god._ That explained how he knew so much about her.

Sakura blinked bewilderedly at him. "Then…" she began uncertainly, "this isn't… a punishment?"

"No."

She released a quiet breath. Knowledge of the fact that she hadn't been brought to his realm to be judged was an immense relief. But it was also a great burden upon her mind, because Sakura couldn't think of any _other_ reason why the God of Death would steal her away from the surface. What other motives were there? She couldn't find anything credible enough to account for why she was seated before Sasuke at that very moment. He had told her it was his will, and she was clearly meant to accept that, however difficult it was to do so. But there _had_ to be another, underlying purpose.

Perhaps, if she tried her best to be patient again, he would eventually reward her with the truth as to just why he had chosen to kidnap _her._

But she had questions, so many questions, and she felt she would go mad if he continued to deny her explanations. And yet, she was more afraid than ever to confront him. How would Sasuke respond if she did? Would he continue to leave her in the dark? Had anything changed now that she knew who and what he was? He had turned his back to her again, and nonchalantly popped the plump little tomato into his mouth.

 _I didn't know gods eat normal food_ , thought Sakura, as she watched him with wide, fascinated eyes. Did Suigetsu eat tomatoes too? She fleetingly found herself wondering what Suigetsu was god of, but quickly shoved the curiosity into a tight-lidded mental box. She couldn't risk thinking about him in Sasuke's presence. She was lucky, she knew, to have had witnessed confirmation of Suigetsu's words by the river bank; it masked the knowledge she had gained shortly beforehand perfectly. And more importantly, it concealed their meeting from Sasuke. Sakura swallowed thickly, watching as the death deity poured himself the same drink he had offered to her – but significantly more of it.

She had to be careful. Sasuke wasn't a compassionate god if he'd flung a fellow deity into a cell and shown no clemency to the woman who had begged at his feet. Now she understood, too, why his servants feared him so much. He likely had the power to terminate lives even more swiftly than she could manage to blink.

Forcing her mind to go blank when his eyes returned to her, Sakura compelled herself to bite the bullet of her fear. She couldn't well hope to gain any answers if she allowed intimidation to stay her tongue. But there was something she had to do first, before she could ask him anything else.

"Um," she began tentatively, feeling her cheeks warm further as she swallowed back her pride for the sake of what she deemed were surely her better interests. "I- I'm sorry. For… throwing that goblet at you."

She kept her gaze fixed firmly onto the closest dish before her – a succulent species of fish she had never seen before, surrounded by glistening slices of lemon and green herbs – and held her breath in anticipation of his response.

When it came, it wasn't what she had been expecting.

"No." His voice was cold, hard ice.

She almost choked on her breath in surprise, her eyes flying back up to find that onyx depths had narrowed disapprovingly at her. "Wha-" she began to fumble, when Sasuke promptly held up a halting palm, signalling her to be silent. Sakura bit her tongue and made herself comply, her heart racing. What did he mean - _no?_

"You are not," he elaborated.

Sakura blinked incredulously at him. "I-I am," she stammered defensively. "If I had known-"

He abruptly set his goblet down. When he began to advance toward her, it took all of Sakura's will power to remain seated. But her heart was pounding so hard and fast she was certain he could hear it, beating like a riotous drum within her.

Drawing to a stop by her left side, he placed his hands on the edge of the table, and demanded, "What action would you have taken, Sakura? Prayer?" His gaze seemed to drink up her features for a moment, before one corner of his lips pulled back to form a ghost of a sneer. "Will it work if you pray now?"

Sakura felt her lips parting to gape at him. She could scarcely believe that a deity was mocking her faith – as if prayers were merely empty words to him.

What manner of god _was_ Sasuke? Were sacred beings not meant to be righteous, merciful, and benevolent? Or had the world misled her about that, too?

Sasuke's eyes on her were positively hawk-like as he awaited her response, and Sakura struggled to keep her lower lip from trembling.

 _Calm down!_ Her inner voice yelled at her, struggling to be heard over other senseless, panicked thoughts. _This must be a test, whatever he says. Calm down and answer him! Don't just sit there and let him read you like Kakashi reads those inappropriate novels that everyone knows he keeps stashed in his desk's top drawer!_

Bizarrely, the thought of her masked tutor helped her regain some equanimity. He'd once complimented Sakura on being sharp-witted and level-headed. She now needed those characteristics more than ever.

She knew what Sasuke likely expected her to do; to stumble an excuse, to cower beneath his stare, or worse - to actually fall to her knees before him and beg to be allowed to return to her mother. Because that was all she had really shown him up to that point – tearfulness and apprehension.

But he had claimed that he didn't want her dead. She had the word of a deity. Somehow she had to make herself trust in it – however difficult that was when Sasuke disconcerted her so much.

 _He won't kill you. He just wants to see how you react. You don't have to be afraid. You don't have to be afraid_ , she chanted over and over to herself.

With that in mind, she did the precise opposite of what she was certain he was waiting to see. She pushed her chair back and rose to her feet.

She thought she saw surprise flicker transiently in his midnight irises – but must have imagined it, for when she blinked, nothing but frosty indifference was reflected in the bottomless black depths.

Her voice, when she spoke, wobbled precariously, but she was pleased that at least she didn't stutter again like an incompetent idiot. "I know there must be… a reason why you've brought me here," she paused, before hesitantly venturing, "I don't know what it is yet, but I believe you'll tell me… when the time is right."

Sasuke stared hard at her for a long moment – then stepped around the corner of the table that separated them, causing Sakura's heart to jump.

 _Don't be scared,_ she kept telling herself. _Don't be scared, don't be scared, don'tbescared…_

But she _was._ She couldn't help herself. She released a shaky breath as Sasuke swiftly closed the distance between them in one graceful stride. And when his hands closed around her upper arms and he drew her in so that the front of her body brushed lightly against his, she was more than just scared.

She was petrified.

"What if the time is now?" he murmured, lowering his face so that it was mere inches away from hers. Up close, his beauty was even more startling, and she could make out the lighter flecks of stormy grey in his eyes. The colour made her think fleetingly of winter. She couldn't look away.

Sakura exhaled again, and, after several unsuccessful attempts at finding her voice, she finally managed to whisper, "Then I'm ready."

She knew the instant the words tumbled from her mouth that it was a lie. Because the truth was, she didn't feel ready to find out at all. Her mind hadn't yet fully recovered from the revelation that Sasuke was an immortal – she didn't think she could handle any further shocks.

"Ready, Sakura…?" he breathed, tilting his head marginally to the left.

She gulped. "Y-yes," she stammered, forcing herself to keep very still.

His penetrating gaze held hers for another long, tantalising moment – before slipping lower. Sakura's heart flapped like an agitated bird within her chest when she suddenly realised where his attention was directed.

Her was looking at her parted lips – and looking intently.

She nervously and self-consciously wet her lower lip - another of her mindless habits – and the fingers around her arms tightened marginally for a moment in response. Then Sasuke's gaze fell away and he briefly closed his eyes.

"Hn," the sound he made was one that bordered on annoyance. Then, abruptly, his hands relinquished their hold. His eyelids lifted and it seemed to Sakura that he was glaring at a particular, unfortunate spot on the floor.

Her pulse was thundering at impossible speed. How was it that his proximity had such a frightening and instantaneous effect on her? Every time he closed the distance between them, she felt as though every nerve ending in her body was attached to a wire, pumping high voltages of electricity through her. After a long moment, she finally allowed herself to breathe again. But her thoughts were a jumbled, frenzied mess.

What in the world had just _happened?_ She knew that it wasn't the right time to dwell on it with Sasuke standing before her, and felt another flutter of apprehension as a request she had been meaning to make of him whispered through her thoughts.

Sasuke's displeased scowl had waned into a look that she was now absolutely certain was his default expression – one of utter detachment. Sakura took a deep breath; it was then or never. She opened her mouth – and, for the first time in his presence, hesitantly spoke his name.

"S-Sasuke…?"

His shoulders tensed slightly, as if in surprise – before he turned his full attention onto her. Sakura nervously averted her eyes, fearful of his response, as she began uncertainly, "I… my mother. She must be so worried. Please. I… if I could just send her a message to let her know that I'm alright…" her voice trailed off, and she dared not breathe, wincing in anticipation of his blunt rejection. But only silence met her ears. When it began to drag on, she anxiously flicked a glance at him – to find him regarding her coolly.

Then, to her complete astonishment, he spun abruptly on his heel and instructed curtly, "Come."

A tiny, feeble flicker of hope sparked to life inside Sakura. Was he granting her request? She rushed to follow after him, having to break out into a gentle canter to match his long, fluid strides. He led her out of the banqueting hall and took an immediate left turn, drawing to a stop before a pair of double-doors that Sakura had yet to investigate. They parted at his non-verbal command, opening up to reveal a large room that Sakura supposed was a reception or extremely luxurious lounge of some kind. A grand, black marble fireplace burned with bright, hearty flames directly before her, a rich, deep crimson rug thrown before it, giving the room a cosier feel than the austere, timeless beauty of the rest of the palace.

A gloriously framed, ornate mirror was hung directly over the hearth's enclosure. The single, enormous crystal chandelier in the room was dimly lit with candles, further emphasising the warm environment of the room. Two deep red, gold-lined, plump and elegant armchairs were stationed upon the rug before the fireplace. Several glossy wooden tables also decorated the space, supporting wonderful vases adorned with artistically arranged blooms. Sakura was momentarily distracted by them – they were an exquisite mix of midnight blue blossoms paired with milky white. Then she realised that Sasuke, whose eyes had followed her line of sight, was waiting for her. She turned back to him, following as he led her to what looked like an old-fashioned writing desk. It was beautifully carved, depicting a pattern she couldn't quite discern – but she didn't get much of a chance to attempt to identify it, for Sasuke had pulled back the chair that partnered the small table, in a wordless directive for her to be seated.

Sakura lowered herself into the comfortable chair, her pulse never once slowing down as she took a look at the items before her. A piece of something she could only identify as blank parchment was rolled out before her. Set neatly beside it was a long feather quill, and next to that, a small dark pot of ink. Sasuke gestured for her to write. Sakura swallowed, trying to mask her disbelief.

He was granting her request. But her happiness at the fact was significantly dampened by anxious awareness of the fact that Sasuke was standing over her right shoulder like a vigilant eagle. His presence was a silent, unspoken message for her to think carefully about what she wanted to pen onto paper.

Awkwardly, Sakura reached out, her fingers grasping the quill. It felt far too delicate and light to use for writing, and she was uncertain about whether or not she was even holding it correctly. Feeling self-conscious underneath Sasuke's watchful gaze, she dunked the quill into the pot – only for the ink to spill out from the force of her inexperienced action. She stiffened, opened her mouth to instantly apologise for staining the beautiful table's surface – but her words caught in her throat when Sasuke's fingers wrapped over hers, guiding the quill back into the pot. She was painfully conscious of him as he leant forward, his face hovering over her right shoulder. Sakura stared, wide-eyed, as in one, gentle motion, he moved her hand to dip the quill's pointed end into the ink. Then he lifted her hand back, and retracted contact.

Her skin once again tingled from the lightness of his touch. How was it possible that Death's hands could be so careful? Sakura was so diverted by this, that she almost missed Sasuke's command as it cut through the weighty silence.

"Write."

* * *

Karin's feet retraced the path they had trodden countless times, but her eyes were distracted, unseeing, as she supervised the latest group of newly deceased souls along the bank.

The image of Sasuke and the mortal girl was ingrained in her mind, as if inked with incurable venom, taunting her, torturing her. Unbidden, her earlier exchange with Suigetsu floated through her thoughts, causing her to glare heatedly before her. Had he been right about the death deity's reasons for bringing Sakura to the Underworld?

Was it possible? Was it possible that Sasuke- that somehow, he…

Karin ground her teeth together angrily. She couldn't even bring herself to complete the thought; it was too ludicrous, too impossible. Sasuke couldn't desire the girl in any way. _Sakura_ was too small and slight a thing. She was a pathetic, porcelain doll who looked like she would shatter from the slightest application of force; she certainly wasn't built to endure the intensity of a god's affections. No; Sasuke didn't like her. He _wouldn't._ She was a mere wisp, barely a woman. Her exotic colourings were perhaps her greatest assets; there certainly didn't seem to be anything else remarkable about her that the river nymph could see.

"Hmph," Karin grumbled, as she kicked aside a stray pebble. In all her long years of servitude to Sasuke, he had never _once_ looked at her as intently as she had glimpsed him regarding Sakura. With Sakura he had almost been careful. Almost… gentle. It had been such an alien and foreign sight to Karin – and one that had released the tumultuous rage of a woman scorned. How long had she pined after the Underworld's handsome king? How many times had he brushed aside her attempts at conversing with him, curbing her affections with a withering, uninterested glare?

The scarlet-haired woman's lips twisted bitterly. Maybe she ought to have listened to Suigetsu the fool, after all. Perhaps Sasuke had indeed whisked the human girl to his world to warm his bed. Was it truly so outrageous? Gods and goddesses had always bedded exceptional humans throughout the ages. And Sasuke had been alone for so very long. All his pent up, raw emotions, unleashed upon Sakura…

Nausea overcame her as she once again fought to deny the sinister, jealous whispers that were rising to take possession of her mind. _No._ Why would Sasuke want a girl who was inexperienced, immature and thoroughly _un_ exceptional? Besides, Sakura had been hysterical, and afraid of him. Whatever Sasuke intended for her, she clearly didn't seem willing to partake in it.

Karin all but shoved the poor soul ahead of her toward the correct line. "Stay there!" she snapped. The soul – a teenage girl who appeared to be close to Sakura's age, quivered pitifully, reminding Karin of the pink-haired _freak_ who, by some satanic means, had somehow managed to capture Sasuke's full and undivided attention.

But _why?_ What did Sakura have that made her different, and more alluring?

Karin's gaze grew steely as she acknowledged that there was only one person who could assist her in salving the questions that burned through her. It wasn't ideal, as she hadn't intended on approaching him again, and if she had absolutely any other alternative then she wouldn't even bother to-

"Karin?"

She was drawn from her thoughts by a soft, quiet voice. Scowling, she tossed a look back at Juugo, who was peering at her with a peculiar expression on his face.

"What?" she snarled.

Juugo hesitated. She seemed like she was in an even more temperamental mood than usual, and experience had taught him enough to know that he needed to proceed with caution.

"Is everything… alright?"

"Yes!" she barked back, far too quickly. "Perfect! Now get back to the shore, Nagato's ferrying some more over!"

Juugo released a quiet sigh, and nodded, turning away to do as he'd been instructed. Karin watched him for a moment, wondering how he could be so patient and accepting of his fate. Because suddenly, it wasn't enough for her to carry out Sasuke's will and demand absolutely nothing back in return. Suddenly she felt used and slighted – just as she had when the death deity had first appeared to her, like a dark, glorious, seductive seraph, so many years before.

Her lips peeled back, baring pearly teeth, as she made her decision.

* * *

Kakashi sighed lightly as he regarded the faces around him. They were unique, and unalike, yet their expressions at that moment were remarkably similar, mirroring universal astonishment. He briefly contemplated the will of the Fates, for he, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, Tsunade, Inoichi and Iruka had been reunited, once again, by unfortunate circumstances.

Sakura had been missing for two days – and Kakashi could already see the strain on Tsunade's face. The police had been at the door when he'd arrived at the formidable woman's house, but they all knew that human authorities were useless to them; Sakura had been stolen away by an immortal, to a place where mortals could not venture.

It was Iruka who finally broke the stunned silence. "Are you sure about this…?"

"Yes," Inoichi answered for his friend. "Sai disclosed this to us late last night."

"I cannot believe it," Kurenai shook her head, turning fearful eyes to Tsunade. The woman's expression was stony, but the tight clench in her jaw betrayed the depth of fury that was simmering within her.

"This is troubling, indeed," Asuma remarked. "Suigetsu's always enjoyed causing mischief, but for him to do this…"

"He's gone too far, this time," Kurenai agreed.

"For him to offer us his assistance, only to stab us in the back," Gai's dark eyebrows drew together to form a deep frown.

"You said Naruto was with you?" Iruka asked warily.

"Yes. He didn't take it too well, as you can imagine," said Inoichi.

"Where is Naruto now?" Asuma questioned, casting a glance over at the blond-haired man.

"With Shikamaru and Sai," Kakashi replied. "They'll keep an eye on him, but we have to act quickly. You say that Suigetsu isn't responding?"

"That's right," Asuma nodded.

"Now we know why," Iruka muttered.

"Wait," Kurenai held up a slender hand. "Let's try to unpick this. Why would Suigetsu abduct the child?"

Tsunade spoke up then. Her voice was a livid hiss, her expression thundery as she answered, "For leverage. The fool wants his seat restored at the Pantheon."

Iruka's jaw dropped as the rest of them stared in surprise. _"What?"_

"Is that what you promised him in return for his assistance?" Kakashi probed quietly.

Tsunade's hands closed to form frustrated fists. "He was delusional to even demand such a thing. We cannot reclaim our seats."

"But you gave him your word," Gai pointed out.

Tsunade's silence was all the confirmation they needed.

Inoichi placed his fingers to his temples. "How can we locate him if he does not answer to our calls? We cannot possibly search through all the oceans. He has absolute dominion over his territory and can easily elude us."

"And this does not explain why the seas are so disturbed," Asuma added. "If Sakura is indeed submerged-"

"He won't kill her," Iruka frowned. "He's not that stupid. He doesn't have a motive, not unless he finds out that Sai has told us-"

"Damn it!" Tsunade erupted, slamming a fist against the coffee table before her. "I'll skin that treacherous bastard with my own hands!"

"Tsunade," Kakashi raised a hand, trying to reign her temper in. "Jiraiya can assist us in this. His subjects can travel through water-"

"No!" Tsunade stiffened, her eyes flashing as they met Kakashi's lone gaze. "I will _not_ depend on him again. He has already shown himself to be perfectly incompetent in the past!"

"Tsunade," Kurenai stated gently. "You know that Jiraiya cares about-"

Tsunade rose abruptly to her feet. They all knew her well enough to recognise what the action meant. She didn't wish to converse on the matter any further.

"I will find Suigetsu," she snarled. "And when I do, I'll make him answer for what he has done."

In a heartbeat she had exited the house, leaving the others to share troubled, unhappy glances.

* * *

Being cooped up in a cell had taught Suigetsu two things. The first was that he suffered from some immortal variant of the human condition claustrophobia. He found that he despised the enclosure of the solid rock-faces around him and the lightning infused bars before him with vehement passion. The second thing he had discovered was that sulking in imprisonment was remarkably tedious, and so he had resolved to create as much noise as possible, in the hopes of drawing an aggravated Sasuke to him.

"What do you call a god who steals children away? A _kid_ -napper. What do you call a god who doesn't have the balls to court a girl the traditional way? Sasuke. What do you call a god who stabbed his own brother in the back? Sasuke! What do you call a god who's stupid enough to throw me in prison? Bingo! Sasuke. And what do you call a god who's gonna get his ass kicked the second I'm out of here? Yeah, that's right – Sasuke!"

"Shut up, you idiot! I can hear your racket all the way from the river!"

Suigetsu blinked, a grin slowly curving his lips. His rowdy yelling had finally attracted some attention – though it wasn't quite who he'd been expecting.

"Heh. Back so soon? Just can't keep away, can you?" he teased.

Karin drew to a stop before him. One look at her face and the rigidness of her posture revealed a wealth of knowledge to the confined sea deity – and he wasted no time in exploiting it.

"Say, Karin, you don't look too happy. Has Sasuke been a jerk again? Oh, wait; my bad; he's always a jerk."

Karin glared at him. When she didn't deign to verbally respond, Suigetsu's grin became sharper, more predatory, as he moved in for the emotional kill.

"Oh, I get it; you saw him fucking Sakura's brains out. Ouch. That's _got_ to hurt. I mean, you spend centuries trying to jump him, and along comes Cinderella, who steals his non-existent heart right off the-"

"Shut up."

"-huh?" Suigetsu blinked again, surprised. The dejected tone and unsteady quiver he detected in Karin's voice were so markedly uncharacteristic of the feisty, sharp-tongued nymph he was accustomed to encountering, that for a few seconds the Sea God fell silent. He walked forward and peered at her through the bars of his cage - and his jaw fell open when he was certain he detected a trace of moisture on Karin's cheeks.

"Don't tell me you're actually _crying_ over that bastard?"

"Of course not!" she snapped, quickly reverting to the form she liked to show off most to the world. "And what would _you_ care, anyway?"

Suigetsu snorted. "You're right, I don't. Now why don't you run back to your precious _Sasuke-kun?_ " He emphasised the name in a high, comical pitch, waving his hands in mockery of females with mindless crushes on the death deity. "Oh yeah; he doesn't _want_ you."

"You are _such_ an ass!" she snarled, pointing animatedly at him.

"And you're a delusional bitch," the Sea God pounced, narrowing lavender eyes at her. "Regret taking up his offer yet?"

Karin merely released an indignant ' _hmph'_ and folded her arms, tilting her head back haughtily at him. "You're just jealous that he's better than you – in _every_ single way."

Suigetsu snickered. "You haven't done him yet," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "How can you compare?"

He watched, amused, as Karin's complexion almost became as red as her hair colour.

"K-keep your disgusting thoughts to yourself, you bastard!" she stuttered, clutching agitatedly onto the right side of her spectacles.

Suigetsu chuckled, before casually looping his hands back behind his head. All traces of mirth vanished as he demanded, "What do you want, Karin? I'm not in the mood for your annoying shit, so if you've just come here to gloat again, you can piss off."

Karin hesitated despite herself. If she decided to continue with what she'd planned, she knew there would be no turning back for her. If Sasuke found out, only the deity before her would be capable of saving her from certain death. Could she trust Suigetsu again, after the many years they had spent apart? Did she really want to go through with what she had in mind?

The image of Sasuke trapping Sakura between the cage of his arms and the rock-face flooded through her head and she swallowed thickly, unable to remove the sour taste from the back of her throat. She _couldn't_ ignore it. She couldn't pretend it didn't hurt. She couldn't go back to acting like everything was normal. When she spoke next, she did so telepathically. She wouldn't take the risk being discovered so soon.

' _That girl's a living human. What's she doing in the Underworld?'_

Suigetsu's eyebrows shot up. Karin was choosing to communicate to him through her mind? This was unexpected. His curiosity snagged, he answered, _'So now you're ready to talk?'_

' _Shut up and answer me, idiot! What's a mortal doing here when she isn't dead?'_

' _Beats me. As you can see, his royal grouchiness doesn't exactly want me or anybody else finding out, either.'_

' _Is he going to kill her?'_

Suigetsu grinned. _'It'd be a waste if he did. She's hot.'_

Karin scowled disapprovingly at his words, before continuing, _'Can you get her out of here?'_

Suigetsu stared hard at her, immediately suspicious. What, exactly, was the nymph playing at? And more importantly, what had caused her sudden change in heart? He knew that Karin was unpredictable in nature, just like all water elementals – but for her to completely back-track on what she had told him earlier? And when the decision concerned a certain Sasuke Uchiha, no less?

' _What's with you all of a sudden? If this is a trick, I'll tear your ugly head off.'_

' _It's not a trick, idiot! I want her out!_ ' Karin mentally snapped back.

' _You're actually going to go against Sasuke's wishes?'_ Suigetsu narrowed his eyes at her, before scoffing, _'I don't believe it.'_

' _Fine,'_ she telepathically snarled. _'Then just stay in there!'_

The Sea God glared at her in turn. _'How do I know I can trust you? You might go and rat on me to Sasuke the second you leave.'_

' _If I wanted to rat on you, I'd have done it already!'_ Karin countered.

Suigetsu said nothing, but continued to scrutinise her closely.

She rolled her eyes impatiently. _'Listen, fool! I'll help you out of there if you promise to get that pitiful excuse of a human away from Sasuke.'_

Suigetsu flashed a hostile smile. _'You think that'll improve your chances with him? Dream on!"_

He watched in satisfaction as Karin's hands tightened to form angry fists. He knew that she would have swung at him – were it not for the lightning bars that separated them.

' _I don't care about that,'_ she answered coldly. _'Just get rid of her!'_

Suigetsu smirked. 'So you _wanna team up, now? We're making progress, Karin.'_

' _Shut up,'_ she glared again. ' _Can you do it?'_

' _Well, sure, if we time this right.'_ He stared intently at her again, before adding, _'You sure you wanna piss Sasuke off? He's got the worst temper out of all of us.'_

Karin's heart was pounding. She couldn't quite believe that she was plotting to steal the God of Death's prisoner away from him. But she didn't have any other choice. If she tried to brush off what she'd seen, and the fact that Sasuke clearly favoured little _Sakura_ over her, then she knew that jealousy would eat away at her until nothing remained. She wouldn't be able to continue with her duties when her heart felt as though it had been trampled to pieces. And if she did _not_ carry out her duties, then Sasuke had no need for her – and would likely terminate her existence. Karin always looked out for her better interests first. She would be doing Sasuke a favour, she reasoned, by removing the girl from the Underworld. No good would come of his fleeting interest in the mortal child.

Taking a deep breath, she communicated the last of her terms to seal the agreement between them. _'If I let you out, you've got to get me out too.'_

Suigetsu wasn't certain he had heard correctly. _'Huh?'_

Karin huffed impatiently. _'You heard, idiot! I don't want Sasuke coming after me!'_ She felt a prick of annoyance when Suigetsu's jaw dropped open in utter disbelief. Then he shook his head, and to her fury, began to laugh. Hard.

"Shut up!" she barked aloud, glancing nervously around them.

Suigetsu continued to snort with laughter, before finally managing, "Oh, man, this is gonna be priceless. He's gonna be so mad! Ahahahahaha!"

"Quiet!" Karin hissed underneath her breath, apprehension fluttering through her at the mere thought of a furious, vengeful Sasuke. Then, in her head again, _'How do we get that little freak out of there? I can't get into the palace-'_

Suigetsu smiled a small smile, as he answered in kind, _'Leave the little flower to me.'_

* * *

Sakura stared absent-mindedly into the fireplace. After she had scrawled a very short note, Sasuke had departed, presumably, she hoped, to have it delivered to her mother. She'd remained in the warm room, taking seat in one of the comfortable armchairs, and had soon lost herself in her thoughts.

Sasuke had permitted her to write a letter. Maybe he was more compassionate than what she had initially allowed herself to believe? She shook her head, quickly dismissing the idea. The fact that her kidnapper had allowed her to scribble a few words didn't remove her fear of him. He was Death, the embodiment of what frightened her most.

Perhaps that was her test…? If she somehow overcame her fear of Sasuke, and consequently of death, would he let her return to the surface? Sakura lowered her head, resting her chin on her knee-caps, drawn up and close to her chest. The more she followed the train of thought, the more it seemed plausible. Maybe, if she made an effort to understand Sasuke…

 _Then what?_ Her inner voice sneered at her. _You'll become friends and he'll have mercy and release you? Just look at him. Does he look like a nice, friendly god? You think just because he let you write a note, that he'll be kinder to you from now on? How stupid are you?_

Sakura swallowed miserably. A god. She was being held captive by an immortal. How could she ever have anticipated that her life would take such an unpleasant and thoroughly terrifying turn? She recalled the wishes she had made at the end of the Spring Festival, and her mouth curved to form a grim, bitter smile. She ought to have asked for shelter from death – quite literally.

She ran her tongue over her lips, realising that she was thirsty again. Releasing a heavy sigh, she rose to her feet and exited the room, before making her way back over to the banqueting hall. The golden liquid in its decanter sat temptingly before her as she approached the table. But she decided against pouring herself more of it, reckoning that there had to be a reason why Sasuke had told her that her serving had been enough.

Instead she picked up the elegant water jug, filled a goblet, and swallowed the cold, refreshing liquid down in one hungry gulp. Sighing with satisfaction, she poured herself a second serving – and nearly dropped the goblet when she suddenly saw a face reflected within it that most certainly was _not_ hers. She yelped in alarm, and quickly set the goblet back down but not before it precariously spilt some water onto the luxurious tablecloth.

' _Whoa, whoa! Calm down, Pinky! It's me!'_

Sakura gaped at Suigetsu's face, rippling on the surface of the small circle of water.

"S-Suigetsu?"she squeaked in bewilderment. Surely she had to be imagining that she was seeing his face in her drink, as well as hearing his voice in her head. But when she blinked his reflection was still very much there.

' _Shh! The bastard's not around is he?'_ When she mutely shook her head, he continued, _'I was almost ready to give up trying to get hold of you. Listen. Think your words out to me – I'll hear them, so long as we're connected through water.'_

Realisation settled over Sakura. She concentrated, attempting to speak to him as he requested. _'Are you a Water God?'_

She was rewarded with a smile that reminded her, for a heart-constricting moment, all too much of Naruto. _'Smart girl,'_ he complimented. Then, seriously, _'Are we still clear?'_

Sakura nodded, hope blooming within her as she reached out and lifted the goblet into her hands again. If she had another deity on side, perhaps she stood a chance of escaping. But it meant that she absolutely could not risk letting Sasuke find out that she was communicating with Suigetsu.

' _Suigetsu-'_ she began, suddenly feeling like she wasn't so alone.

' _As long as we talk like this, he won't be able to overhear us,'_ Suigetsu cut her off. _'But you've got to keep this a secret, got it? Now I'm assuming, given that he hasn't come over here and tried to decapitate me yet, that he doesn't know we've spoken already.'_

' _No,'_ Sakura answered. Then, hesitantly, _'I saw him at the river bank. With souls. I... he brought me back here.'_

' _So you found out anyway, huh? Believe me now?'_

' _I'm sorry,'_ she mentally apologised, cradling the goblet close. She'd only met Suigetsu in person once, but she was already certain, somehow, that she was safer with him than she was with Sasuke. At least Suigetsu was easy to talk to – even if he was somewhat unpredictable, also.

' _Heh. Anyway, you offered to help me out. You still up for that?'_

' _Yes!'_ Sakura nodded eagerly, her pulse picking up speed.

' _Good,'_ Suigetsu grinned. _'Help me out and I'll help you out. Literally. Now listen carefully, Pinky. Sasuke keeps a special lightning blade on him at all times. I need you to get hold of it for me.'_

Sakura released a breath. A blade? Did Suigetsu mean the sword she had spied attached in its jewelled scabbard at Sasuke's waist? Nervously, she answered, _'I… how am I supposed to do that?'_

Suigetsu wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. _'You're a woman, aren't you? I'm sure you can find a way to disarm that asshole.'_

Sakura's jaw dropped in mortification, searing heat flying instantly to her cheeks in response to what Suigetsu was implying. The water deity must have noticed, for he released an amused chuckle. _'You're even cuter when you're embarrassed,'_ he teased.

Sakura fought the urge to spill the water onto the floor, and managed, _'I-I mean it. I can't do it. He scares me so much, I…'_

Suigetsu snorted. _'Has he told you he's going to kill you?'_

' _No…'_ Sakura blinked.

' _Has he told you he's not going to kill you?'_

' _Yes, but-'_

' _Then what's the problem?'_

Desperation bubbled within Sakura. She knew exactly what the problem was, of course. If she wanted to obtain the sword, then she had to make the effort to talk politely to Sasuke again, to try to gain his trust so that he allowed her to handle the blade. But even then, even if she did, by some miracle, manage to open the channels of communication between them, there was still no guarantee that Sasuke would hand his sword over to her. How could she take it from him without flagging his suspicions? He always watched her so closely, so carefully. Suigetsu didn't understand that she was a terrible liar, and always had been. And being economical with the truth to the death deity would likely be her final and most fatal mistake.

' _I can't lie to him,'_ she disclosed honestly. _'He's a god. He'll see right through me-'_

' _You won't have to lie to him. Listen, do you know how to fight?'_

' _What?_ ' she frowned down at his reflection, confused by the sudden change in subject.

' _Can you use a sword?'_ Suigetsu pressed impatiently.

' _Um… no,'_ Sakura shook her head, uncertain as to where the conversation as heading.

' _Perfect,'_ the water deity nodded. _'Ask Sasuke to teach you and then borrow his sword to practice. Then bring it over when the coast's clear. In an ideal scenario, that would be after you knock him out with his own weapon.'_

Sakura gawped. Her heart was now pounding erratically within her. Ask Sasuke to teach her how to fight with a _sword?_ There was no way she could or _would_ do such a thing. She didn't trust him enough not to hurt her, despite his words. They barely knew each other, and besides, he was a deity who would surely consider it a waste of his time. How could Suigetsu be so certain that Sasuke would even consent to indulging such a random request? She anxiously shook her head. If Sasuke found out, if he tracked her down before she got the sword to Suigetsu-

What would he do to her…?

Reading the apprehensive look on her face, the Water God sighed, _'Look, Pinky. If you want to find out why you're here, you're gonna have to talk to him. He's a royal pain in the ass, I know, but you gotta suck it up and try. And if you want to get out of here, you'll get me that sword. We'll talk again.'_

"Wait!" Sakura began, forgetting in her desperation to communicate mentally. "Suigetsu-!"

' _Keep your eyes open, Pinky.'_ With that, the water's surface rippled, and when it stilled once again, Sakura found herself staring into clear, innocent liquid. She slowly set the goblet down, her mind racing.

Suigetsu wanted her to try and get to know Sasuke in an attempt to steal away the sword that he needed, which he claimed that _she_ in turn needed, in order for them to escape from the Underworld. How in the world was she going to do that, without Sasuke realising?

Sakura raised a hand to her face, and released a groan of despair.

* * *

Sasuke stared down at the unfolded parchment in his hand. The note scrawled upon it had been written in cursive script, the letters rounded and fanciful in nature. But the tone of the message was anything but playful and light-hearted.

* * *

_Dear mother,_

_Please believe me when I tell you that I'm fine. I'm unhurt. I'm not hungry, and I'm not cold. I'm so sorry for making you and everyone else worry._

_Please remember to water the roses, the peach blossoms, the geraniums, and the cypress plants._

_I love you more than anything else in the world._

_-Sakura_

* * *

His index finger trailed over her signed name, brushing the corner where her silent tears had fallen to stain the paper. It didn't matter, Sasuke told himself, that she was unhappy. He had brought Sakura to his realm for his own desires – her feelings were subordinate in relation to his own wants and needs. The fact that he'd chosen to grant her request changed nothing. He had done so to further his own designs – that was all.

His eyes lowered briefly as he recalled how his name had sounded falling from her sweet, chaste lips. He wanted to hear it again. He hungered for it. He wondered how it would sound if he made her gasp it, moan it, scream it...

Sasuke released a quiet breath. _Soon_ , he told himself. As long as he had Sai keeping an eye on the search for Sakura on the surface, he still had time to entice her to accept the food of the dead from his hand. Folding the parchment once again, he raised a thumb and index finger to his lips, meaning to whistle for transportation – when something on the ground suddenly caught his attention. Sasuke tensed, his eyes immediately honing in on the spot where he had detected movement. He stared intently, and when a full minute passed without further occurrence, Sasuke made to turn away – only to spin back around at the final moment. In a flash he had unsheathed the blade at his waist and lunged forward, stabbing its tip into the ground. Then he knelt down to examine the creature that had been impaled by his sword.

A small toad with orange markings struggled, flailing its arms and legs before growing still. Sasuke's eyes widened in instant recognition and he drew a sharp inhalation of breath. The amphibian's identity was unmistakable. He rose rigidly to his feet, fury swirling in onyx irises, bleeding them to crimson.

The fingers grasping Sakura's note tightened. Sasuke blinked, and the parchment erupted into black flame.


	16. Chapter XV

**Chapter XV**

* * *

_Time's flow does not keep,_

_Within the shades of ever-night,_

_And lo! How wretched becomes sleep,_

_Unknowing unto where days pass._

* * *

Sakura lay sprawled on the bed, her eyes following the intricate swirls of golden thread that adorned the underside of the canopy high above her. After her brief exchange with Suigetsu in the banqueting hall, she had hurried back to her chamber to lose herself in the privacy of her thoughts. Her mind was racing, anxiously trying to determine a feasible way of separating Sasuke from the blade he carried at his waist.

But how in the world did Suigetsu expect her to complete such an impossible mission? What reason would be convincing enough to persuade her captor to relinquish his hold of the weapon? Sakura's incisors gnawed nervously into her bottom lip. What if Sasuke saw straight through her? What if, when he returned from ensuring that her letter had been delivered to her mother, he took one look at her and knew _exactly_ what she was intending to do? Because surely the guilt would be garishly painted all over her face; there was no way she could hope to conceal anything from the all-knowing eyes of a god – and when Sasuke inevitably found out, he would guarantee that her note never reached the surface. And if both that and Suigetsu were ruled out, then her chances of escaping were as buried as the bodies of the dead that boarded the boats.

 _Get a grip_ , Sakura firmly scolded herself before panic could rear its ugly head again. Did she truly have a cause to be so apprehensive? Surely Sasuke wouldn't punish her if she was only following the commands of another deity. Surely he would understand that she had only sought to be obedient?

Wouldn't he?

The fearful flutter in her stomach whispered to her otherwise. She had already witnessed enough of Sasuke's icy, unsympathetic exterior to anticipate that he would not be pleased with her actions. He seemed to expect her compliance to extend to him, and him alone. Whatever the dispute that was occurring between the Death God and the water deity was clearly not supposed to be any of Sakura's business.

And yet Suigetsu had planted her in the centre of the battlefield by requesting that she obtain the lightning blade - because it held the key to both their freedoms.

Sakura rolled restlessly onto her left side. Perhaps she ought to try contacting Suigetsu again, and calling off the plan? Now that she knew what Sasuke truly was, she didn't want to risk invoking his wrath. Sasuke had told her he had no intention of terminating her life. However, there were no assurances that he wouldn't kill her if she aggravated or displeased him enough.

The stark realisation caused Sakura's internal anxiety to intensify. What was she supposed to _do?_ She wanted, more than anything, to leave the frightening environment into which she had been so callously flung. She _wanted_ to assist Suigetsu, even though he had burdened her with an outrageously difficult chore. But to do so would mean going directly against the wishes of the god who had carried her to the Underworld.

 _Make up your mind_ , her inner voice snapped at her in frustration. _You either mope about and let Sasuke have his way – and you don't even know what he has planned for you - or you take action and you try to get out. You'll only be in trouble if you get caught. Isn't a chance at escape better than none at all?_

Sakura swallowed. She desperately tried to reassure herself that it meant something to have the Water God on side. She only needed to get the damned sword to him – and he would take care of the rest.

 _Alright, alright, I'll try!_ Sakura reasoned that she had nothing to lose by at least attempting to fulfil the arduous task given to her. Sasuke couldn't accuse her of anything if she didn't succeed – and if she did; well. Then she would have to run faster than Naruto did when he smelt ramen beckoning to him from the Academy's canteen.

So she was back to square one. How to steal the blade away? Suigetsu's suggestion that she ask Sasuke to teach her the art of swordsmanship was out of the question. He would see through such an insubstantial cover in a heartbeat. She needed to adapt a more subtle approach, something that would result in him loosening up enough around her to permit her to at least examine it – or to wait until he unstrapped it from his belt, and snatch it away when he wasn't looking.

But how to express an interest without kindling his suspicions? She couldn't simply ask to see his sword. Sakura's cheeks suddenly felt uncomfortably warm as she found herself arbitrarily imagining what Ino's response to such a blasé statement would be.

' _Slow down, Forehead!'_ she would screech. _'You want the main course before you've even started with the appetisers?'_

Sakura blushed further, shaking her head in disbelief. How could she even _entertain_ such inappropriate thoughts at such a dire time? She blamed her best friend for corrupting her innocent mind. According to Ino, every sentence harboured within it a saucy double-meaning.

A faint smile curved her lips at the thought of the beautiful blonde. Had she been in Sakura's position, she would have hurtled the entire table at Sasuke – and not even bothered to apologise for it. Instead she would have demanded an apology from _him._ Amusement quickly waned from Sakura's expression. How pathetic and weak was she in comparison?

She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into the plump, soft satin pillow supporting her head. Her disheartened thoughts unravelled, leaving her forlorn and miserable. At length her eyelids began to feel heavy, the contents of her mind scattering as she dozed into slumber.

* * *

"You sure you'll be alright alone?" Shikamaru questioned, eyeing Sai uncertainly. "There's room to crash at my place."

The pale youth shook his head. He felt sick to his stomach as he replied, "He does not know I have shared this information with you. I should be quite safe here."

Naruto gave him a resolute nod. "Sai. Thank you for telling us," he said, blinking large blue eyes in earnest.

Sai was at that second extremely grateful that he had such excellent experience at plastering false smiles onto his face. He led the young men to his apartment's front door and, after Shikamaru assured him they'd be in touch, wished the pair a good night, before closing the door after them. He counted a whole minute before slowly exhaling. Lying to people who considered him an ally and a friend was a horrible burden. Sai felt disgusted with himself. He was detestable, lower than the trash that rodents scavenged through in the darkness of night.

Rubbing tiredly at his eyes, he wondered how he was going to get any sleep when the overwhelming weight of guilt bore down upon him like a crushing steam-roller. Padding back into the lounge, he collected the cups of tea he had served to Shikamaru and Naruto and moved to the kitchen-

-and nearly dropped the tray in his hands when his gaze came to fall upon none other than the God of Death.

Sai's heart lurched violently within him. How long had Sasuke been standing there? Long enough to overhear the conversation he'd been having with the others? The displeased scowl on the Underworld ruler's face certainly seemed to suggest as much. Carefully placing the tray onto the black counter to his left, Sai bowed his head and averted his eyes in reverential acknowledgement.

"Great God," he murmured. He could feel the awful intensity of Sasuke's gaze piercing through his skull, and flinched in terror when the death deity abruptly tossed something onto the hard-tiled kitchen floor. It was the tattered, gruesome remains of something that Sai could not immediately discern, but the orange markings he spied on a severed limb quickly put into sharp relief the identity of the hapless creature. Frowning in bewilderment, he began, "I do not-"

"Determine Jiraiya's intentions. His subjects trespass upon my domain."

Sai's froze. Jiraiya suspected Sasuke? He dared not allow a flicker of hope to spark within him. Swallowing carefully, he replied, "Yes, Great God."

" _Now,"_ Sasuke ordered forcefully, impatiently.

Sai hesitantly raised his gaze, his thundering pulse causing blood to throb in his ears. "If you could give me until tomorrow-"

The Death God's glare fell upon him with withering intensity. "Until sunset," he said curtly. And then, in the blink of an eye, like a dark apparition, he vanished.

Sai's attention lowered back to the severed amphibian, and he found himself nervously wondering just what Sasuke would do to him if he failed to obtain the required information.

* * *

_The rolling field was tinged the colour of pure, brilliant gold. Sunlight caught and gleamed off the freshly watered heads of wheat and corn, and blades of grass swayed playfully beneath the gentle caress of the breeze. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the pleasant aroma of ripe crops ready for harvesting, mingled with the sweetly tangy scent of familiar narcissus blooms. The sky was a glorious, cloudless blue, an azure jewel that reminded her of the eyes that belonged to the one who charged across the sky every morning on a blazing, golden chariot; he who was the bringer of light, whose smile was enough to illuminate even the darkest of places._

_She sighed contentedly, twirling in idle circles, savouring the feel of the sun's warmth upon her skin. It always seemed to shine so favourably over her. Her mother was always scolding handsome Apollo for tanning her skin beyond what was pale and beautiful, but nothing could keep her out of the sun's gaze for long. It cultivated her flowers and sustained life. And she loved it, and its master, for it._

_The melodic sound of birdsong permeated through the air, and she felt the desire to join the tune, to weave her own refrain. She began to hum, brushing her fingertips over the buds of tiny, immature shoots of flowers. At her touch, the buds swelled and burst into brilliant bloom, shedding gold-dust, and she heard the appreciative sighs of the flower spirits as she skipped through the grass, stroking tentative heads of flora that blossomed at her command, each stem vying to outdo the brilliance of the other in a bid to earn her precious approval. She giggled as the spirits of the trees called to her, pleading for her nourishing attention in turn._

' _Kore, Kore, Kore…' they chanted over and over._

" _Kore!"_

_She turned her head at the sound of her name being uttered behind her. Standing atop a gentle mound was a familiar figure, dressed in a flowing, elegant white gown, threaded with thousands of tiny shimmering beads. Long, golden ringlets of hair were strewn with glistening pearls, and the midday sun shone directly behind a slender yet curvaceous figure like a blinding, all-encompassing halo._

_She lifted a hand to wave in greeting to the beautiful goddess who proceeded to direct a disapproving frown down at her._

" _Still frolicking in fields with the flower spirits and wood nymphs? You need to find yourself a god, Kore!" A small smile touched perfectly formed, rosy lips, as the goddess added merrily, "Or perhaps I should fulfil my divine duty and find one for you!"_

" _Oh, no!" Kore waved dismissively. "Mother says none are good enough for me. She'll chase them all away."_

" _So haughty! I'll make you fall violently in love at once! And I have the perfect god for you."_

_She threw an askance glance at her grinning friend and said curiously, suspiciously, "Who?"_

" _Oh, I can't reveal his name… yet. But he's tall, dark and handsome – precisely how you like them!"_

_She laughed despite herself. "How would you know? I've never been in love before!"_

" _Love is my forte, and I assure you, Kore, you will like this one." Pausing for effect, she added slyly, "They say he is a good friend of Apollo's, you know; they race and hunt together, and are near inseparable…"_

_Kore scoured her mind. She had never seen a dark-haired young god in Apollo's company. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "Save your match-making talents for the mortals who worship at your temple. I am perfectly content."_

_Her friend threw exasperated hands up into the air. "By Zeus's thunder, how terribly drab you are, Kore! All that beauty cannot go to waste; I simply won't allow it. I'll be sure to introduce you to this handsome fellow soon; but be warned, he doesn't look like he'll take no for an answer once he sets his sights on you!" Releasing a feminine trill of laughter, the goddess behind her faded away into the sunlight and Kore sighed heavily, shaking her head. As hard as she tried, she could never find it in herself to truly reproach Aphrodite for her tireless and often amusing scheming._

_She turned her attention back to nature and strolled toward the cluster of trees. Their branches leaned eagerly toward her as she drew closer, clamouring for her touch. Kore pursed her lips in a knowing smile._

" _You're already growing so well; don't be greedy!" she lightly chastised, reaching out to trail her fingers over smooth bark. The trees whispered their gratitude. Satisfied, she turned away and began to wade through the grassy fields once more, turning her face upward to catch the warmth of the sun._

_If she called to Apollo, would he appear to her? She desired some light-hearted company. Maybe, she thought with a shy smile, he would bring the handsome stranger along too. Picking up the flower-filled straw basket her mother had presented to her at the start of spring, Kore gathered the layered skirts of her white gown and made to return home._

_She had traversed half-way through the idyllic plains when a shadow suddenly fell over her. Blinking in confusion, she turned her face up to find that the picturesque sky had clouded over. She froze in place, her anxious eyes wide as angry flashes of lightning illuminated the near-black clouds._

_What was happening? Had someone or something foolishly evoked Zeus's displeasure?_

_She was unprepared for the unexpected rumbling of the earth beneath her feet. Distracted, she looked down, only for the ground to quiver more forcefully. Kore's heart pounded as she discarded her basket and began to run. She had to leave the field. She had to get away-_

_Her desperate thoughts scattered like the flower petals flying around her when the grass directly before her began to cave in. It was too late for her to change the course of her direction. Something cool and hard closed around her ankle – a wild toss back over her shoulder revealed, to her horror, that the hindrance to her movements belonged to long, skeletal fingers – and then she was being dragged down, into a chasm of endless darkness, her screams engulfed by the closing of the earth high above her head._

* * *

Sakura awoke with a startled gasp, jolting up in bed, her lungs heaving for oxygen. The remnants of a scream were still stuck in her throat, on the verge of being let loose. Her mind raced as she tried to piece together the ghostly vision she had seen in sleep, but already the fragments were fading away, leaving her troubled and confused. She had been in a sunny field. Voices had called a name that was as familiar to her as it was foreign, the sky had darkened, and then…

Sakura touched her fingertips to throbbing temples. She couldn't remember. She didn't _want_ to remember. It had just been a nightmare; it wasn't surprising that her brain would unleash such disturbing scenarios upon her in sleep given all that she had experienced in a short space of time. She slowly exhaled, relieved to feel her pulse settling once again.

A light knock on the doors drew her attention completely away from the strange dream sequence.

"Yes?" she called shakily. The doors parted to reveal Ume and Chizu. The older of the maids took one look at Sakura, and frowned concernedly.

"Are you well, Mistress?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded. Then, before they could press her on a matter she didn't want to discuss, she went on quickly, "Is Sasuke back?"

Her attendants exchanged surprised glances. She supposed she could not blame them for thinking it odd that their charge should ask so eagerly for their master after making it transparently clear she wanted nothing to do with him, but it couldn't be helped. She still had so many questions, and her foolish heart was holding onto the hope that if Sasuke had granted her one request, then maybe, just maybe, he would assent to another.

"Not yet, Mistress," Ume replied. "But there is something we wish to show you in the gardens." Her voice barely concealed an undertone of excitement, piquing Sakura's curiosity.

But Sakura wanted to exchange her nightdress and robe first. The hems were stained with the dust she'd picked up out in the caverns. She'd woken up in a cold sweat and the prospect of sinking into another warm, indulgent bath was tempting.

"I'd like to bathe and change clothes first, if that's alright."

"Of course!" Chizu looked pleased. "We would be happy to assist you. Ume will prepare a bath for you at once."

Ume beamed happily. Perhaps they could be friends after all – for the short time that Sakura planned to stay in Sasuke's world. She met their gazes and offered them a small, genuine smile.

* * *

Naruto's eyes trailed over the deplorable surface of his desk. It was cluttered with crumpled papers, ramen pots and milk cartons, but he had never been fastidious when it came to tidying up in the first place. He was neglecting his domestic duties even further now that his attention and focus were fully consumed by the hunt for Sakura.

A sad smile gently curved his lips. If Sakura was around to witness the state he'd allowed his room to fall into, she would clobber him disapprovingly over the head. Then she'd personally oversee the cleaning operation and bark out instructions at him. Naruto would soon grow bored and annoyed and throw a dirty piece of laundry into her mortified face. All hell would then proceed to break loose. He chuckled at the thought, before his amusement quickly diminished. He missed her so much it was a physical ache in his chest. They had always been close in the past, although she didn't remember those long-ago days too well. He had been able to shoulder the burden of not existing in her memories as long as she was within sight and safe. But now she was neither, and it was tearing Naruto's heart and conscience to pieces.

 _Damn it._ What in the world did Suigetsu _want_ from Sakura? Naruto combed through his mind for every possibility, but none made plausible sense. He'd never expressed an interest in her. If the mischievous Sea God had chosen to abduct Sakura on a trouble-making whim then he was in for a world of hurt. And even if he _did_ have a reason, Naruto would still ensure that he delivered a wealth of pain to the water deity in exchange for the pain he had bestowed upon those who loved Sakura most.

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips and he clutched angrily at fistfuls of sunshine blond hair. How could he have not been there for her when she needed him? He'd promised her, long ago, beneath the brilliant glow of the rising sun; he'd promised never to let any harm befall her.

 _He was right back then_ , Naruto thought, his mouth twisting in rueful remembrance as another face from his past flashed across his mind's eye. _I really am dead-last. Can't even keep my promises…_

The chime of the doorbell caused his guilt-stricken eyes to lift to the clock on the wall. Who would visit him at such a late hour in the night? Making his way out of his room and down the corridor, he unbolted and opened the front door – only for his heart to jump unexpectedly in his chest.

"Hinata," he blinked in surprise.

Large, beautiful clear grey eyes met his. She looked as sad as she always did on the rare instances when they were alone in public and exchanged fleeting, secret glances as they passed each other. The bashful, stuttering act she put on before the rest of the world was almost gone as she offered him a small, tentative smile – a smile that caused his foolish pulse to quicken.

Naruto glanced anxiously over her slender shoulder into the night - and his surprise was complete when he spotted a familiar blonde head approaching down the path that lined his small front garden. Ino's expression was grim and she looked like a woman on a mission.

"Wait, what are you two doing here?" Naruto questioned, nonplussed, as Ino came to a quiet stop behind her dark-haired friend.

"We'd like to help, Naruto-kun," answered Hinata softly.

* * *

Sakura's lips parted as she stared at her reflection in the angel-framed mirror. Following her dip in the delightfully hot and soothing waters, she had pampered her skin with flower-scented oils and stepped out of the bathing room, feeling reinvigorated and more level-headed. Ume and Chizu had been dutifully waiting for her in her room. After allowing her to change into her undergarments alone, they had together selected a beautiful, softly-flowing peach and gold dress from the sprawling collection in the wardrobes and helped Sakura into it.

The semi-transparent butterfly sleeves draped to just above the curve of her slender elbows. A sweetheart shaped, gold-trimmed neckline modestly covered her assets, allowing only a slight glimpse of soft cleavage to peek through. A gold, thin-plaited belt was wound three times around her slim midriff, the high waist-line giving off the flattering illusion of longer legs. Her hair had been dried and combed to silky perfection, drawn back by pretty, gold-painted leaf-shaped clasps. Wavy locks tumbled down her back like a pale river of coral. At Ume's insistence, Sakura had agreed to wear a matching gold leaf necklace and earrings. She hadn't intended on donning Sasuke's jewellery and the resplendent gowns he'd prepared for her, but Sakura silently reasoned that if she wanted to get hold of the sword, it would be in her favour to feign compliance – if only for a while.

Chizu had brushed a fine dusting of powder over Sakura's face, and Sakura found herself wondering what in the world was in the substance. Her complexion looked dewy and flawless. Her large eyes almost seemed to sparkle. And her heart raced as a stark realisation suddenly occurred to her.

She looked… pretty. Like a dressed up version of her normal self, and yet… something was decidedly different. Unnerved, she met the admiring gazes of her attendants in the mirror, and said uncertainly, "This feels a little… much. Maybe I should change into something else-"

"No!" Ume cried, surprising Sakura with the force of her protest. Flushing apologetically, she amended, "Th-that is to say, you look so very lovely, Mistress; you could not possibly think of changing now."

"You are a sight for weary eyes indeed," Chizu complimented, prompting Sakura to blush self-consciously as Ume bent down to secure the calf straps of their young charge's golden sandals.

Sakura anxiously chewed her lower lip as she looked herself over once again. That was the precise _problem._ She didn't _want_ to look like a princess, even though it was strangely pleasant to feel like one for a change. But she knew what the real issue was. _Sasuke._ The very thought of his dark eyes drinking up the sight of her made her heart tremble.

 _You're being ridiculous,_ she scolded herself. It wasn't rational of her to worry. He was a _god._ So _what_ if she had changed her clothes and donned something more presentable? Humans did it all the time. He would think nothing of it.

Before she could protest any further, Ume rose to her feet and grasped onto her left hand, tugging insistently.

"Let us go to the gardens. You will like this surprise, I am certain!"

"Ume!" Chizu lightly reprimanded.

"Oops," little Ume giggled, as they exited the bedchamber and walked in the direction of the gardens. When Sakura stepped out into the night, she was once again awed by the ethereal beauty of her surroundings. She recalled that she hadn't even fully explored the full length and width of the extensive flora-filled expanse before her. She followed her attendants down the steps and past the first section. As they wandered into the second, Chizu guided her to the right, to an area she had either failed to notice the first time around – or it had not been there at all.

Sakura gasped in delight. A fantastic, colourful array of what had to be at least fifty different varieties of flowers were arranged in slender vases around the gently curving hedge-line. Sakura's gaze widened as she spotted familiar stems; different hues of roses, tiger-lilies, anemones, carnations, acacias, freesias, campanula bells, heathers, irises, limonium, asters, windflowers, tulips… the list was endless. There were also blossoms that were foreign to Sakura's eyes – unearthly blooms that beckoned to be examined more intimately.

She noticed pretty, pastel-shaded wraps of tissue-like paper and ribbons arranged atop a small, circular table. Beneath it were all kinds of crystal vases. She had never seen such a brilliant collection. Even Ino's mother's flower store couldn't compete.

"This is wonderful," she breathed.

"We knew you would like it!" Ume clapped delightedly.

Sakura shook her head at them. "You did this for me…?" She was touched. They had seen how unhappy she was. That they would take the time and trouble to set up a personal flower-area for her…

Her attendants exchanged a knowing look. Chizu nodded to Ume, who began shyly, "Well, Mistress, the master informed us that it pleases you to arrange flowers, so he commanded us to gather these for you…"

Sakura released an astonished breath. _Sasuke?_ Sasuke had instructed the area to be prepared for her?

An uncomfortable sensation began to crawl up her spine. It couldn't have been easy to assemble such a diverse range – unless he had magicked flowers out of thin air. Why would the death deity go to such lengths to ensure that the things she enjoyed were readily available to her? Did Sasuke seek her approval? She couldn't fathom why he would, but recalled that he had already asked for it at the library.

Or was it that he simply sought to provide her with home comforts, with the aim of getting her to shut up and accept what he decreed was her new fate?

"That's…" she swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling oddly parched, "…thoughtful of him."

"Oh, yes," Ume was continuing to gush, oblivious to Sakura's discomfort, "now you may create garlands to your heart's content!"

Sakura could only manage a watery smile in response.

"If you require anything else, Mistress, please inform us at once," Chizu added.

"Oh," Sakura replied, as she gazed distractedly at a remarkable gold and black flower, "yes, of course. Thank you."

A lengthy, uncomfortable silence ensued as Sakura once again found herself pondering exactly why Sasuke had brought her to his world. And why had he felt the need to kidnap her, if he was an almighty god? Surely he could have instead chosen to speak to her on Spring Festival night when she'd seen him by the carousel – even though she knew she would not have believed a word he'd said.

Bad social skills, Suigetsu had told her. But in Sakura's opinion, that was a gross understatement. She reached out to stroke the tip of a cheerful, orange tiger-lily. Regardless of Sasuke's intentions, the collection was impressive and undeniably beautiful. Sakura's head felt giddy from the almost euphoric mix of scents that permeated through her nostrils.

"Are there fields here too?" she wondered aloud to the maids behind her.

"Many," was the silky response.

Sakura's heart jolted within her and she whirled around in alarm to find that Ume and Chizu had vanished from sight. Sasuke had arrived without her even realising it. How long had he been standing there, watching her examining the flowers?

"Oh," Sakura uttered. It was all she could manage at that precise moment, because Sasuke had changed his outfit, too. The black feather-lined cloak had been removed. He was dressed in deep midnight blue; a fitted, short-sleeved, tunic-like top stitched with silver thread at the high-necked collar, with a dark cobalt blue, toga-like sash bound at one broad shoulder. The fabric fell snugly across his well-defined chest, and was secured at his waist by a thick cord of silver. Black trousers that bunched loosely at the knees were firmly bound by the midnight straps of his sandals at his calves. Burnt silver gauntlets set with what appeared to be genuine sapphire gems glinted beneath the glow of the floating orbs of light around them. A small, sapphire droplet flashed in his left ear-lobe.

He was indifferent yet magnificent, like a dashing, proud prince from a long-forgotten civilisation, and Sakura was struck by how well he pulled off the look. The clothing might have seemed like fancy dress on anybody else. But on Sasuke, it simply looked regal and elegant, exotic and _right._

Sakura's heart thrummed as his eyes trailed appraisingly over her in turn. _Say something_ , she screamed at herself, cursing her tongue for choosing an ill time to fall silent.

"Uh…" she began self-consciously, as his gaze travelled with tantalising unhurriedness back up the length of her body. Then, in her desperation to break the suffocating silence that had fallen between them, she blurted, "Thank you. The flowers- for the flowers, I mean."

When he didn't respond, she added, "And I- the letter… thank you." _So inarticulate!_ How Sakura wished a black hole would open in the ground and swallow her away from the smoking gaze that was at that second pinned onto her. She couldn't _think_ when Sasuke looked at her like that. She did her best to defrost her brain every time, but his eyes were so intense that she felt like he could see beneath both her clothing _and_ her skin. Like he could see into her very soul. The thought made heat pool into her cheeks. It wasn't his fault, she told herself, that he commanded such a presence. He was the personification of death, after all. He couldn't very well be soft and cuddly with his tough-as-nails job description.

She almost laughed at the absurdity of the thought, but thankfully managed to keep her inappropriate amusement in check.

Sasuke still didn't answer. No _'You're welcome, Sakura'_. No _'It was the least I could do for being such a jerk of a god'_. He just stood, in characteristic silence, looking like an ancient, beautiful statue that had somehow come to life.

"So, there are lots of flower fields?" she attempted to make conversation again. She half-expected him to deign replying beneath him as seemed to be his usual custom, but was relieved when he nodded, once.

"Yes," he stated matter-of-factly. Gesturing behind him toward the next section of the gardens, he added, "This is but a fragment of what exists in my realm."

Sakura was once again stunned by how perfectly articulate Sasuke was when he felt like talking. When he deemed it _worth_ the effort. He certainly didn't seem to lack social skills then – although his tone needed work. A thought suddenly struck her. What if Sasuke just wasn't _accustomed_ to speaking with others? After all, how much talking did dead people actually do? They couldn't make for riveting conversation. Maybe he wasn't so impossible to speak to – if only she knew how to approach him correctly.

The problem was that Sasuke was intimidating and frightening, even if he didn't necessarily mean to be, and Sakura wasn't sure _what_ the right strategy was to adopt with him. She wasn't exactly planning to stick around long enough to find out, either. Her eyes flicked nervously to his belt. The jewelled sheath of the sword Suigetsu required rested snugly at his right side. So he was left-handed. Her gaze quickly flew back to his face as he turned his attention to her once again.

Gathering herself, she asked him another of the questions that had been badgering her since the moment she had first woken up and found herself in the Underworld. "I couldn't find any clocks inside. What time is it?"

What she really wanted to know was how long she had been underground for, but she had a certain feeling that Sasuke wouldn't reply to such a query. She held her breath in anticipation of his answer, and when it came, it surprised her.

"There is no sun. Time does not flow here as it does on the surface."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by that? Was it a good or a bad thing for her that time ran differently in his domain?

"I don't understand," she frowned perplexedly, watching as Sasuke walked over to the collection of flowers to her right.

He seemed to examine them closely for a moment before remarking, "An hour for a mortal is nothing to a god, Sakura."

Sakura was even more confused by this, and internally concluded that Sasuke's response was probably his way of communicating that he wasn't going to disclose how long she had been in his world for in terms of human days. Her eyes turned up to the ever-night sky, and she glimpsed the stars, twinkling so much like the ones she'd always loved to gaze up at on the surface.

"Then..." she began, feeling awfully muddled, "why are there stars up there?"

Sasuke cast a surreptitious glance at her, watching as she stared up at the midnight canvas high above them. She was still a stranger who did not yet understand how his world operated. She would require time to fully grasp it. His eyes roamed hungrily over her slender form as he told himself that there was no need to hurry her acquisition of knowledge. Once she consumed the food of the dead, she would have eternity to comprehend the many wonders of the Underworld. And when she knew them all, she would forget about the surface to which she so greatly pined to return. He would ensure that all she saw and all she desired and knew were him and his realm.

Aloud, he stated shortly, "They are souls."

Sakura's attention shifted back to him. "Souls?" she echoed, baffled. "But I thought…?"

"There are many paths a soul may take," Sasuke informed her, turning his gaze up to the sky in turn.

Sakura stared at the chiselled lines of his profile, illuminated by the tiny spheres of light that seemed to be dancing around them. She couldn't deny that her curiosity had been captured. She had always been led to believe that when people died, it was the end. But what Sasuke was telling her suggested that death was only the start of yet another journey – one that was made without a physical body.

The thought was sobering and a little unsettling. The intellectual part of her that always hungered for new knowledge was eager to learn more, to open up her mind to a heightened level of understanding – but the other conservative part was more hesitant and afraid. Sasuke had already changed her perception of the world in which she had lived and been raised. Did she really want her previous views to be challenged and altered further?

What was the alternative? Was ignorance truly bliss, or would it be to her advantage if she discovered as much as she could while she was in the death deity's presence? What if her mortal mind couldn't accept certain truths? What if she opened the equivalent of Pandora's Box and uncovered everything there was to uncover - but was unable to close it again before it did her any lasting, permanent damage?

"Then, the souls up there…?"

"That is their final resting place."

Sakura exhaled quietly in amazement. It was difficult to believe what her ears were being told, and in any other circumstance, she would have scoffed at the idea – were it not the Death God himself who was speaking to her.

"You send souls up there," she said in wonder.

There was a brief pause, before Sasuke affirmed, "Only the worthy."

She looked at the twinkling stars – or souls – again with wide, fascinated eyes. "I thought…" she began softly. "I thought there was just Heaven, and Hell. I thought that death was the end…"

"No," Sasuke's voice was like a liquid-cool caress. "It is not."

She shook her head again, allowing the new information to slowly sink in. "I didn't know," she said in a near-whisper. She hadn't known that the souls of good people were actually honoured and immortalised in constellations. Of course she'd read about it in mythical tales, but having it confirmed as a fact was another matter altogether.

How different was the real world from the illusionary bubble ordinary people lived in everyday?

Sasuke's gaze slipped back to examine her. It pleased him that she was wearing his jewellery, and the clothes he'd had fashioned and embroidered by the dexterous hands of nymphs just for her. She was an exquisite vision of loveliness and light. He couldn't keep his eyes from her and almost of its own accord his hand lifted the bloom he had been studying, and he walked toward her. Sakura's head turned instantly, and he saw the way her body tensed at his closeness as a look of uncertainty and fear flashed across her features. She couldn't read him. She didn't know whether to increase the distance between them, or to stay put, for the sake of politeness.

His next action communicated that he intended her no harm. Sasuke lifted the peach-coloured flower in his right hand – and carefully tucked it behind her ear. It was the final touch to finish off the female masterpiece standing before him.

"You will learn." His fingers lowered to linger just beneath her earlobe. Sakura had frozen; her eyes were wide with surprise. He watched with captivated interest as her cheeks flushed a charming shade of rose, before retracting his hand nonchalantly.

Sakura's heart pulsed wildly. Had Sasuke really just done what she thought he had? She could smell the fragrant flower that was laced through her hair, and her earlobe still tingled from the briefness of his touch. She gaped, rooted to the spot, as Sasuke cast one final, smouldering look over his left shoulder at her, before turning away to head deeper into the gardens.

Her thoughts were at a chaotic standstill. What was she supposed to do? Stay where she was? Follow him?

Sakura's feet remained anchored in place. As Sasuke disappeared through the hedged archway that led to the next section, she lifted her left hand and picked the flower out of her hair, lowering it to find an exotic, peach-tinged day-lily. She swallowed thickly, stumped with confusion. His gesture had been unexpected and… deceptively gentle. So uncharacteristic and completely at war with the cold curtness with which he addressed her. She only became aware of how much the simple action had thrown her when she witnessed the fine trembling of her fingers as they held the fragile bloom in her palm.

* * *

Sasuke deliberately paced his stride, curious to discover what Sakura did next. Would fear cause her to remain where she was? Or would she be bold enough to trail after him?

If she was wise, she would return to the sanctuary of the palace, and her chamber. Because the reality was, Sasuke didn't fully trust himself to wander deeper into the secluded gardens with Sakura looking as delectable as she did at that moment. If she had any sense at all, and any regard for her personal safety, she would keep her distance.

And so his heart quickened its beat within his chest when he heard the lightness of her sandal-clad feet on the path behind him. Her steps did not becoming fainter. She was following.

* * *

Shikamaru's plans to get at least a few hours of sleep that night had been dashed when Naruto's call woke him up just after four in the morning.

"Yeah?" he blinked through the bleariness of his vision. None of them were resting as much as they needed, but how could they relax when they knew that Sakura was being held prisoner against her will by the water deity? Suigetsu's unwise actions were essentially a declaration of war on the rest of them.

"Shikamaru. Ino and Hinata are here; Sai's on his way. Can you come over?"

The young Nara rubbed tiredly at his eyes. What were the girls doing at Naruto's place at such an outrageously early hour in the morning? With a deep sigh, he answered, "Fine, fine. Give me twenty minutes."

"Great! See ya!" The line abruptly disconnected.

Shikamaru stared blankly at his cell phone's screen for a moment, before sighing again. "How troublesome," he muttered, before proceeding to drag his heavy limbs out of bed.

Twenty minutes later, he parked his car outside Naruto's place and lifted his hand to ring the doorbell – when the door was flung open by none other than Ino, who smiled brightly at him.

"Shikamaru!" she greeted.

Shikamaru's eyes trailed silently over her face. She looked fatigued but rather good, he thought, for someone whose best friend had vanished into thin air. But then, Ino always looked great – even when she wasn't supposed to. He opened his mouth to ask her whether her father knew she was snooping around at such an ungodly hour, when she reached out, grabbed a firm hold of his wrist, and yanked him inside the house. She led him to the sparsely furnished lounge, which consisted of a double-couch, a television and a small coffee table. Naruto had never cared much for interior design and always optimistically insisted that their mortal houses were merely temporary abodes.

Hinata and Sai looked up and greeted him as he entered. Shikamaru nodded then raised a suspicious eyebrow at Naruto, as he enquired, "What's going on?"

"Ino's come up with a plan," Naruto replied simply. The blonde girl nodded, a look of resolve plastered on her face.

Shikamaru sat down between Sai and Hinata. "Let's hear it," he said.

"We need to search underwater, don't we?" Ino began. "The easiest way would be to get hold of a water spirit."

Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow, curious to see where she was heading with her idea. "Go on," he prompted.

"If we find one, my dad could connect with the spirit's mind, and lead the search through the water."

Sai said quietly, "How will we find one?"

"Jiraiya's toads!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly. "They can move through water!"

Sai's heart leapt at the response, and he hoped that none of them noticed the way his shoulders stiffened at the mention of the elder deity.

"Have you proposed this idea to Kakashi?" Shikamaru questioned.

Ino shook her head, her long, fluid mane of hair swishing left and right behind her. "Not yet. I wanted your opinion." She looked hopefully at him with anxious blue eyes.

Shikamaru held her gaze for a moment, before glancing at Naruto. "Jiraiya isn't easy to get hold of; he doesn't exactly carry a cell-phone around like the rest of us do."

"Damned hermit," Naruto muttered, before piping up, "I can find him-"

"No," Shikamaru admonished quickly. "We can't afford to keep tapping into our seals. It's only a matter of time before _he_ notices that we've been meddling with our sides of the deal."

Ino said miserably, "I wish I hadn't given up my abilities. Maybe I could've protected Sakura better if I'd sealed them like you guys did."

"Um," Hinata began softly, tentatively, twiddling her index fingers together, "there is another way…"

Three pairs of eyes turned expectantly to her. Hinata didn't say much, but when she did, everyone had the sense to quieten down and listen.

"A-ambrosia," she stammered, reddening beneath the weight of their intent gazes. "Perhaps Ino, you could…"

"Our reserves are running low enough as it is, Hinata. Ino would need a significant amount to restore her immortality," Shikamaru interjected.

"Jiraiya could supply us with more," Naruto argued. "He's got stashes of the stuff!"

"Enough to enable her to travel through the sky, maybe," Shikamaru shook his head. "She'd need much more to regain full godhood again."

"That's better than nothing!" Ino cried. "I'm sick of sitting around, relying on the cops who don't even have a clue what they're looking for! At least then I'd actually be able travel around and-"

"Ino, think about what you're saying," Shikamaru frowned. "We can only take as much ambrosia as we need to keep us immortal. You sacrificed your immortality so he wouldn't find out about Sakura. And we aren't allowed to go up there. We've already started bending the rules-"

"To hell with the rules!" Naruto exploded, causing Sai to flinch and Hinata to gasp in startled alarm. "That bastard is watching us all the time! He's probably already noticed that Sakura-chan's missing; you think he isn't wondering why we're so desperate to find her?"

The others exchanged uneasy looks.

"Why are we the ones who have to keep compromising? Huh?" Naruto demanded. "If it wasn't for his damned war-mongering, we wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place!"

"Naruto," Shikamaru held up placating hands. "Just calm down-"

"No! You know what?" Ino glared. "He's right! I'll get some ambrosia myself. I won't sit by and wait. And if I just drink a little, the effects will be temporary. And if _he_ has a problem with it, let him talk to me! I've got some questions for that son of a bitch too! Like maybe getting him to explain what happened to our King and Queen!"

Naruto swallowed thickly, his hands tightening into angry fists. "He killed my mum and dad. He's responsible. He probably promised Suigetsu something too, the bastard. He's the first person we should be confronting. Instead we're wasting our time running around in circles while Sakura-chan's stuck in some cage!"

Sai, crumpled with guilt, opened his mouth without thinking. "Naruto, Sakura is-" he began quietly, before choking off as his throat and chest were overcome by an agonising, burning sensation. Sasuke's seal was working, just as the death deity had warned him it would if he tried to disclose anything about Sakura. He swallowed through the pain, and fell silent again. Luckily Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru were too busy arguing to notice his failed attempt at communicating with them.

But the sensation of a lingering gaze caused his attention to shift left. Hinata was watching him with eyes that were almost luminous in their clarity. His heart leapt within him. She was staring so intently, and for a moment he had the unnerving feeling that she was reading him like an open book. Then her eyes abruptly slipped away. She remained silent.

"You're both not thinking," Shikamaru said in frustration. "There's no way Kakashi and the other elders are going to agree to this, anyway-"

Ino flashed a brilliant smile. "They aren't going to find out. Because none of us are going to tell them!"

Shikamaru's jaw dropped. _"What?"_ he managed after a moment of astonished, verbal floundering. He cast an incredulous look at Naruto and the others, and was horrified when he couldn't read any objections on their faces. Didn't they realise how _foolish_ they were being?

"That's right," Naruto nodded firmly. "We're not kids. We can't rely on Kakashi and the others anymore. If we're gonna find Sakura-chan, we've got to work together! _Right?"_

Both Hinata and Sai nodded their solemn agreement.

Shikamaru glared fiercely at them. "If you think I'll keep this quiet and let you idiots put yourselves in danger-"

"Tell my dad," Ino interrupted softly. The object of her affections met her gaze, and hesitated despite himself as she added with finality, "But I'll never forgive you if you do."

* * *

Sakura's eyes were fixed on the handsome lines of Sasuke's shoulders ahead of her. She lingered a safe distance behind him, but knew that he was aware that she had decided to follow. She wasn't sure what it was that had spurned her to do so, knew it would have been wiser to remain amongst the floral collection where he had clearly intended on leaving her. But she had to reluctantly admit to herself that ever since Sasuke had confirmed who and what he was, a part of her had become… curious. What did being the God of Death entail, apart from gathering, judging and sending off souls? Was there anything more to his role?

She wanted to somehow find the words to ask him why he had placed the flower in her hair. She wanted to ask him what he had meant when he had assured her that she would learn.

What was it that he intended on showing and teaching her?

The floating spheres of light shed a magical glow about the garden's surroundings. Sakura found that she kept getting distracted by the sights that were around her, rather than focusing on tailing after Sasuke. But each time she looked ahead of her again, he would still be there, walking with the same effortless grace he seemed to command all too easily.

Where was he going? She felt a flitter of apprehension as they walked through the same area that she had drifted into when she'd entered the sirens' cavern, the same sirens the god before her had by Suigetsu's account slain. Sasuke disappeared through another arched, flowered hedge opening ahead of her and she hesitated. It wasn't a good idea to continue any further, especially when she had no idea what lay in wait for her. She knew it, and yet…

Inquisitiveness had always been another of her shameful faults. She wanted to know what he was doing. Her legs were already carrying her forward, and as she stepped into the next section after him, she felt the air abandon her lungs. The new stretch of grass sprawled out even wider than the others, boasted the same shimmering silvery trees and milky blooms. A beautiful brook streamed ahead, surrounded by pale grey stones. Lights, even more luminous than the ones that weaved through the air, shimmered over the crystal water's surface. Sakura stepped forward, entranced, eager to take a closer look, when a cool hand suddenly caught hold of her right wrist, and tugged her back and onto her knees.

She stiffened when Sasuke's voice whispered harshly into her ear. "Wait."

Sakura watched with baited breath as the lights before her shed glimmering sparkles. Her dazzled eyes darted from one radiating point to another. What was happening? She was so distracted that she failed to notice that Sasuke, crouching directly behind her, was still grasping firmly onto her wrist. At that moment she forgot who he was, where she was. Her attention was fully engrossed by the miracle that was occurring in front of her.

The lights separated and began to move in a spiral shape, before merging together to form transparent, luminous female bodies. They seemed to be clothed in golden radiance. Sakura exhaled in amazement, not daring to move a muscle lest the magic that was being woven before her very eyes dispelled.

"What are they?" she whispered in awe.

Sasuke sounded very close when he murmured quietly, "Nymphs. They purify these waters."

Sakura shook her head in wonder. Once again she was enchanted by what she was seeing. She was starting to realise that the Underworld was a contradiction of sorts; beyond the gates of Sasuke's palace was a landscape that was cold, barren and frightening. Yet within the grounds of his abode resided beauty of incomparable splendour.

It was unnerving. As Sakura watched the nymphs continue to cleanse the water's surface with graceful motions, she became distinctly aware of the warmth of Sasuke's body behind her. Her heart thundered. She should not have followed him.

Sasuke's eyes trailed over the silken locks of hair before him. She was close enough for him to catch the rose-scent of her skin. All he had to do was reach out and wind his arms around her delicate frame, and he would feel her softness against him. But he saw the tense lines of her shoulders, sensed her apprehension as she became conscious of his proximity once again. He drew a quiet breath, savouring the sweet smell of her, before rising fluidly to his feet, saving her the trouble of formulating a way to increase the distance between them.

Sakura stared as Sasuke walked forward, straight through the brook. The nymphs separated and seemed to bow in reverence to the death deity as he passed them without so much as sparing a glance their way. This time she remained firmly in place as he disappeared into yet another section hidden by higher hedges than the rest of the gardens, the flower he had placed in her hair still clutched securely in her left hand.

* * *

Tsunade watched as the waves lapped up the deserted beach's pebbly shore. It was hopeless. No matter how many bodies of water she visited, neither the water deity nor any of his subjects responded to her calls. The sea before her was as unsettled as all the others. What was happening beneath its tumultuous surface?

Grief once again tormented her heart, made it swell as though it were ready to burst from within her. Sakura. Sweet, naïve Sakura, who she had always strived to protect, to conceal from the lecherous and ill-intentions of other, lesser immortals and semi-deities… where, exactly, was she at that moment? Was she hungry? Cold? Hurt? Tsunade swallowed down the bitter taste in her throat. The surface was already missing the child's absence. Because despite everything that had happened, nature still responded to Sakura's presence.

Tsunade released a shuddering sigh, her head drooping in dejection. The tears were so close to falling, now that she was alone…

"That's not the Tsunade I know."

Her shoulders instantly stiffened, her spine going rigid as a familiar, agitating aura settled behind her.

"Why are you here?" she bit out through tightly clenched teeth. How many centuries did it take to make the deity behind her comprehend that he wasn't welcome by her side?

"You still despise me, as always," Jiraiya sighed heavily. Tsunade resisted the urge to sneer. He almost sounded genuinely saddened. _Almost._

"If you think you can sneak your way back into our fold, you're wrong," Tsunade said woodenly. "You gave up that right when you abandoned us."

A brief pause fell between them, before Jiraiya answered, "I didn't abandon you, whatever you might think."

"I don't want to hear it. And I don't need your help," Tsunade said acerbically. "I never have."

"You have it all the same."

She whirled at that, her eyes flashing with anger. Did the fool think he could make up for his past faults by adopting a chivalrous façade? Disgust dripped from her voice as she snapped, "I don't need your pity! The child is my responsibility. Mine alone!"

"That's what Minato told me back then," Jiraiya agreed, infuriating the woman with the calmness of his demeanour. "Has the past taught you nothing, Tsunade? Where has your pride carried you? You were so afraid of any harm befalling Sakura that you failed to notice the threat that was so plainly creeping up on her! Now she is gone, and you haven't the faintest clue what to-"

"Be quiet!" Tsunade lashed out, striking him against his chest with enough power to force him back a few steps. "You have no right to accuse me of failing when _you_ were _never around!_ "

A look of indignation passed over Jiraiya's face at that, and he opened his mouth to fire a heated retort at her – when a rasping voice suddenly spoke up beside them.

"Tsunade and Jiraiya… how amusing to discover that you are still at each other's throats, as always."

They had been so absorbed in their feuding that they'd failed to notice the new arrival as it had materialised silently from the ground - a black snake that quickly morphed to form the shape of a tall, pale-skinned man with slanted, sinister golden eyes and long, loose black hair. He was dressed in a deep, heavy grey cloak. A serpent earring flashed in his left ear and the smile he offered them was cold, devoid of any warmth.

Both god and goddess tensed. Instinctively, Jiraiya stepped in front of a shocked Tsunade, his heart pounding within him at the sight of the dangerous and unpredictable individual that had appeared so unexpectedly before them.

"Orochimaru…"


	17. Chapter XVI

**Chapter XVI  
**

* * *

_A lost refrain unwinds to weave,_

_A poignant, broken elegy,_

_That long forgotten requiem of old,_

_Formed in the midst of sweet repose,_

_Will grieve a heart until t'is cast,_

_Into the shades of memory past.  
_

* * *

The crashing sound of sea waves infringing onto the shore only heightened the tension that hovered in the air like a veil of thick, ominous smog. The darkly sinister smirk on Orochimaru's face deepened as the deafening silence roared on between them. Their stunned faces alone made the long route he'd taken to visit them worth it.

Then Tsunade's features shifted to display open hatred, as she demanded, "Why are you here?"

Jiraiya felt an involuntary constriction deep within the cavern of his chest. He knew the woman positioned behind him like smoke knew fire. On the surface, she was formidable, unconquerable. But he detected the uncertainty that was carefully concealed beneath the harshness of her tone. They hadn't seen Orochimaru in centuries, had almost allowed themselves to believe that his cursed existence had vanished from their lives forever. But the Fates had never smiled kindly upon them. He continued to exist, an embodiment of the fear and terror that resided in men's hearts.

Orochimaru's slanted, serpent-like gaze flicked onto Jiraiya, as he leisurely enquired, "Is this how one greets an old friend…?"

Jiraiya sensed, rather than saw, Tsunade stiffen behind him. "You son of a-"

"Now, now, there's no need to waste time on your usual pleasantries, Tsunade," Orochimaru swiftly interjected, running the tip of his alarmingly long tongue over pale, ashen lips with slow deliberation. "I was simply minding my own business, when word reached me of a most _delicious_ rumour."

As she looked upon him, Tsunade was suddenly overcome with stifling nausea and disgust. It outraged her, that the daemon standing before them possessed the nerve to approach them so brazenly. She wanted nothing more than to pummel that abhorrent face into the dirt, where it belonged.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Jiraiya questioned, taking care to keep his demeanour as casual and unaffected as possible.

Tsunade's heart drummed. No news from Orochimaru was ever good news; the fact that he'd appeared to them caused an unpleasant sense of foreboding to whisper through her veins.

Orochimaru's smile became positively predatory, as he rasped, "I have discovered that the righteous Tsunade has been neglecting her duty in ensuring the preservation of lives. Naturally this came as quite the surprise… and a delectable increase in fear on the parts of mortals."

An emotion the snake before them thrived upon. Orochimaru was drawn to negative feelings as a moth was to a flame, and Jiraiya bitterly acknowledged that it made perfect sense for the daemon to have appeared before them. They ought to have anticipated it.

"I wonder," Orochimaru was continuing thoughtfully, tapping a long, skeletal index finger to his chin, "what would account for such unusual behaviour…"

"You are mistaken," Jiraiya answered. Tsunade swallowed. The grim tone of his voice was a stark contrast to the lackadaisical and often lewd manner in which he enjoyed addressing her. She glared heatedly at his back. Hadn't she told him that she didn't require his assistance? She could deal with the nuisance that had presented itself before them, alone. But Jiraiya was already continuing, "Tsunade would never forsake her responsibilities."

Orochimaru blinked, feigning ignorance. "Oh? Then perhaps you would care to explain her prolonged absence from the station of work to which she so _sentimentally_ chose to dedicate herself…"

Tsunade stepped forward, her honey eyes ablaze with pure, molten fury. How was it possible that he knew she'd been skipping her hospital shifts? There were only two explanations to account for his intelligence; that he had watched her, of which she would have surely been aware, or that somebody had conveyed the information to him. Her suspicions were immediately roused by the latter possibility; which begged the question, if it _was_ true, just _who_ would do such a thing, and for what purpose?

"Who have you been talking to, you vile snake?" she bit out acidly.

The golden-eyed daemon held up an arm. A white serpent slithered out from beneath the sleeve of his cloak, hissing, its forked tongue licking the air. "We have many sources, and many eyes, Tsunade," he answered pointedly.

"You-" Tsunade began furiously, but Jiraiya was quick to intercept.

"Has he sent you, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru's smile grew even colder, as he replied, "Your fruitless attempts at hiding your affairs from our eyes have been most amusing…"

"And what, precisely, is it you believe we are _hiding?_ " Jiraiya inquired, straining to maintain a blasé air in the daemon's presence.

Orochimaru smirked, and gestured out toward the sea. "Something surely quite remarkable, to warrant such unrest in the oceanic depths, would you not agree?"

Behind him, Jiraiya heard Tsunade's sharp inhalation of breath. "Your poisonous tongue will not work here, snake! Return to the festering scum that created you!"

"Kukukuku," Orochimaru cackled. "As hasty as ever, Tsunade…" he slid back, adding, "But perhaps you would not be if you discovered precisely _what_ our eyes have seen…"

His alabaster skin began to flake, revealing glossy scales, and his arms disappeared at his sides as his form began to transmute back into that of a serpent. "Consssider thisss a warning…" Orochimaru hissed. "You can concccceal nothing from usssss…"

The transformation was complete, this time leaving behind a slender white snake with luminous, golden eyes. Tsunade didn't waste a second. With a snarl of rage, she lunged forward, meaning to tear the repulsive reptile to pieces, when strong arms wrapped around her waist, impeding her murderous intention.

"Do not take his bait, Tsunade!" Jiraiya cautioned, keeping the woman firmly at bay as the snake slithered swiftly out of sight. When it had vanished, Tsunade wrenched herself out of Jiraiya's grasp and shoved him back, her ample chest heaving with fury.

"I told you…" she said, voice trembling as she fought to rein in her anger. "I neither want nor need your help!"

"Don't let your foolish pride blind you! He couldn't have known of your absence unless someone informed him of it!" Jiraiya called after her, as she began to storm away from him. But his words were swallowed up by the booming sound of the waves that had succeeded in flooding the shore.

* * *

Sakura stared down at the peach coloured bloom in her hand, a troubled frown weighing softly upon her brow. After Sasuke had left her in the garden, she had watched the ethereal nymphs for a while longer, in expectation that he would soon reappear. He hadn't. Eventually, she had given up and returned to the palace's interior. Once back in the privacy of her chamber, she had taken a seat on the bed, examining the flower Sasuke had selected for her as if it somehow held the answers to all the questions that were ricocheting around in her head.

She stubbornly refused to listen to the thoughts that whispered it couldn't have been by a mere quirk or whim that the death deity had chosen to place the lily in her hair. The action seemed to be so totally at odds with Sasuke's character, and yet, she told herself that she had no right to judge her captor's personality. She didn't have a solid grasp of Sasuke beyond the fact that he was frighteningly intimidating and infuriatingly aloof. And arrogant – so _completely_ and _unashamedly_ arrogant.

Sakura closed her eyes, unwillingly recalling the vice-like hands that had gripped her arms in the banqueting hall, the way his face had lowered to within inches of hers. Her heart began to thump, slowly at first, but soon quickened as she began to piece together the memories of their other exchanges. By the river's edge, he had again been deceptively gentle, and attempted to calm her in the midst of her hysteria. He had declared that the Underworld was her new home – and that she belonged to him.

Sasuke had stated that she had been kidnapped because he wished it. Which meant that it was his explicit desire for her to be in his realm, with him.

Which meant…

Sakura's eyes flew open and she raised an alarmed palm to her forehead, abruptly stemming the absurd conclusion before it could fully develop. What was she _thinking?_ Sasuke was a _god._ The governor of death. There was absolutely no conceivable way that his actions would involve intentions of _that_ particular nature. It was a sin to even entertain for a second that he was somehow _interested_ in her in any shape or form.

She gnawed anxiously on her lower lip, fingertips stroking the velvety petals of the beautiful flower. His words and actions confused her so much. His tone was cold, unreceptive – yet on more than one occasion he had acted to decrease the personal space between them. The signals she was receiving were conflicting and disorientating. Whenever she was in Sasuke's electrifying presence, whenever she tried to talk with him, it was like she was roped onto an unstable boat, cast out into a murky, tumultuous sea with neither compass nor anchor. She couldn't read him. She didn't know what to expect. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking, or what he would do. She was tense and edgy for reasons she couldn't fully comprehend. He'd said he wouldn't harm or judge her. Why, then, was she still so fearful of him?

 _His eyes_ , her inner voice stated with a conviction that caused her breath to lodge in her throat. That scorching intensity with which he regarded her, which was markedly absent when he interacted with others; how was it that Death's eyes were so strikingly bright, so very keen and decidedly alive?

Sakura rose to her feet. She was tired of stabbing blindly in the dark; she needed to shed light on her situation once and for all. If she knew what Sasuke had in mind for her, she would be able to better prepare herself, to devise an appropriate strategy that would enable her to deal with him on a more solid level than the gelatinous platform upon which she was currently so precariously perched. She couldn't allow her fear to isolate and immobilise her any further than it already had done. Suigetsu had given her a task to complete, and somehow, she had to deliver. Her life, her very future, depended on it.

Sakura clenched her teeth. She needed to talk to the water deity again. She was hopeful that he could help her unearth the possible motives behind Sasuke's perplexing behaviour toward her. Still clutching onto the flower, she hurried to the bathing room and crossed over to the toilet, locking the door securely behind her. Here, at least, she was guaranteed absolute privacy. Then she turned to the elegant marble washing basin, pushed the shell-shaped plug into the drain hole and twisted the cold water knob on the golden, gracefully shaped swan taps. She tapped her fingernails impatiently against the marble's cool edge as she nervously waited for the bowl to fill. When the liquid reached just past halfway, Sakura hastily switched the knob off and gazed desperately at her reflection on the rippling surface. She was acting on instinct, not at all certain what she was doing, but Suigetsu had told her that they could connect through water. She had to trust in that.

Concentrating hard, she called mentally to him, _'Suigetsu?'_

Her anxious face stared back up at her. Gripping tightly onto the basin's edge, she attempted again, _'Suigetsu! It's Sakura! Can you hear me?'_

Nothing happened. Sakura's heart began to sink, allowing trepidation to wash over her. What if Sasuke had somehow found out that she and Suigetsu had been communicating? But that made no sense; surely he would have made a point of mentioning it to her if he _had_ dealt with the water deity?

' _Please,'_ she silently prayed. _'Please answer me. I need your help.'_

Silence. She waited for another long, tormenting minute, and when the water continued to show her crestfallen expression, Sakura released a heavy, defeated sigh, and made to turn away. _Perfect_ , she thought miserably. Now what was she supposed to do? She urgently needed advice on how best to approach Sasuke, and Suigetsu was the only person who could furnish her with an answer. She fleetingly considered leaving the palace grounds and searching for him, but her better sense of judgement argued that it would be far too risky. She couldn't afford to push her luck and keep tip-toeing around Sasuke-

' _Pinky!'_

Sakura's apple-green eyes widened. In a split-second she had whirled back to the basin. A smile of relief illuminated her features as she found Suigetsu's pleasant face rippling on the water's surface.

' _I was afraid you wouldn't answer!'_

' _Are you kidding? Gods always listen to mortals in need,'_ he grinned, before adding, _'I've gotta say it; you look hot.'_

Sakura felt her face warm, and self-consciously averted her eyes, which prompted the water deity to chuckle amusedly, before revealing, _'Guess who just came by to make sure I was enjoying my stay in this five star accommodation? Yeah, that's right; our good friend Sasuke.'_

' _Is he definitely gone?'_ Sakura questioned nervously.

' _Yeah, he's gone. Left in a strop, too. I mean, I was only trying to be helpful and give him some advice on how to correctly woo a lady, and what'd I get in return? Yeah. That indifferent stare of his.'_

Sakura's stomach lurched as the previous thoughts she'd forbidden to consider flooded back into her mind. Her throat felt dry as she mentally forced herself to question, _'Who's he trying to woo?'_

Suigetsu's lavender eyes blinked up at her. _'Oh, come on! You can't seriously be that naïve, Pinky!'_

Sakura leant forward as she answered agitatedly, _'He told me this is my new home. He said I…'_ it was difficult to disclose it, _'…belong to him. And he-'_ she disregarded the warmth in her cheeks as she finished embarrassedly, _'-he put a flower in my hair.'_

Suigetsu's jaw dropped, before he proceeded, much to Sakura's dismay, to hoot with vociferous laughter. Eventually, he managed to snort, _'A flower? Hahahahaha! Real smooth! That bastard doesn't have a clue!'_ Chuckling, he continued, _'But that first bit sounds like Sasuke. Possessive bastard. Don't you listen to him, Pinky. He's used to getting whatever he wants; must piss him off that you're not an easy conquest.'_ He paused, before wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. _'At least… I hope you're not. You haven't let him jump you yet, have you?'_

This time the heat in Sakura's cheeks was impossible to ignore _. 'W-what?_ ' she telepathically stuttered. _'No! Of course not- listen, you have it all wrong. He's a god, and I'm a human-'_

Suigetsu scoffed at this. _'Gods created humans in their likeness. You think that's stopped us from pursuing mortals in the past?'_ Winking flirtatiously, he added, _'It wouldn't stop me.'_

Sakura gaped. Her heart was galloping so wildly within her that she feared it was on the verge of falling into cardiac arrest. For a minute, her numbed mind was unable to formulate an articulate response.

The water deity noticed, and raised an eyebrow. _'Why the surprise? Isn't it obvious he's interested? Why else do you think you're here? I mean, no other reason makes sense, unless he's just doing it to piss off your mother. He wouldn't have shackled those bracelets to you if he didn't intend on keeping you. In his twisted mind, you're here to stay, Pinky.'_

Sakura mutely shook her reeling head as her earlier suspicions, which she had been quick to dismiss as madness, were confirmed. Sasuke… Sasuke was interested in _her?_

Suigetsu looked amused. _'Hey. Don't look so horrified. You should be honoured,'_ he mocked. _'It's not like Sasuke chases after females. They tend to throw themselves at him, and you obviously haven't. No wonder he's so grumpy,'_ he added with a snicker.

Sakura couldn't help her lips from whispering weakly, "Oh…" Her talon-like grip on the marble was the only thing keeping her upright. But her mind was spinning. What kind of mess had fate thrown her into? She felt out of her depth, way in over her head.

' _He's a hopeless romantic,'_ Suigetsu cooed. _'He literally swept you off your feet, didn't he? Ahhh, that sly little bastard.'_

Sakura swallowed down the nausea that was rising within her. How could Suigetsu suggest such a thing, and so casually? To even postulate that Sasuke held any splinter of emotion… someone as cold and distant as the death deity was… her brain simply couldn't comprehend it. Absolutely _refused_ to acknowledge it.

' _This… this is a joke. There's got to be some kind of mistake. I'm not- I mean- he wouldn't…'_ her thought trailed hopelessly off. By Suigetu's account, Sasuke could have taken his pick of any woman on the planet. The world was full of exceptionally stunning females, ones who were taller, far more striking, curvier, sexier and categorically more interesting than she was.

Instead, Sasuke had set his sights on her…?

It was a shocking and impossible reality to accept, more so than anything else she had discovered up to that point.

' _But that's… so wrong…'_ she thought, completely stupefied. Surely it was a sin, something forbidden?

Suigetsu flashed a grin, baring strange, razor-like teeth teeth. _'Isn't that what makes it so good?'_

Sakura was appalled. _'I don't believe it,'_ she rejected. Her brain could not process the information Suigetsu was giving her. Her heart, however, was another matter entirely. It was thundering within her, as if it had known the truth all along.

' _You'd better,'_ Suigetsu advised seriously, _'because that's the only thing you've got going for you if you plan to nab that sword. You talked to him about training you yet?'_

Sakura shook her head, feeling dazed. How was she going to face Sasuke now that Suigetsu had dropped such a bombshell on her? Dark, intense eyes flashed through her mind's eye, causing her heart to flutter in apprehension. How was she supposed to handle this? She had little experience in dealing with men like _that_ – after all, her mother had always chased would-be-admirers away. But now her mother wasn't around, and she somehow had to negotiate the sticky and thoroughly bizarre situation alone.

She stifled a groan of despair. Why _her?_ When exactly had Sasuke noticed her? How many years had he watched her? It was perturbing, not having the answers. And on the inside, Sakura was scared senseless. She could feel panic pushing through the cracks in her composure, and this time she wasn't certain she could suppress it. Suigetsu must have noticed her expression, for he released a light sigh. _'Geez. You really are hopeless. How hard can it be to ask him to-?'_

' _I can't do it.'_ The thought was choked, much like the crushing sensation in her chest.

' _Huh?'_ the water deity peered up at her. _'Why not?'_

' _I can't. I can't,'_ she repeated, knowing she wasn't making any semblance of sense, but she couldn't bring herself to care very much at that moment. All she could think about was how Sasuke had laced the flower through her hair – and how his dark eyes seemed to ensnare her.

' _Get a grip, Pinky! No sword, no freedom, remember?'_ When she continued to stare at him with frightened, doe-like eyes, he glared, _'Hey, do you want me to break out of here by myself and leave you to live happily ever after with your charming Romeo?'_

His threatening words succeeded in snapping Sakura out of her frozen state of terror. _'No!'_ she communicated back, horrified by the very idea.

' _Then do what I tell you. I'm being reasonable; I'm not expecting you to get the sword right away. I know it'll take time to get him to loosen up. Bastard's not an easy one to fool. But you'd better make a start or I'll lose my patience and then I really will leave you, Pinky.'_

Sakura nervously wet her lips. _'If I asked him, and if he does agree, how am I supposed to get the sword off him for long enough to get it to you?'_ she questioned, at a loss to imagine how the plan would work.

' _You only need to get it to the gates. Karin will take over from there.'_

Sakura was stunned once again. The image of the sharp-featured young woman who had grabbed her roughly by her hair at the river's edge floated through her memory. _'Karin's helping too?_ '

Suigetsu smirked _. 'Hard to believe, right? But yeah, she's in.'_

' _But Sasuke will notice,'_ Sakura argued. _'I don't understand how you expect me to divert him for long enough to-'_

' _All you've gotta do is bat your pretty eyes at him, Pinky. Flirt. Seduce him. You women have it down to an art! It'll be a piece of cake, trust me.'_

Sakura's face stained crimson as she internally hissed, _'Forget it! I can't do that!'_

She chose not to add that she was an absolutely incompetent flirt and was certain she couldn't seduce anyone – except for maybe Lee, but that was only because he claimed to be violently in love with her anyway.

The Sea God rolled his eyes. _'Oh, come on! Just try flirting with him a little, he'll be eating right out of your hands-'_

' _NO._ ' Sakura glared, blushing more fiercely. It was against all of her moral principles to act in such a way. Indignantly, she added, _'How do you even know he's interested in me? Maybe… maybe brought me here to test me!'_

Suigetsu's smirk was lewd as he wickedly responded, _'Yeah, he'll test you, alright… in the bedroom.'_

"Stop it!" Sakura cried aloud, utterly mortified and affronted. If Sasuke was interested in her, it certainly couldn't be in that way! "I said I won't do it!"

' _Okay, okay, geez, quieten down,'_ Suigetsu huffed. _'You know, you're the first girl I've seen who isn't going gaga over that bastard. Anyway, I've just had another idea. A way we can actually disable Sasuke for long enough to get both the sword and us out – with minimal flirting.'_

Hope fluttered within Sakura, causing her to abandon her anger at Suigetsu's shamelessly randy words. _'What?'_ she asked eagerly. _'What is it?'_

' _I'll get back to you,'_ Suigetsu replied, before winking, _'Later, Pinky.'_

Sakura watched as the water's surface rippled and her reflection returned to stare back up at her. She slowly exhaled, her mind overcome with the cacophony of her thoughts. She was still having trouble accommodating what Suigetsu had told her. The notion of a god stealing a mortal away out of curiosity struck her as utterly ridiculous. Sasuke didn't honestly expect her to accept such a thing?

But she knew she had to tread even more carefully. If the water deity's words rang true, then she couldn't let Sasuke suspect that she knew. She would have to do her best to conceal her embarrassment and discomfort, and try to interact in a civil manner with him – however unmanageable that seemed.

She reached out and unplugged the drain, watching as the water swirled down the pipe and disappeared. Then, taking a deep breath and trying to rein in the erratic pounding of her heart, she turned, unlocked the door, and made her way back into her bedchamber. Walking to the fireplace, she looked down at the flower in her hand, and swallowed thickly.

' _All you've gotta do is bat your pretty eyes at him, Pinky. Flirt. Seduce him. You women have it down to an art! It'll be a piece of cake, trust me.'_ Suigetsu's words echoed in her mind.

In silent anger, she threw the flower into the hearth and watched as it shrivelled at the scorching touch of flame before disintegrating swiftly into ash.

* * *

Sasuke's sandals crunched over gravel with sure purpose as he drew to a stop by the river's edge. Steely eyes searched the bank carefully for a moment, before directing their attention to his waiting subjects.

"Be wary of trespassers," he stated, his onyx gaze flicking between Juugo and Karin. "Apprehend any creatures with orange markings, and inform me at once."

"Yes, Master," Juugo bowed his head in subservience. Sasuke glanced nonchalantly at Karin, who had been staring hard at him. She quickly lowered her eyes, and nodded stiffly.

"Resume your duties," he ordered curtly, and began to turn away from them, when Karin's voice made him pause.

"Great God!"

Irritation sparked within him when, instead of speaking, she remained silent, causing him to prompt, "Well?"

Karin's pulse raced as she considered divulging the extremely interesting conversation she'd had with Suigetsu shortly before the death deity had arrived at the bank. Would Sasuke favour her if she told him what the Sea God and Sakura were planning? Her ruby eyes trailed over the fetching lines of Sasuke's proud shoulders, and her heart constricted painfully inside her. It wasn't often that they spied Sasuke without his black feather-lined cloak. The clothing he was wearing at that moment only served to make him appear all the more arresting.

Sasuke's raven head shifted to his left, wordlessly warning that she was trying his patience. Bitterness overcame the nymph. He didn't even deem it necessary to turn around and face her. She wasn't worth the effort, and the _honour._ The abysmal well of her internal loathing and jealousy overflowed to the tip of her tongue, and she was speaking before her angry mind had time to contemplate the consequences of her words.

"Sakura…"

She exhaled as Sasuke immediately shifted to regard her askance. She now had his full and undivided attention – granted by the mere mention of the human girl's name. Acknowledgement of what that implied was like a stab in the gut, with salt poured over the gaping wound. Karin's fury flared as she buried the idea of revealing Suigetsu's intentions to the Death God. How could she have allowed herself to believe for even a moment that Sasuke would somehow be grateful to her? He was only interested in his little _Sakura._

Swallowing back the bile that was rising in her throat, she artfully continued, "Are the trespassers searching for her?"

Sasuke blinked, and Karin watched as his attention walled off completely. She was merely sticking her nose in business that was not her own, and didn't have anything worth his while to say, to warrant his lingering any further. The Death God spun abruptly on his heel and walked away, his form melding into the shadows, leaving the slighted water nymph fuming with resentment.

* * *

Sasuke alighted before the mighty gates of his palace and slipped through, stalking broodingly down the tree-lined path. The messenger had mentally called to him from the surface while he had been in the gardens, and with much reluctance, he had left Sakura's side to meet with Sai – only to learn that Jiraiya was indeed suspicious of his involvement in Sakura's disappearance and had consequently deployed his subjects to investigate further.

 _Damn him_ , Sasuke internally vented, glaring with enough vehemence to cause the spirits of the trees around him to quiver from the intensity of his hatred. Unlike the foolish Kakashi, who still held onto a long-buried sliver of sentimental attachment, Jiraiya had always been wary of him – and wisely so. Sasuke's hands closed to form tight fists at his sides, his keen mind already weighing out the options that were available to him. Jiraiya would soon realise that his subjects had been slain in the Underworld when they did not return at his call. As the death deity strode up the steps and entered his palace, he reasoned that the best strategy for him to adopt would be one of aggression. Remaining silent and hidden would doubtlessly increase the elder god's suspicions.

Sasuke didn't need that. He would confront Jiraiya on the surface before Jiraiya had the chance of venturing to his realm. The elder god had broken one of the agreed conditions – Sasuke had every right to slay his spies.

A sneer ghosted his lips. Did the fool honestly believed that he could be outwitted? And in his own kingdom, no less?

"Master," a young, scrawny, ashen-haired kitchen boy whose name Sasuke never bothered to remember had been crossing the hall and bowed as his lord breezed by him.

"Bring me ambrosia," Sasuke ordered curtly, without breaking stride.

"Yes, Great God," the boy bowed lower and scurried to the banqueting hall to fetch the deity his drink.

Sasuke stepped through the third door on the left side of the hall, which led to a large, richly furnished drawing room. He came to a stop before the majestic, gold-marble fireplace, flanked by two beautiful angel statues, and absentmindedly extended his left hand, accepting the goblet that was placed into it by the kitchen boy, who lingered awkwardly and uncertainly until his master waved dismissively to him. The jewel encrusted door closed after the servant, and Sasuke swallowed his drink in one quick gulp. Its potent ingredients began to take immediate effect, causing the death deity to quietly exhale as he felt the tension and fury that had been simmering to explosive levels within him dampen considerably. He couldn't afford to lose his cool. Not now. He could not handle Jiraiya the way he handled other inconveniences – but that didn't mean that Jiraiya was immune to intimidation.

They had seemingly forgotten what the Death God was capable of, and Sasuke reasoned that it was as good a time as any to remind them.

With that in mind, he set the goblet atop the fireplace's ledge and gazed up at the elaborate tapestry that hung above the hearth. It was woven with intricate details, depicting images of rolling, evergreen, flowered valleys and elemental streams and waterfalls. A perfectly azure sky made up the striking backdrop. _Elysium._ Sakura would appreciate such an idyllic place, and he intended on taking her to visit it, soon.

As he turned away from the heavenly picture, his eyes were inadvertently caught by the impeccably polished, elegant grand piano set in the right-hand corner of the room. Sasuke walked slowly over to it, and ran his fingertips over the fall's sleek black surface. It had been a while since he had played, and as he gazed down at the instrument, something stirred within him. A whispered memory, something he tried to suppress at first – but the images swelled and flooded through, all too vivid, and with them, a painful, constricting sensation in his chest that was still raw, despite the countless age that had passed.

He had taken a seat on the stool and lifted the fall to expose the glistening ivory keys before his distracted mind could even register the action. And instinctively, Sasuke's fingers found notes that were still ingrained into his brain, centuries after their composer had taught them to him, and his eyes closed as he lost himself in a precious, distant memory.

* * *

_Slender, elegant fingers glided over the keys with effortless poise and grace. He watched, transfixed, as the hands worked their magic, producing music so profoundly moving in its melody that his ears could not help but be captivated by the beauty of the sound. He chanced a glance at the creator of the masterpiece, who was every bit as regal as the fine instrument which he so flawlessly commanded. Heavy, dark lashes that seemed to tangle from their length were lowered, strikingly sculpted features relaxed in an expression that he could only identify as one of absolute tranquillity. Long, dark, silky hair was pulled back and bound by a small, thin strip of crimson ribbon. The composer's black cloak, lined with raven feathers, made him almost appear to be one with piano, its hue matching the precise shade of the instrument's body._

_As he listened to the magician weaving his spell, he felt the tension leave his shoulders. Gazing upon that serene face always banished his discontent, warded away the worries he harboured deep within him for the future of their clan. A face whose kindness was reserved for him - and him alone. By his side, he felt invincible, unconquerable._

_Their father was always scolding him, of course, for over-idolising the deity who sat beside him. But he didn't care, when there were more than enough reasons to warrant such blind, unwavering admiration and love. He was second best only to the prodigy who caressed the ivory keys with such proficiency – not that he would ever acknowledge the fact aloud._

_The tune rose to its uplifting crescendo, and he felt his soul soar with it. Only his music could affect him in such a way. All the pieces he had heard the other gods and goddesses play were tedious and uninspiring in comparison._

_But this… this was utter perfection._

_The skilled fingers finally drew to a stop, and long lashes lifted to reveal dark eyes – sharp, piercing eyes that sparked such fear in the hearts of mortals and deities alike – but eyes that, to him, were warm and wise. They shifted to regard him, and he spoke up to conceal just how impressed he had been._

" _Hn. That was decent, I suppose."_

_Lips that were usually set into a firm, unyielding line drew back to form a ghost of a smile. "How gracious of you to concede so."_

" _Well?" he prompted, after a slight pause._

_A dark brow rose questioningly as he was indulged with a tolerance that was not often granted to others._

_He gestured uncomfortably toward the keys. "You might as well teach me that melody."_

_The other eyebrow joined its partner to express a look of mild surprise. "You have never expressed an interest in musical instruments, Sasuke."_

_He smirked at that. "I only wish to learn to better you at your own creation… nii-san.'_

_A light, resigned sigh. "Of course…" was the quiet murmur. And then, with a hint of amusement, "Well; shall we begin?"  
_

* * *

The melody resonated from the keys and reverberated about the stone walls, and with it, flared pain within a guilt-stricken heart.

* * *

Sakura was lost in the turbulence of her thoughts as she drifted through the stretching hallway. Suigetsu's troubling words were echoing over and over in her mind. What if, despite her incredulity, they _were_ indeed true? What if the reason why Sasuke had stolen her away was that she had unwittingly captured his curiosity?

The notion was ludicrous. She had rarely managed to attract nice, normal human boys on the surface. She didn't know how to draw them in like Ino did, and she never made a point of showing off any of her so-called assets. Her clever mind was probably her most interesting characteristic. How was it even possible that she had caught the notice of an almighty deity? And one who, despite being completely terrifying, also happened to be outrageously handsome, and certainly good-looking enough to take interest in far prettier girls?

Sakura was starting to view her unfortunate situation as a comedy of hilarious proportions. But one constant remained; whether Suigetsu's words were reality or not, she couldn't let Sasuke suspect that she knew anything about his intentions; if he found out that she was in contact with the water deity, what slight chances she had of obtaining freedom would be lost forever.

It was now of paramount importance that she did her best to act normal around him. It would be difficult, especially now that she was so self-conscious of what Suigetsu had told her. She wished he hadn't spoken such awful things, but they couldn't be undone. Somehow she had to push the fact that Sasuke was potentially interested in her to the back of her mind, and do her utmost to relax in his presence. Because the edgier and more flustered she was, the more suspicious he would inevitably become.

 _Trying to fool a god…? You're asking for trouble_ , she told herself. But there was no other choice for her in such a desperate situation, no other alternative.

She stopped at the top of the majestic staircase, drawn out of her musings by the clear, echoing sound of music. A piano, she immediately recognised, and curiously made her way down the steps, listening for the direction the melody was coming from. The notes were proficient and precise, and grew louder as Sakura moved along the left side of the entrance hall. She stopped before the door that was adjacent to the room in which Sasuke had permitted her to write her note, and listened. Yes, the tune was definitely coming from within. She reached out, opened the door quietly, and curiously peered inside.

She was immediately struck by the imperial décor of the new area that sprawled out before her. Rustic gold and ash-blue wallpaper featured elaborate damask patterns, climbing up to a ceiling that was once again spectacularly painted with a mural that depicted heavenly skies and deities, set within a gilded frame of gold. Three grand, golden chandeliers provided warm and bright lighting. Elegant, royal blue, gold-gilt sofas featuring matching gold damask patterns were furnished around the room, decorated with plump, gold cushions. Swathes of bronze, satin material were arranged over exquisitely carved tables. A magnificent, gold marble fireplace caught her eye, above which hung a breath-taking tapestry that featured a delightful, paradisiacal valley. A massive, exotically woven gold and midnight blue carpet lay sprawled along the impressive length of the room, bordered by the same spotless black marble that featured so prominently around the palace.

But Sakura's eyes only took a few seconds to register her surroundings, before her gaze was impelled to the right side of the room. Seated in the corner before a grand, majestic, black piano was Sasuke. Sakura's pulse wasted no time on quickening as the sound of the melody he was playing coupled with the sight of him, so very refined and regal, lured her further into the room. The tune was spellbinding as it settled over her senses, and she walked slowly forward, unable to look away from the arresting form of her captor as his fingers danced effortlessly over the ivory keys.

Sasuke's eyes were closed, and he seemed to be fully absorbed in the enchanting piece he was playing. Sakura passed the middle of the room and drew to a stop, close enough to watch him without hindrance, but far enough to maintain a comfortable distance. Her heart was drumming in anticipation as she expected his heavy lashed gaze to rise and sweep onto her at any moment. But it didn't. Sasuke continued to weave his faultless melody, seemingly oblivious to her presence.

Or so she believed.

 _Did he compose this…?_ Sakura found herself wondering, scarcely conscious of the fact that her lips had parted to form an 'O' of astonishment. It seemed to be the case, for he wasn't reading any sheet music. It was a poignant, emotive piece, and she was thrown. She stared at him in open bewilderment, her brain at a total loss to explain how someone who appeared so cold and distant could produce a tune of such profound resonance and feeling. As he struck the higher, louder notes, Sakura's soul flew in turn. Her ears, her mind, her body; all were captivated by the mesmerising song as a disconcerting thought suddenly occurred to her.

Was there more to Sasuke than what he portrayed?

Her eyes moved from his skilful fingers to trail over the flawless lines of his chiselled, aristocratic features, and that was when she noticed the barely there, downward tilt to lips that were usually set in a firm, stoic line. Sakura exhaled quietly. Was the tune he had chosen to play a random selection, or one that held some semblance of meaning to him?

Whatever it was, Sakura had never heard such a powerful, stirring composition. As Sasuke's fingers negotiated the final crescendo, she became aware of the fact that she had been clutching a hand over her racing heart. The music had affected her on a level that left her near breathless. And when the melody faded away into silence, and Sasuke's dark eyes finally lifted to regard her, she felt heat flood into her cheeks. She had been caught staring red-handed.

 _Don't just stand there like an idiot!_ Sakura's inner voice snapped. _Say something!_

Still feeling displaced from the notes that had ensnared her, she forced herself to compliment, "That was beautiful."

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, before pointedly allowing his gaze to fall back to the ivory keys. He didn't respond, which allowed silence to creep between them again. Sakura already knew that the death deity wasn't much of a talker - unless he had something he deemed necessary to say – which meant that the task of making polite conversation fell solely onto her.

Which was just _perfect,_ really.

"You're very proficient," she followed up politely, unthinkingly, and internally winced at her choice of words. What was the _matter_ with her? She didn't usually have any trouble at all making small-talk with normal people.

But she supposed that was the precise problem – Sasuke _wasn't_ a normal person.

Sasuke was quick to stifle the scornful snort that threatened to escape his lips. Proficient, she had said? Sakura would soon discover that playing piano was not the only thing his hands were _proficient_ at doing. But he remained silent, waiting to discover what she would say or do next.

Smothering her nervousness at his lack of response, Sakura gestured toward the instrument and tried again. "Did you compose that piece?"

Sasuke sat quietly for another few heartbeats, before rising fluidly from the stool. "No," he answered flatly.

Sakura considered asking him who had, but something about the standoffish manner of his posture made her hesitate. She became distinctly aware then that she had been wringing her hands and ground her teeth, lowering them to clasp together behind her back. At least her body-language wasn't so defensive this way. She frantically racked through her brain for possible things to talk about – and suddenly, blessedly, she had it.

"Sasuke?"

His fathomless gaze locked onto her again.

"Umm," she began tentatively, making a point of averting her eyes as she readied her request, "I was wondering if I could see more of the palace, now."

She held her breath in anticipation of his response. When the pause following her words began to get uncomfortable, Sakura was quite sure that Sasuke was about to summon Ume and Chizu to resume the tour with her, when, in her peripheral vision, she saw him step away from the piano and move toward her.

She lifted her gaze when Sasuke's sandal-clad feet stopped a metre before her, and her heart leapt when he inclined his head toward the door.

"Come."

She followed him back into the entrance foyer, to a set of arched double doors that Sakura had somehow failed to notice before. They were tucked at the back of the hall, beneath the grand staircase, and even more magnificent than any of the other doors she had seen elsewhere in the palace – a feat in itself. They were solid gold, and encrusted with a spectacular array of jewels. Sakura's eyes were dazzled. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires and amethysts were arranged around a central crest that depicted the same uchiwa fan that she had glimpsed on a number of occasions. She wondered what the symbol meant, but decided against asking Sasuke about it. Nothing personal, she reminded herself, and a crest definitely qualified as that.

The doors parted at his silent command, and as she stepped into the new area after him, Sakura felt the air leave her lungs.

* * *

The sparrow circled in the air, before lowering to perch on her outstretched finger. Kurenai brought the bird close to her face, listened intently for a moment, before sighing.

"Thank you, dear friend," she murmured gently, and raised her hand to allow the little feathered creature to take flight once again.

"Still nothing?"

She shook her head. She'd sent out legions of her subjects to cover the air, land and even water, but none had returned with any news on Sakura.

"Nothing," she answered, gazing out at the quiet view of Konoha's rolling hills offered by her apartment's balcony. "Do you truly believe Suigetsu is responsible?"

Strong arms slid around her from behind. "Sai reported as much. You aren't convinced?"

"I find it so strange," Kurenai said softly, leaning back into Asuma's warmth. "Perhaps we don't fully understand the reasons behind Suigetsu's actions. Perhaps he is acting under another's influence."

"We have no way of discovering the truth if he remains hidden. Our priority is to locate him," Asuma replied.

"I worry for Tsunade," Kurenai's brows drew together to form a light frown. "I worry what will become of the lives she sustains if she does not find the child. Already she has begun to neglect them."

Asuma's eyes rose to regard the dawn sky, strewn with soft, pastel colours. "We can only hope that Sakura is returned soon. If she is not…"

His words trailed off, the remainder of the sentence lost as a subdued silence fell over them.

* * *

Shizune released a tired sigh. It was only eight-thirty in the morning and already she felt exhausted. She reached out to apply disinfectant to her hands, scrubbing vigorously at her skin and beneath her nails for a full minute. As she rinsed the foamy cleanser off her hands, she looked up to study her reflection. Black hair was pulled back into a short, perky ponytail, but her features were anything but lively. Her deep brown eyes were plagued by dark circles, a sure sign that she hadn't been getting much sleep. It was little wonder. She'd essentially been working twenty-four hour shifts in their head doctor's absence. It had been five days since her friend had contacted her with the news that Sakura had gone missing. Shizune wrung the excess water off her hands and turned to one of the hot-air dryers on the bathroom's clinical, white-tiled wall.

She wished that she could assist Tsunade in the search, but knew her powers were no greater than the ones her friend already had at her disposal. Besides, she had a duty to the mortals under their care. Preserving life was their sworn, divine responsibility.

She quickly secured a stray strand of hair with a pin, before turning to the door. Greeting a young, novice nurse on her way out of the bathroom, Shizune quickly hurried to her office. She'd just take a quick break to check that everything had been prepared for the next procedure at the operating theatre, and then-

The sound of a cell-phone vibrating drew her attention to her locker. She frowned. Now really wasn't the time… reluctantly, she unclipped the set of keys from her waist and unlocked the padlock. Hastily, she rummaged through her bag and plucked out the black cell.

_Tsunade._

Almost dropping the phone in her eagerness to answer, she quickly accepted the call.

"Tsunade-sama!"

" _Shizune. Are you alone?"_ her friend's voice questioned.

Shizune closed her office door and the blinds on the windows. "Yes. Is everything alright?" she anxiously questioned. "Any clues about Sakura?"

" _Suigetsu has her."_

Shizune blinked, shocked. "Suigetsu?" she whispered. "Are you certain?"

" _Yes. We're looking into it, but…"_ Tsunade's voice trailed off and she released a frustrated sigh.

"I was so worried when you didn't respond to my calls and messages," Shizune said, flicking idly through the patient notes before her.

" _I'm sorry. I haven't had the chance. I've been unable to think about anything else but this."_

"Of course," Shizune nodded sympathetically. "I understand."

" _How is everything at the hospital?"_

"Oh, fine, please don't worry yourself about things here, Tsunade-sama!"

There was a pause. Then, softly, _"Thank you, Shizune. I know I can always depend on you."_

Shizune felt her heart warm. It wasn't often that her friend spoke so kindly and sincerely to others. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama," she smiled.

Tsunade's tone abruptly shifted as she continued, _"There was something I wanted to talk to you about."_

"Yes?"

" _Yesterday, he appeared to us."_ Tsunade's voice dripped with disgust as she clarified, _"The snake."_

Shizune gasped in horror. "Impossible! After all this time-"

" _Yes, yes, I know,"_ Tsunade agreed angrily. _"He knows of my absence from the hospital, Shizune."_

The writing on the clipboard blurred briefly out of focus as Shizune slowly processed the disclosure. "He's been _watching_ us here?"

" _Either that, or someone has been in touch with him,"_ Tsunade answered grimly.

The dark-haired woman exhaled, shaking her head. "A spy?"

" _How else could he have noticed my absence? For him to travel all that way to confront us…"_

"Of course the patients have noticed," Shizune stated. "But they're monitored constantly; we have tight security here. I told the rest of the team that you were called away on urgent, private business…"

She could almost see her friend scowling on the other end of the line. Hesitantly, she added, "But… people have noticed Sakura's absence, also. They're asking after her."

" _Damn it,"_ Tsunade hissed.

"Has anybody else been in touch with you from the hospital?" Shizune questioned.

" _No, no,"_ her friend answered dismissively, _"only…"_ she abruptly broke off, inhaling sharply.

Shizune's heart leapt. "Tsunade-sama? Is everything-?"

" _Kabuto!"_ Tsunade gasped.

"Kabuto?" Shizune echoed in alarm.

" _I thought it strange that he called. I've never trusted him! And he always asked so many prying questions. I meant to remove Sakura from shadowing him but- damn it!"_ she took a deep breath, before barking, _"Shizune!"_

"Y-yes!"

" _Are the samples safe?"_

"O-of course, Tsunade-sama. I'm the only one with access to the code-"

" _Be vigilant! I want you to watch Kabuto carefully. Update me right away if he does anything suspicious!"_

Shizune's head was whirling. Young Dr. Yakushi, a spy? She found it difficult to envisage the polite young man in such a guise. But she reasoned that her friend had to have good reason to suspect him. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

" _And Shizune! Under no circumstances do you let anybody else discover the code. Bring the samples to me. If there is a spy in your midst, Sakura's blood isn't safe there. I want them at once!"_

Shizune swallowed and nodded her head resolutely.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"


	18. Chapter XVII

**Chapter XVII  
**

* * *

_Walk with him, maiden,_

_In a hall of kings,_

_Where queens are crowned,_

_And reverence paid,_

_Beneath the silver glistening trees,_

_With boughs, as diamonds, that ne'er fade,_

_And cast away the will to flee,_

_Resign to fate, surrender woe,_

_The light you bear, that lures, ensnares,_

_Sweet torture; how it afflicts him so!  
_

* * *

The hall was unlike any other; a sweeping, crowning pinnacle of unadulterated and unparalleled grandeur. It outshone even the ballroom in its sheer, majestic beauty, an impressive feat in itself when Sakura had been quite certain that she'd already viewed the greatest architectural sights the palace had to offer. But the vision that solicited closer scrutiny before her made her realise how foolishly dense she'd been. She had never seen anything that could even begin to compare to the austere magnificence of the enormous space that seemed to sprawl out in all directions around her.

Black marble shimmered beneath the golden glow of candlelight, leaving Sakura uncertain of its precise hue. Colossal, midnight-toned pillars set upon gold-gilded, jewel encrusted plinths were stationed in perfect alignment like stone sentries along the flanks of the hall. They climbed up to a towering, arching, rib-vaulted ceiling. Eight enormous, golden chandeliers with diamond-cut droplets hung high from murals that glinted with purple and blue pieces of stained glass. Imperial gold tapestries bearing the red and white uchiwa fan emblem were strung symmetrically upon the left and right walls, separated by long strips of rich, midnight blue cloth. A long, wide stretch of deep cobalt, gold trimmed carpet paved a path that extended down the middle of the vast hall.

In distracted fascination, Sakura wandered toward the pillars, feeling the strange need to touch them. She was astonished to discover that the tiny veins contained within the stone were burnt gold in hue and was amazed by the impressive size and clarity of the precious stones set into the ornamental pillar bases. Sakura ran her fingers over the marble's cool, smooth surface as her eyes lifted to admire the luxuriously woven tapestries. She couldn't even begin to guess how many threads each large, square-cut piece of cloth contained.

A light, fleeting touch at her elbow drew her attention back to Sasuke, who tilted his head toward the northern-most point of the room. Sakura followed him, her gaze fixed on the impressive, fan-like protrusions formed by the intersecting points of the vaulted ceiling. Then her eyes lowered – and she drew in a sharp breath. The strip of carpet climbed up a set of seven steps, flanked by two more dark marble columns, to a raised dais that supported a large, majestic throne carved of pure onyx. Elegantly cut stiles, set with slender golden, filigree-like swirls and tiny gemstones, tapered off to form pointed spires. Sleek, high armrests were gracefully formed and the upholstered cushioning featured a slightly lighter shade of black. The striking head of the throne featured the same fan crest, set within a solid circle of gold. It was the final confirmation she didn't need of Sasuke's status as ruler and King of the Underworld.

Her attention was then captured by the dazzling, arched panelling that made up the wall behind the throne. Brilliant stained glass paintings depicting glorious seraphs were set within a frame of jewel-crusted gold. It was a striking backdrop, almost verging on outrageous in the degree of its splendour – but it was the perfect finish. Resting directly before the wall on a long table covered with cobalt cloth, was an elaborate black helmet, set with swirling, silver patterns that matched the intricate designs on the throne and tiny crimson gems. Behind it was a two-pronged silver spear. Curiosity demanded that she take a closer look at the peculiar items – but Sakura didn't dare to move toward them.

Sasuke, who had begun to ascend the steps, paused to regard her. Sakura's eyes were wide as they finally focused back onto him, and he felt a surge of pride as he looked down upon her awe-stricken features. She approved. Of that there was no doubt. He held her gaze for a moment before turning away to continue to the top of the dais.

Sakura exhaled quietly as Sasuke took his rightful place upon the throne. A part of her mind distantly registered that she was likely gaping at him again, but she couldn't help herself; in that instant she was struck by just how very regal he looked – and how deceptively young. Yet she knew he was far older and far more powerful than anything she could even begin to comprehend. He was beyond her scope and understanding. Unearthly. Immortal. Undying. The deliverer of all ends.

 _But…_ she couldn't help herself from thinking, as his obsidian eyes locked onto her, _so beautiful…_

Beautiful – like a cold, harsh winter morning. Like a distant, unattainable star. And somehow, against all lines of logic and possibility, she had caught this godly king's notice.

Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow at her, and heat immediately rushed to fill Sakura's cheeks. Quickly ducking her head, she frantically cycled through her mind for a suitable compliment to pay the incredible throne room - but was saved the trouble by Sasuke.

"It is time."

Confusion forced her attention back up to find him indicating for her to join him by the left side of the throne. After a brief moment's hesitation she obeyed, traversing the steps up to the dais, fully conscious of his eyes on her. Stopping by the death deity's side, she followed his gaze to the grand double-doors, which were now so far ahead of them.

"Enter," Sasuke's smooth voice echoed clearly about the hall, causing Sakura's stomach to form apprehensive knots. He had visitors? Seconds later, the doors parted to reveal the tall forms of two men who, to Sakura's utter astonishment, seemed to glide down the stretching carpet. One had long, pale blond hair that was pulled back in a long queue, the other, flame hair that was drawn into a short braid. Both men were clad in long, loose black cloaks and wore silver, elaborate masks that left only their mouths visible. In their gauntlet clad hands were long, pointed spears. Sakura then noticed someone hovering nervously between the men; a youth, cloaked in white robes, whose form seemed somehow intangible.

A soul…? What was going on? Sakura frowned lightly and her gaze darted questioningly to Sasuke. But the Death God continued to stare intently ahead, and as the three figures came to a stop before the dais, the soul fell onto one knee and respectfully lowered his head. The tall men bowed before their lord, then stepped back. Sakura watched as they turned away and swiftly exited the hall, the doors closing with a firm, resounding thud behind them.

"Aristas," Sasuke looked upon the spirit. It seemed to Sakura that the young man was trembling. "Speak."

"Great God of the Underworld," the youth's voice wavered. "I entreat that you permit my departure from the banks of Acheron and bestow your blessings upon my passage to the Asphodel Meadows."

 _The what meadows…?_ Sakura stared at the young man, Aristas, in puzzlement.

A long pause ensued. Finally, Sasuke questioned, "What lesson have you learnt?"

Aristas slowly raised his head, but continued to look at the ground. "I have learnt, Great God, that I was wrong to accuse my wife of infidelity. The century I have spent in woe has humbled me. I realise that I did her wrong, and there was no excuse for it. My jealousy blinded me, and I did a terrible thing. I can only beseech your forgiveness, to pardon the foolishness of my actions. I was young, and I did not fully comprehend the consequences. Had I known…" his voice choked off emotionally.

Sakura listened in fascination. Aristas had been married? He seemed even younger than she was. She glanced at Sasuke, who was staring hard at the soul. Not a trace of emotion was visible on the death deity's features. Her eyes returned anxiously to the brown-haired young man. He sounded genuinely penitent.

At length, Sasuke replied, "Your request is granted."

Aristas's head rose, and he smiled at Sasuke, a smile so joyful that Sakura felt her heart constrict.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you, most merciful of gods! I-!" he abruptly broke off, as his gaze suddenly fell onto Sakura. His jaw slackened. Sakura stiffened and reached out to grip the back of the throne, unsettled by the sudden attention.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. No doubt the fool was admiring the view over his left shoulder. His fingers on the armrests tightened in irritation. Coldly, he instructed, "Go. Before I retract my judgement."

"Ah!" Aristas quickly averted his gaze again. "Y-yes, Great God! Thank you! Thank you, most merciful, most wise, most just and exalted one!"

Sasuke scowled at the profuse use of praises and waved a dismissive hand, signalling that he had heard quite enough. The spirit rose and with one final, low bow, turned and floated back down the hall. Sakura gaped after him as the doors opened and closed, before shifting her attention incredulously to Sasuke.

He had just shown clemency to a spirit.

She opened her mouth to address him, when the doors parted again. The two men accompanied another spirit down the carpet – and this time Sakura had to fight to keep the alarmed gasp from escaping her lips. A girl, no older than ten or eleven, drew to a stop before the dais. As the masked men departed once more, the child raised large, pale blue eyes to Sasuke.

"Great God," she greeted, dropping into a clumsy curtsy. She had a sweet, cherub-like face that was marred with dirt. Her hair was a tangled mass of unkempt brown curls. Her semi-transparent form was clad in a simple shift-like, yellow dress. But it was the dark brown stains on the light material that caught Sakura's interest. How had the poor child passed?

"Well, Kiva?" Sakura glanced sharply at Sasuke. His tone was devoid of any compassion. It sounded even colder than the one he had used to address the previous soul, and she was overcome with confusion.

"I want to live again," the child implored.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What have you learnt from wandering Phlegethon's banks?"

The little girl, Kiva, clasped her ghostly hands behind her back, and shifted on her bare feet. "I did a bad thing," she said in the pure tones of a child. Sakura had scarcely realised that her teeth were gnawing into her lower lip. Surely children were pardoned by default? Sasuke wasn't really judging an innocent little girl – was he?

"I did a very, very bad thing," Kiva sniffled. "But if I go back, I promise I'll be good this time."

Sasuke seemed thoroughly unconvinced. "What else?" he prompted.

Sakura wrung her hands restlessly, feeling the instinctive need to protect the child. She didn't understand why, when she knew nothing about the soul and her past life, but she had always had a hopelessly soft spot for children.

"What else?" Kiva echoed, blinking large eyes up at the death deity. "I'll look after my mummy. And my daddy."

Sasuke snorted. Sakura couldn't keep quiet any longer; her instinct to protect overruled her fear of questioning a god's sentence.

"Sasuke," she began, appalled, "please, she's just a-"

He held up a silencing hand, and shot her a warning look. To the little girl, he said, "You will not be the only child. Another will follow."

The child's hands closed to form tight fists. "I'll look after mummy and daddy," she repeated softly.

"And," Sasuke pounced, leaning forward slightly in his throne, "a sister."

"NO!" Kiva screamed, so suddenly that Sakura flinched in surprise. "I don't _want_ a sister! Just me and mummy and daddy! Nobody else!"

The Death God sat back, as if he'd proven a point. "Hn. You have learnt nothing."

Sakura's jaw dropped as the child began to throw a tantrum. "Send me back! Send me back! I want my mummy and daddy! _Send me back!_ "

Sasuke continued, unfazed, as if she hadn't spoken at all. "Return to the river's bank. Do not appeal to me again until you have conquered your jealousy and your childish petulance."

Kiva shrieked in rage – and dissipated into thin air a second later. Sakura released a trembling breath. Her heart was pounding and her mind was racing to comprehend what had just happened.

Sasuke's head shifted slightly to the left, as he disclosed flatly, "She slaughtered a sister."

Sakura gasped, horrified. Then the stains she had seen on the ghostly girl's dress…? Her lips floundered in disbelief, before managing, "But she's only-"

"A child?" Sasuke sneered disdainfully, as he rose from his throne. Directing a piercing look back at her, he added, "Do not be misled by appearances. In life, she craved bloodshed."

She could only stare back at him, stunned beyond words. Then, abruptly, Sasuke broke eye contact and descended the steps.

Sakura watched him, aghast. The thought of a child – any child – being evil was disturbing and so… _wrong._ Then she snapped out of her perturbed thoughts and hurried after him, her head buzzing from what she had witnessed. Despite the shock, she couldn't deny her amazement. She had witnessed a god passing judgement upon mortal souls.

Sasuke had granted forgiveness to the first soul and condemned the second to wandering the banks of a river, the name of which she couldn't recall. What exactly did wandering a river bank entail? Sakura was starting to realise that there seemed to be more to the Death God than what she had initially convinced herself to believe. It troubled her that she felt even more uncertain of and puzzled by Sasuke the more time she spent in his company. There had been another side to him as he had interacted with the spirits. She had never truly grasped his godhood – and the responsibilities that doubtlessly came with it - until that moment.

Suigetsu's words echoed in her mind again, causing her heart to flutter as she followed after Sasuke, her eyes fixed onto the fan insignia stitched onto the back of his blue tunic top. Whether or not the insinuation of the death deity holding some manner of genuine interest in her was correct, Sakura decided, was not the most pressing matter that required her attention. After all, Sasuke had certainly made no real effort yet to engage her in conversation - though he watched her a great deal. And if it _were_ , somehow,indeed true, she supposed that the fact would quickly make itself apparent. Fretting over the matter would do her no good. Sasuke would read her as easily as she read novels and she couldn't risk him determining her intentions to escape.

Her priority was to find out as much as she possibly could about her captor. And it suddenly occurred to Sakura that the only successful way for her to do that, without directly questioning him, was to understand the Underworld, what it comprised of, and how it was run. Then, perhaps, she would begin to unravel the true purpose behind Sasuke's decision to abduct her from the land of the living.

Which meant that she really had no other alternative than to play the part of the subservient, compliant captive to perfection, and stop fighting – for however long it took her to steal the blade he carried at his waist.

She swallowed, and reassured herself that she wasn't partaking in complete and unashamed deception. She didn't _want_ to escape – at least, not until she got her hands on the sword. Suigetsu had told her it would take time. And she was reluctant to admit that a tiny part of her was curious to try to learn more about Sasuke. He was an enigma, a contradiction, and so completely unlike the foolish preconceptions she had previously carried in her head about gods of any kind.

The cascading rush of her thoughts meant that the long walk down the carpet to the throne room's impressive doors passed in a blur. As she stepped over the golden threshold after Sasuke, she asked, "That room, where you judged those two souls… how often do you do that?"

He led her directly to the right, through another grand door at the back of the entrance hall's left side, which matched the one she had passed through when Chizu and Ume had taken her to the ballroom and the library. It opened up into a similar, wide, onyx corridor, lined with the same majestic blue carpet that featured throughout the palace. The hallway was ornamented by graceful, white marble statues and sweeping strips of gold and silver fabrics draping from the stone walls.

"When required," Sasuke answered ambiguously after a brief pause. He didn't break stride, nor did he stop to check that Sakura was keeping pace. She wasn't, and had to break into a light jog to catch up to him.

Sakura opened her mouth to follow up her question – but hesitated despite herself. What would Sasuke make of her sudden inquisitiveness? But surely he had to expect it? Any other person in her strange situation would desire to learn more. Wasn't it only human nature to aspire to gain knowledge? Yes, the notion of death still frightened her – but it was so different to what she had believed in before.

Casting aside her doubts, she ventured, "You call them? The spirits?"

"No," Sasuke uttered curtly.

"Then… they ask to see you?"

With Sasuke's back to her, she had no way of seeing the light frown that had settled on the death deity's brow. Had her curiosity finally been roused? He fought the urge to stop and curb her questioning with a withering glare. Was it so impossible to conceive that there was a chance that Sakura genuinely _wanted_ to understand what she had witnessed in the throne room?

 _Yes_ , Sasuke thought to himself, when he knew that any other mortal would have likely frozen in terror at the mere sight of deceased spirits. Would have been disgusted by the link he shared with the dead. Yet she had watched him condemn a child's soul – and still chose to follow after him.

She was taking it rather well, considering. And Sasuke was silently surprised to find that he had underestimated her once again. He never misjudged, yet the mortal trailing after him was proving to be an even greater puzzle than he'd initially allowed himself to believe. Sakura's spirit was stronger than he had anticipated. She had once more shown herself to be capable of adjusting.

She was asking him something else, something wasn't paying any particular heed to, and Sasuke wondered how well she would _adjust_ if he chose to turn at that moment and silence her lips with his own. It was maddening, the radiance he could sense even with his back turned. How he wanted to consume it!

"Sasuke…?" her soft, uncertain voice drew him out of the privacy of his thoughts. He decided that he didn't mind listening to her; whether he chose to answer, however, was another matter entirely. Blinking, he directed her through another pair of bejewelled doors. Sakura forgot to speak then, as her eyes took in the splendid sight before her. Six elaborate, golden chandeliers hung low from the idyllic, painted-mural ceiling, providing a rich, warm glow about the stretching hall. Large, golden framed paintings adorned the deep crimson, cornice crowned walls on both sides. Red velvet roped, gilded stanchions enclosing interesting statues constructed from marble and bronze were aligned on their pedestals at carefully spaced intervals down the centre of the long gallery, placed upon a long strip of gold-trimmed, crimson carpet.

Sasuke had slowed, and turned to gauge her reaction over his left shoulder, but a fascinated Sakura was already drifting toward the closest painting, which depicted a fantastical creature she didn't recognise. Her eyes darted to the next painting, featuring beautiful, pale-haired young women clothed in shimmering gossamer gowns. They stood around an azure river, wielding slender harps, their lovely faces captured in joyous song. The third was a portrait of a tall, proud figure that Sakura assumed was a hero of some kind.

 _This is amazing_ , Sakura silently marvelled, as she turned away from the wall to regard the line of elegant sculptures in the middle of the room. Sasuke waited before one, almost looking as though he were carved from marble also.

She glanced up at the imposing figure of a caped man wielding a spear and shield behind him. Another figure was of a shapely woman, dressed in a gown similar to Sakura's, holding an eagle. Sakura's gaze travelled further down the vast gallery. She knew that she would require a great amount of time to study the full selection of impressive works featured about the area in depth, and wanted to do so _without_ Sasuke scrutinising her. Then her attention was snagged by the matching double doors at the far end of the hall.

"What's through there?" she pointed.

The death deity's eyes didn't leave her face as he answered, "The passage to the inner courtyard." Tilting his head in the direction she was looking, he ordered, "Come."

Sakura followed him, her gaze jumping to take in the paintings on the left and right walls. She wondered who had drawn the wonderfully detailed pieces. Did Sasuke paint? The notion struck her as ridiculous, but then, she would never have expected the Death God to be proficient at playing piano, either. At length they reached the doors, which parted silently before them to allow passage through a wide, white-marble laid passageway. Royal purple and gold swathes of material draped from the stone walls. Bronze lion head sculptures hung beneath the rich strips, glinting from the glow provided by candles in their ornate sconces. Sakura's eyes rose to regard the arched ceiling, lined with yet more crystal chandeliers. She glimpsed another arched opening to her right, which prompted her to slow curiously.

 _I wonder where that leads_ , she thought. Aloud, she questioned, "Sasuke? What's-"

"Nothing," he sharply interjected, startling her. Sakura stiffened, her eyes nervously darting back in front of her to find Sasuke scowling. Then, abruptly, he turned on his heel and continued ahead. Sakura swallowed, willing her heart to stop racing as she cast one final glance at the mysterious opening, before trailing after the stoic deity.

Burnt silver doors coiled with golden, filigree vine gildings opened out to reveal a vast, rectangular, impeccably kept stone courtyard. In the centre, surrounded by an ornamental, circular enclosure, was a lone, shimmering, milky tree, similar to the ones Sakura had glimpsed in the gardens. Its unearthly glow illuminated the area, and as Sakura walked forward to inspect it more closely, she was once again awed by the bark's diamond-like sparkle.

"This tree," she began, greatly desiring to touch it, but the pale grey marble enclosure, which almost reached to her hips in height, prevented her from doing so. "How does it glow like that…?"

She sensed Sasuke's presence as he drew to a stop directly behind her, and did her best to conceal the tension in her body at the proximity.

"It is fed by the chaste nymphs that dwell within it," the death deity explained.

"I can't see them." Sakura desperately wished that she could, for nymphs that were responsible for creating such an ethereal marvel were surely a sight to behold.

"No," Sasuke paused, before continuing, "Hamadryads do not reveal themselves to mortals."

"Oh," uttered Sakura softly, disappointed. When Sasuke said no more, she looked beyond the tree. The other side of the palace loomed up to a starry night sky. She glimpsed elegant balconies and dark spires that towered majestically like unconquerable summits.

The death deity stepped around her and gestured to the stone steps that climbed up to a landing leading back inside the palace.

"The courtyard serves as a passage between the western and eastern wings."

Sakura glanced to her left, in the direction her bearings informed her was surely north. A striking pair of silver doors, as elaborate as the ones heralding the throne room, caught her notice. Filigree swirls were once again bedecked with circular cut, precious gems. What was over there?

Sasuke's eyes flicked onto her. "My quarters," he stated.

 _Oh._ She most certainly did _not_ want to visit there, at least, certainly not in Sasuke's company. Sakura quickly averted her gaze from the impressive sight the doors presented and turned her focus to the right. A narrow, silver meshed archway gloriously laced with white flowers led through to yet another mysterious path.

Sakura was once again overcome with amazement. Just how large _was_ the palace? And she was still only on the bottom floor. Were there basements and cellars too? And other levels? She hadn't even fully explored the one on which her bedchamber was located. How was she supposed to remember where everything was?

A rustle of fabric informed her that Sasuke was already heading toward the elegant archway. She cast one last admiring look at the twinkling tree before trailing after the deity.

They walked over a smoothly stoned path, lined with impeccably trimmed hedges sprouting yellow and white narcissus blooms, which seemed to stretch on forever. Incredible sweetness permeated through Sakura's nostrils, making her head feel giddy.

Eventually, Sasuke took a right turn, and the bushes ended, leading out to a large, dusty-floored area which featured three buildings of differing sizes. One was a vast, torch-lit structure that looked suspiciously like a stable to Sakura. Her suspicions were confirmed when she spied a stack of hay, a large, archaic-looking wheelbarrow, and pitchforks before it. Next to it was a smaller stone, thatched roof hut with a bolted, wooden door.

The third building, set opposite the stable, was also constructed from stone, and featured a rock-hard door that seemed to be wrought from solid iron.

"The forge," Sasuke stated, gesturing nonchalantly to the stone hut. "Stables," he nodded toward the largest of the structures, before inclining his head toward the impenetrable iron door. "The armoury."

Sakura's heart drummed. Sasuke had an _armoury_ of weapons? Somehow, she wasn't surprised. He certainly _looked_ the part of a smouldering, warrior god – even though he represented death. And Suigetsu honestly thought that he would consent to training _her_ – a puny little human?

As _if_ Sasuke didn't have anything better to do with his time – like heartlessly tearing souls out of bodies, for example.

She suppressed a shudder, and the words flew from her mouth before she had properly considered their consequences. "May I look inside?"

She was sure the moment she spoke the request that Sasuke would refuse it – but he surprised her by nodding curtly. She was certain that he could hear her pulse pounding as he effortlessly opened the door and they stepped into the torch-lit armoury. All manner of weapons were arranged neatly onto hooks on the stone walls; axes, hammers, lances and spears, clubs, swords and daggers in jewelled sheathes, graceful bows and arrow quivers, and many other arms that Sakura didn't even recognise. Shields of varying sizes and shapes rested against wooden barrels. To her immense relief, the sharp blades of the weapons were immaculately clean, and the room didn't reek of blood and death. Sakura couldn't deny that it was an impressive arsenal – even if, unnervingly, the amount available seemed enough to arm an entire division of soldiers.

Something glinted gold beneath the candlelight's glow, snagging Sakura's interest. She walked to the central wall, emblazoned with the uchiwa fan emblem. The long, slender hilt of a mounted sword winked at her. Sakura was entranced by the emerald stones set in it; by the way the firelight seemed to dance enticingly within the jewels.

Sasuke watched as she examined the blade. She was brave, he thought, or completely naïve and foolish, to enter once again into a secluded space with him. She stood before a golden-cloth strewn table laden with a selection of fine swords. Firelight danced upon her features, rendering them even softer and sweeter. His eyes trailed leisurely over the gentle rise formed by her breasts, down to the slender dip of her waist, accentuated by the pleated, golden belt. Ravenous hunger gnawed at him. How much he wanted to step to her, seize her by her tiny waist, shove aside the weapons on the table and claim her there and then-

He was snapped from the lustful thought by metal clanging against the floor. Sakura had drawn the sword from its casing, but her hand was inexperienced and clumsy. He scowled. She was holding the blade incorrectly.

Sakura flinched as the loud sound of steel smacking against stone rang through the air. The sword was heavier than it looked, and it didn't help that the muscles in her arms were practically jelly. She had no experience in wielding weapons – well, unless chasing Naruto with a rolled-up newspaper counted as one.

"S-sorry," she stammered as she tried, futilely, to hoist the weighty blade back up again. She couldn't keep from inhaling sharply when she felt warmth at her back and a hand close around her wrist to support her arm.

Sakura stared, wide-eyed, at the sword she was now holding upright before her, and her heart nearly leapt out of her throat when Sasuke's breath tickled the strands of hair over her right ear.

"Straighten your elbow," he murmured. When she remained frozen in place, he tugged gently on her wrist, forcing her joint to unbend.

Sakura exhaled. Her nerves were jangling agitatedly. His steady arm was curved around hers, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He was so close… _too_ close.

 _Don't panic, idiot!_ Her inner voice screamed at her. _This might be the only chance you get! Stay where you are. Stay calm. Stay calm!_

But it was difficult to act unaffected. The Death God's presence was stifling, overwhelming. She could feel the fine tremors that were jittering up along her arm and down her spine. Heat flushed her cheeks. She couldn't think. Awareness of Sasuke devastated her senses, left her feeling breathless and disorientated.

"Umm…" she managed to gulp. "I… I've never…" her voice trailed off when Sasuke suddenly moved his arm and hers with it, to form idle, swiping motions in the air before them.

The tension that coiled her muscles was almost a tangible hindrance. Sasuke could feel it all too clearly, was all too aware of the unsettling effect his proximity had on her. He refused to believe that it was fear alone that paralysed her whenever he drew near. The fact only served to fan the flames of need that were at that moment threatening to engulf him entirely. He could smell the alluring, floral scent that clung to her hair and skin. His right arm was already touching against hers, and her back was brushing tantalisingly against his front. Without sparing a thought, Sasuke began to lift his left hand – and caught himself just before it snaked around her side.

He clenched his jaw tightly. _No._ It would be counterproductive to his plans, he knew, if he acted impulsively. Desire for her was a physical ache within him; he had waited for too long, and he couldn't trust his treacherous hands. Once they touched her - _truly_ touched her – he didn't think he would possess the restraint to stop them from doing so again.

The god swallowed and abruptly relinquished his hold on her wrist, causing her to release a startled gasp as gravity's pull on the heavy sword yanked her arm back down. He stepped away from her, savouring the way even a little distance seemed to restore rationality to his mind. He couldn't allow a mere human to hold such sway over his senses. He was higher than common desires. He would enjoy her at his own pace; there was no rush. And the longer he waited, the sweeter the conquest would undoubtedly be, once he bound Sakura's body and soul to his realm.

"You are inept," he uttered offhandedly, which prompted Sakura's jaw to lower in bewilderment.

 _Inept…?_ She was stunned. How shamelessly rude he was to declare such a thing! Her inner self fumed. She wasn't a high, lofty immortal like he was.

_Oh, we'll show him the meaning of inept, right up the-_

She angrily crushed the voice of thoughtless audacity, and, after taking a moment to collect herself again, turned to regard the arrogant deity, with a much more sensible, "What…?"

Sasuke's eyes closed dismissively. "Hn. You heard."

Sakura stared. So it wasn't enough that he had kidnapped her and was essentially keeping her in the Underworld against her will – despite what he claimed about her not being a prisoner – he had to go a step further by insulting her too? It wasn't her fault that she didn't know how to wield a weapon. Most people saw no reason to learn an art form that was essentially considered unnecessary in modern society. After all, the police and army were responsible for protecting citizens. For him to label her incompetent when she'd never before even held a sword…

Irritation surged within her, flaring like a blinding flame that burned through the thick veil of fear that had, up until then, stayed her tongue. Her inner voice wrestled power from her politer, and smarter, self, and was the driving force responsible for her tossing back tartly, "Then teach me, _Great God._ "

His eyelids flew open at that, onyx depths honing in on her like dark, programmed missiles. Sakura's stomach proceeded to turn somersaults when his piercing gaze narrowed menacingly.

She inwardly berated herself. Did she literally have a death wish, to address the supreme governor of doom in such a reckless manner? But she really hadn't meant for it to come out so sarcastically-

In a movement that was inhumanly swift, Sasuke unsheathed his own sword and advanced on her. The air arrested in Sakura's lungs at the sight of the long, slender, elegantly crafted - and very, _very_ sharp – katana blade. She made to scramble backward, dragging the sword with her, her heart thundering riotously at the terrifying realisation that she had angered Sasuke, and he had changed his mind about not harming her – only to feel the table obstructing any further retreat behind her. Cool metal touched the base of her chin as the tip of Sasuke's sword angled her face up to look into his.

"And why should I do that?" he hissed. The intensity of his glare chilled her to the bone. If looks could kill, then she would have keeled over dead at that instant. Sakura's mind frantically raced as she sought to attempt to smooth over the effect of her imprudently chosen words.

Her breath hitched as the sword's edge lowered to trail lightly over the right side of her throat.

"No words now, Sakura?" Sasuke's silky voice stroked her name condescendingly.

Apprehension wavered, giving way to white-hot anger. _He's enjoying this_ , Sakura suddenly realised. He was pushing her into a corner, presumably with the intention of seeing how she reacted – as if she were a scientific test subject. Tears burned at her eyes, which only caused her frustration with him and herself to intensify. He was a complete and utter jerk; far too stuck up for his own good, just as Suigetsu had informed her. How she had even entertained for a second that there might be anything more to him when she'd watched him play the piano and judge others…

She forgot all about being docile and obedient then. At that moment, he wasn't a god. He was just an arrogant bully whose intention it was to make her life miserable. Scowling up at him, she answered, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm such an incompetent human." She was dismayed to feel her lower lip quivering dangerously as she finished, "But maybe you should've thought about that _before_ you decided on kidnapping-"

His onyx orbs, which had been watching her intently, widened fractionally, and in monster-fast reflexes, he quickly drew back his blade and lunged forward to close the distance between them, the sword whistling down to fall upon her. Sakura cried out, squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation of pain, and her body, fuelled by a sudden burst of adrenaline, moved out of pure instinct.

When she felt and heard nothing else, she cracked an eye open, to find Sasuke staring down at her with an unreadable expression, his sword lowered by his left side.

"Hn. Perhaps there is potential," he stated flatly, before sheathing his blade and turning abruptly away from her. She released a shaky breath as he exited the building, before turning her attention to her arms. They were trembling from the strain, but held defensively before her body the heavy sword that she had been unable to lift unassisted just minutes earlier.

Sakura relinquished her hold of the weapon, allowing it to fall to the ground with a resounding clatter. She leant back against the table, her head whirling as understanding slowly dawned upon her. Sasuke hadn't intended on striking her. She was oddly certain of that. He'd goaded her deliberately… but why? Was it simply only because he'd wanted to see her response – or had he intended on making an actual point?

She raised a hand to her throat. She could still feel the pressure of his blade against her skin. If the death deity had acted to show her that she could lift the sword, even if only in desperation, then why had he chosen to convey his message in such an intimidating manner? Didn't Sasuke realise how much he already set her on edge, without the need of purposefully terrorising her? Her heart was still pounding to a wild, erratic rhythm, and her body felt weak from the rush of adrenaline.

He'd said there was potential. What had he meant? Sakura's mind throbbed with confusion. Things hadn't unfolded the way she'd hoped they would. Sasuke hadn't offered to teach her how to fight using a sword; instead he'd called her inept and feigned an attack. How was she supposed to steal his blade away now?

She desperately hoped that Suigetsu's backup plan was a good one, because it suddenly occurred to a discouraged Sakura that she couldn't think of any other way to separate Sasuke from the katana he carried at his waist.

* * *

Sasuke didn't wait to see if she was following. He needed space, to be at a distance from her, to collect the myriad of thoughts weighing upon his mind. It was disturbing, that Sakura's personality was intriguing him even further the more time he spent with her. Her appearance certainly deceived; at first he had considered her to be nothing more than fragile and far too preoccupied with appearing prim and proper before others. But it was what lay beneath the surface of her courteous façade that held his absolute and undivided attention. He had glimpsed feistiness within her on more than one occasion; when she'd exhibited defiance in refusing to eat, when she'd confronted him about his intentions and hurtled the goblet at him in the banqueting hall; and just then, in the armoury, when she'd thrown a biting response back at him. A sarcasm-loaded reply which, had it been uttered by anybody else, would have resulted in literal bloodshed.

But not her. Sakura was an exception, and, Sasuke was uncomfortable to admit, she always had been. He exhaled. That spark in her eyes when she came out from the shadow of politeness caused his pulse to quicken so, made him burn. It excited him. He wanted to discover more of her, to chip away at her exterior until he unearthed the blinding flame within. He wanted to consume and be consumed by it. He wondered how she would react if he continued to provoke and push her beyond the boundaries of her patience. Anticipation of eliciting a greater outburst than the ones he had already witnessed flooded through his veins, a thrilling rush. He didn't _want_ her manners or her mortal reverence; he'd had quite enough of humans worshipping him in the past. That was not the reason why he had Sakura in his realm.

The Death God had predicted when he'd abruptly chosen to attack the girl that she would make a move to defend herself. She had not disappointed him. Her instinct to protect herself had lent her arms the strength required to lift the sword in her grasp. It had been a clumsy, pathetic motion, but the fact that she had made it at all confirmed the theory he had been entertaining about Sakura. Fear and anger were the triggers that caused her to step out of her comfort zone. Understandable, Sasuke mused, as he stepped back into the courtyard. All he needed to do was engage her in an activity that would leave her feeling vulnerable and frustrated enough to retaliate.

And what better way to do that than to teach her the way of the sword – an art in which she so clearly lacked any skill or grace?

A small, knowing smirk graced his lips at the thought of sparring with her in the large, column strewn battle dome, located in the palace's basement floor. He would fulfil her request and teach her to sword-fight – and he would make sure that Sakura made the time and effort he invested in doing so _very_ worth his while.

But it wouldn't do for her, he decided, to wield any of the blades in the armoury. No. She needed something else, something specifically forged to take into account her delicate bones and slight stature. An idea occurred to him, then, and he set it aside for further deliberation later. First he had to deal with a major inconvenience.

The amusement vanished from his mouth as swiftly as it had appeared as he blurred out of sight and alighted by the river bank.

"Well?" he questioned Juugo, who, after bowing in greeting, led him to the river's edge. He pointed, and Sasuke looked down to find a pile of amphibian carcasses lying on the gravelly ground. There were seven of them – eight, as Karin, who joined them, tossed another on top.

"They keep coming!" she exclaimed in disgust.

The Death God's hands tightened into fists as he made his decision then and there. Jiraiya would continue to send his spies, and he wouldn't stand for it. He crouched down, held his hand over the deceased creatures, summoning a slender black net to ensnare the bodies – before rising and turning his attention to his subjects.

"Slay any others," he ordered, before flickering swiftly out of sight.


	19. Chapter XVIII

**Chapter XVIII**

* * *

_So it began, my fall from grace,_

_Too helpless, to avert my face,_

_Mine eyes, so treacherously ensnared,_

_Caught in the net of night spun web,_

_How he cast my heart, abound,_

_And stole my breath, without a sound._

* * *

Jiraiya inhaled deeply, enjoying the earthy smell of rain-drizzled soil mixed with the subtle, sweet scent of cherry blossom. The endless lines of trees that flanked the long walkway leading toward Konoha Central Hospital were surrendering their freshly sprouted blooms early – far too early. The gentle breeze that rustled through the boughs sent silken petals fluttering silently from branches, hailing down like pale pink confetti. Flowers shed like tears - as though the trees themselves were in mourning.

The sun was setting, its waning rays casting an almost otherworldly light upon the path. One week. It had been just over a week since Sakura had disappeared without a trace. A heavy frown weighed upon Jiraiya's brow as he continued to walk slowly down the idyllic lane. He had searched tirelessly, traversing through woodland, mountains and caves without success. There was little doubt in all their minds that Sakura had vanished from the surface entirely, and he'd been ready to accept that they had exhausted all possibilities in their hunt for the girl, but Orochimaru's sudden and unexpected appearance had thrown a spanner in the works, causing whispers of doubt to plague his mind. If _he_ – the savage in the sky – was indeed watching them, then they would have to map their future actions very carefully. Because if _he_ caught on to the true reason why they were so desperate to retrieve Sakura… not even Jiraiya could foresee what calamity would ensue.

His expression sullied further as he recalled Tsunade's stubbornness. The damned woman was still as impossible as she had always been. Time had clearly done little to chip away at her maddening pride. She still believed that she required nobody else's council when it came to Sakura's guardianship. She still claimed that she knew what was best for the child. And so he had arrived at the conclusion that he would have to act independently and without consulting the headstrong woman – because Tsunade clearly couldn't recognise what was good for her.

 _Women_ , Jiraiya internally snorted. Along with wine, they had always been his weaknesses, and Tsunade was the greatest of all. When he recalled all the futile attempts he had made throughout the ages to woo the infuriating shrew…

His trip down memory lane was violently derailed as he sensed an abrupt shift in air pressure around him. He tensed, immediately alert, his hands swiftly moving to the small, tightly wound, magic-infused scrolls he carried in brown pouches at his belt. The temperature plummeted around him, and the walkway was suddenly overcome by thick, freezing coils of mist. Jiraiya's heart slowly began to pound. That chilly, smothering aura, known to all deities and feared by all mortals - it was unmistakeable.

A split-second later, something was tossed discourteously at his feet. Gripping a scroll tightly in his right hand, Jiraiya glanced quickly down and blinked, his eyes instantly recognising the disfigured forms of eight of his subjects as they tumbled out of a slender black net, which swiftly dematerialised upon releasing the lifeless carcasses.

Anger swelled within him, but he was careful to mask it. His gaze rose again, to clash with steely onyx, and Jiraiya braced himself. He had anticipated this meeting, of course; although he had not exactly expected to be confronted so directly and in such a public place. It didn't matter, he mentally dismissed. The dense fog was cloaking them both from view, and he knew that no human would be foolish enough to venture through it.

"Sasuke," Jiraiya greeted casually. "You seem to have grown a little."

The Death God's eyes were harder and more punishing than Jiraiya remembered. Sasuke had indeed matured – his features were sharper, he was taller, more imposing – and unquestionably colder. In place of the haughty youth Jiraiya had glimpsed long ago was a god who had grown into his role, a god who radiated menace and danger - and one who was obviously in no mood to engage in small talk.

Jiraiya didn't miss the way the death deity's fingers slid to rest lightly over the hilt of his blade as he clipped, "Explain."

"Still as talkative as ever, I see," Jiraiya said lightly, watching the younger god for any marked reactions closely. "Perhaps we ought to speak somewhere a little more private-"

"We talk here and now," Sasuke replied frostily. "Why have you sent your spies into my domain?"

"As a matter of precaution, I assure you," Jiraiya answered. To make a point that he was by no means intimidated and did not seek a fight in any form, he returned the scroll to its pouch, and nodded toward the motionless amphibians at his feet. "I suppose you slayed the others, too." It wasn't a question. He already knew it to be a fact; after all, it was common knowledge that Sasuke was not a particularly lenient god.

"It is my right," the death deity answered stonily. "They trespassed upon my kingdom." Here he paused, before adding tauntingly, "What's the matter, Jiraiya? Too afraid to infiltrate yourself?"

"Is that an invitation for me to do so?" Jiraiya pounced, his voice laden with unspoken challenge.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in response. He said nothing.

Jiraiya sensed a window of opening, and was onto it in a flash. He took a deep breath, deciding that there was little point in beating around the bush with a deity as impatient as Sasuke was, and gestured to the trees around them, innocently shedding their pink blossoms.

"The Sakura trees are a wonder of nature, are they not? They are perhaps my personal favourites…"

He threw a casual glance at Sasuke, who was staring expressionlessly back at him. The younger god did not blink. Not even once.

"Come now," Jiraiya continued conversationally. "Surely even _you_ must appreciate the beauty of this tree-"

"You believe I have the girl," Sasuke interrupted bluntly.

Jiraiya paused. Of course Sasuke had already caught on to his true intentions – the boy had always been sharper than others. He had not, however, expected Sasuke to speak so openly about the matter. It served to throw off the suspicions Jiraiya had been harbouring about his involvement in Sakura's unexplained disappearance – if only by a little.

"I understand," Jiraiya began carefully, knowing it was imperative to proceed with caution, "that Kakashi has already visited you regarding this."

Sasuke glared at the mention of the masked deity, before snapping, "My answer was clear."

"So I was told," Jiraiya nodded. "I will not attempt to conceal my actions from you, Sasuke; I sent my subjects to your realm in the hopes that they could obtain information about the missing girl. I did the same to the ocean depths, but it seems that even Suigetsu is missing. You would not happen to know anything about that, now, would you?"

"These matters are not my concern," was the curt response.

Jiraiya sighed. "As obliging as always. Of course, I would not be so audacious as to directly accuse you of partaking in Sakura's disappearance-"

He saw something antagonistic flicker in Sasuke's onyx irises, as the death deity sneered disdainfully, "Do you take me for a fool?"

Jiraiya's eyebrows rose, as the raven-haired god continued in a hiss, "This _Sakura_ has not passed through the Underworld's gates. But since you are so adamant that she has…" here Sasuke's eyes formed dangerous slits, "then perhaps I will arrange her death."

Jiraiya raised placating hands, his pulse quickening. He knew that Sasuke had the power to find and kill the child within a heartbeat. And he had no qualms, from the simmering fury visible on the death deity's face, that Sasuke would claim Sakura's soul, if tested further.

"Naturally, we must exhaust every possibility. Tsunade is very fond of the child-"

"I care not," Sasuke answered heartlessly, dismissively, making to move away.

Jiraiya hesitated despite himself. Perhaps, if he adopted another strategy, he could somehow manage to gain Sasuke's cooperation. However, he was reluctant to do so. After all, he had never entirely trusted Sasuke in the past. And he had nothing to bargain in exchange for securing the Death God's invaluable assistance.

"On the contrary;" he said quietly, selecting his next words strategically. "This affects you also."

Sasuke waited, casting a surreptitious glance at the pale-haired, taller god, silently demanding that he elaborate on his sentence.

"The trees are already shedding their blooms," Jiraiya stated, looking to the trees. Sasuke blinked, and turned his eyes to the cherry blossom petals in turn, fluttering so quietly around them. He watched them dance in the air for a brief moment, before returning his gaze blankly to Jiraiya.

"Trespass again, and I will find her," he warned. After another pause, he added pointedly, "You know what will happen if I do."

With those parting words, the death deity stepped back into the freezing mist, and vanished swiftly from Jiraiya's sight.

* * *

Sakura munched distractedly on the generously sized anpan bun that had begged consumption the moment she had stepped back into the banqueting hall. Her tongue savoured the sweet taste of red-bean paste filling, drawing her mind away from the dissonance of her thoughts. Even if she _was_ reluctant to admit it, the food was good – _very_ good. She hadn't tasted it properly before, because Sasuke had been in control of her actions back then and forced sustenance down her throat, but there was something delectably different about the dishes in the Underworld. The flavours were somehow richer than anything she had ever tasted on the surface – or perhaps her rumbling stomach was just doing a fabulous job of convincing her to believe so.

Her efforts to eat demurely had lasted for the full, impressive duration of one minute. Scoffing down the rest of her bun, her eyes roved eagerly over the endless platters in search of her next course. She was spoilt for choice by the appetising delicacies on offer, and a greedy part of her wanted to try a little of everything. She wondered whether the Underworld's nourishment would make her sick if she ingested too much of it. But perhaps it was special, magical food. After all, it had seemed like a very long time to her since she had last felt hungry.

Her gaze abruptly stopped on a plate of marinated, skewered chicken pieces, arranged artistically upon a bed of sauce-coated lettuce. She would need protein and iron to keep up her strength, she knew. Plucking up an elegant wooden skewer, Sakura raised it to her mouth and bit off the first meaty chunk. Pure bliss overwhelmed her taste buds. It was the most deliciously succulent piece of chicken she had ever tasted, and she sighed in satisfaction as she followed the five pieces with crunchy, refreshing lettuce leaves. Now she needed something to wash down the food. Her eyes were snagged by the inviting jar of golden liquid – the wonderful beverage Sasuke had served to her before. She glanced toward the door leading out to the entrance hall. It hadn't been long, she silently reasoned, since the death deity had left her at the armoury. What was the likelihood of him returning in the time it took for her to pour herself a goblet and wolf it down?

 _Just a little_ , the voice of temptation whispered to her. Sasuke would surely be none the wiser, and she really needed the soothing effects of the strange, sweet drink.

Her decision made, Sakura rose from her chair and stepped around the table, making her way over to the closest crystal decanter. She kept throwing guilty glances at the door as she lifted the stopper and served herself what she deemed to be a _little._ Quickly replacing the lid, she raised the goblet to her lips and drank the honey-like liquid. For a minute, nothing happened. Sakura was just starting to think that she hadn't poured herself enough, when pleasant warmth began to radiate from her stomach, extending all over her body. She sighed again in contentment. Just like before, she felt calmer. It was alcohol, she concluded; a special form of sake that was extremely potent and worked within minutes of one consuming it.

Sakura's eyes then travelled idly over the length of the table, seeking the perfect dessert. She found it in the form of a mouth-watering arrangement of ruby beads drizzled with what she could only assume was chocolate sauce. Pomegranate. The rich cakes, biscuits and pastries on offer didn't stir her appetite the same way the delightful fruit seeds did.

But she hesitated despite herself. Next to all the exotic and unfamiliar dishes, her favourite foods were readily available. Everything she enjoyed back home had been provided, including syrup-coated dumplings and pickled plums. It was unnerving. She now knew it to be no mere coincidence that Sasuke had likely instructed his kitchen servants to have everything she loved eating prepared for her.

Her musing was broken by the sound of the door opening and footsteps echoing on the cool marble floor. Chizu entered the room, little Ume trailing faithfully behind her.

"Mistress," Chizu greeted, as she came to a stop on the other side of the table. "Is everything to your liking?"

Sakura bit back a sarcastic remark before it could fly from the tip of her tongue. Being trapped beneath the ground with an unpredictable and haughty deity who fluctuated from intimidating one second to utterly confounding the next was far from ideal or to her _liking._

"The food is delicious," she answered courteously. "Thank you."

"Please try the glazed prawns!" Ume urged, nodding enthusiastically. "They are most delicious, Mistress!"

Sakura patted her flat stomach. "I only have room for dessert."

"Try the vanilla and strawberry gateaux," Ume suggested, gesturing toward the glass stand that proudly displayed a large, very skilfully decorated cake. "Or the syrup dumplings; chef had them freshly prepared just now!"

Sakura made a mental note to visit the kitchens at some point and meet the chef who was responsible for creating such culinary masterpieces.

"No, thank you," she politely declined, and nodded toward the golden bowl of glistening pomegranate seeds. "I'll have some fruit."

Chizu's smile faltered. "Oh, no, Mistress," she glanced nervously over her shoulder, toward the door, before continuing quickly and quietly, "that's no good. They're awfully sour, you see, and we were informed that you enjoy the sweeter things-"

Ume looked perplexed and shot her supervisor an odd look. But she wisely chose to remain silent.

Sakura gazed at the seeds in disappointment. They looked so plump and juicy and inviting. She found it difficult to believe that such richly hued fruit could be bitter. But she recalled the rare instances on the surface when she had sampled sour pomegranates – and absolutely hated them.

"You don't have any sweet ones?" she lamented.

"I am certain we could obtain some for you," Chizu averted her eyes. After an uncomfortable pause, she added, "But please - do not try those. They are… most disagreeable in taste."

Sakura glanced involuntarily at Ume, who beamed back a smile that seemed a little _too_ bright. She shrugged, trusting to Chizu's word, and reached out to the plate next to the pomegranate bowl, plucking up a syrup-coated dumpling and popping it into her mouth. It was the most delightful dumpling she had ever sampled.

"So much food," she commented, after swallowing down the treat. "Do you help to prepare this, too?"

"Yes, Mistress," Ume nodded. "We are pleased to do so."

"But only a little is eaten," Sakura frowned. There were enough dishes to feed a small village of people. She wondered why so much of it was set out. She couldn't think of a reasonable explanation besides the fact that Sasuke clearly enjoyed flaunting the finer things in life. He was a god. Who would judge him for wasting food, after all? He was the governor over death itself, and surely had nothing to fear from any other deity.

"This food is unlike that which is found in the mortal world," Chizu explained. "It satisfies the appetite for a longer duration of time."

That explained to Sakura why it had seemed so long since she had been hungry. So now she knew that time ran differently and that food had a different effect on the body. She supposed that the dishes before her didn't spoil at the rate surface food did, either.

She snagged another dumpling, before gratefully accepting the goblet of water that Ume had poured for her. And nearly squeaked in surprise when Suigetsu's face winked up at her.

' _Pinky!'_ He grinned, causing her stomach to tighten in dread. Bad timing!

"Mistress?" Ume immediately noticed Sakura stiffen. "Are you well?"

"O-oh," Sakura stuttered, tilting the goblet toward her so that the face within was concealed from their eyes. "Fine! I'm fine. I think I'm just tired after my meal." She knew even as she spoke the words how remarkably moronic they sounded. Who had ever heard of a young person her age feeling fatigued after they ate? To Suigetsu, she communicated frantically, _'I'm not alone!'_

' _Gotcha,'_ he answered. _'But hurry up and get some privacy – this is important.'_

Thankfully, his face rippled away, and Sakura released a quiet, relieved breath, her heart still thudding within her. That had been close. She was still convinced that Ume and Chizu had been assigned to watch over her, and probably reported back to Sasuke. She couldn't afford to slip up, even around them.

"I think I'll go back to my room," Sakura said, offering a smile which she desperately hoped didn't appear to be too evasive. Then, without waiting for the bemused maids to say anything else, she exited the banqueting hall, exhaling as she allowed the door to close behind her. She all but dashed back up the staircase and to her chamber, where she crossed over to the bathroom and locked herself in the toilet again. After hastily filling the basin, she called out, _'Suigetsu? I'm here!'_

She waited with baited breath for the Sea God to respond. After a tense minute, Suigetsu's face appeared on the water's surface.

' _We clear?'_ he questioned.

Sakura nodded.

' _Good,'_ Suigetsu smiled. _'You know,'_ he added slyly, _'we've really gotta stop meeting like this…'_

Sakura resisted the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. The water deity's attempts to draw her into teasing banter reminded her all too much of Naruto's hopeless, half-hearted efforts at flirting with her. Her heart constricted. How she longed to see Naruto's sunshine smile again! He was warmth and safety – nothing like Sasuke, who was cold and dangerous. Fresh resolve swelled within her. She _would_ see Naruto, her mother and all her friends again soon. She was prepared to do whatever it took to break free from the Underworld.

' _I did what you told me to do,'_ she communicated, cutting straight to the chase. _'I asked him to teach me to sword-fight.'_

' _And?'_ Suigetsu prompted expectantly.

Sakura shook her head.

' _Huh? He said no?'_ The water deity blinked. Then, suspiciously, _'You didn't give anything away, did you? You know you're literally screwed if you mess this up, right?'_

Sakura's heart thumped. _'I don't think he suspects anything,'_ she replied. At least, she desperately _hoped_ that Sasuke hadn't somehow caught on to her intentions. She had been very wary to conceal her true thoughts in his presence. But he was a god. Sakura had no way of knowing precisely how much he could tell just by looking at her. She swallowed nervously.

Suigetsu seemed to notice her discomfort and couldn't help himself from winding her up. _'You could just jump the gun and ask him for his sword,'_ he stated. _'I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind giving it to you…'_ he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and chuckled when Sakura's cheeks stained crimson at the unashamed innuendo contained within his comment.

' _Stop it!'_ she scowled in frustration. _'This isn't funny! I want to get out of here-'_

' _Relax, Pinky,'_ Suigetsu grinned. _'I've got it under control.'_

Sakura released a breath. _'Really?'_ she dared to hope. _'Your other plan will work?'_

' _Lucky you that I'm so smart, huh?'_

She lowered her face so that it was closer to the water's surface. _'What is it?'_ she pressed, eager to hear his alternative strategy.

' _We'll drug him. It won't be enough to knock Sasuke out, but it should disable him for long enough to allow us to get out of the Underworld.'_

It seemed to Sakura that iron nettles had suddenly sprouted in the depths of her stomach and were coiling painfully. _Drugging_ a god? How could Suigetsu expect her to go through with such an act of madness?

Apprehensively, she replied, _'There has to be another way...'_

Suigetsu shook his head. _'If you want out, you're gonna have to get your hands dirty one way or another, Pinky.'_

Sakura raised a hand to grasp anxiously at her hair. _'But if he finds out…'_

' _He won't.'_

' _But if he does-'_

' _Then what?'_

' _He…'_ Sakura mentally stuttered, the very thought terrorising her, _'he'll kill me!'_

The water deity rolled his eyes _'You still don't get it, do you, Pinky? That bastard wants you alive. What good are you to him dead? Think about it.'_

His words did little to soothe her agitation. _'He'd be so angry-'_

' _Listen,'_ Suigetsu interrupted her thought, _'Sasuke is going to be pissed off either way. Don't worry so much; by the time he realises what's happened we'll be long gone.'_

' _But-'_ Sakura began to protest weakly once more.

' _Look,'_ the Sea God glared up at her, _'do you want to see your mother again or not? I told you already, I'll leave you behind if you give me a headache.'_

The argument Sakura had been preparing to present to him next dissipated as her mother's beautiful face filled her mind with warmth and love. Then it suddenly struck her that Suigetsu had yet to explain exactly _how_ he knew her mother. And so she ventured to ask him, not at all certain of the reply she would receive, or whether he would answer her at all.

' _Did my mother send you to rescue me?'_

Suigetsu's lavender eyes blinked up at her. _'Send me?'_ he telepathically echoed. _'Gods don't run errands, Pinky.'_

Sakura's brows drew together to form a light frown. _'Then how do you know my mother…?'_

' _Who said anything about me knowing her?'_ Suigetsu tossed back.

Sakura was silent. Perhaps her mother had simply said a prayer, and the water deity had seen fit to answer it for reasons that were still concealed from her. After all, he had asked for a favour in return for helping her escape. But she had the nagging, unshakeable feeling that Suigetsu was hiding something from her, and inwardly resolved that she would endeavour to obtain information from him – but later. Her priority was to escape, first and foremost, and so she let the subject slide at that moment.

' _What kind of drug?'_ Sakura asked uncomfortably, scarcely believing that she was actually plotting against the death deity. Suigetsu's plan had the potential to go disastrously wrong, and here she was, willingly partaking in it. The fact only served to underline the full extent of her desperation.

If she was caught, if Sasuke realised what she was up to; Sakura barely managed to suppress the shudder that shot along her spine at the consideration of the consequences. She had little reservations that Sasuke would make her pay dearly for what he would surely deem as an act of treason. But what price? It frightened Sakura that she didn't know. Suigetsu claimed that the Underworld's king wouldn't kill her. How, then, would he choose to punish her?

She pushed the disturbing thought out her head. She couldn't dwell on it. As Suigetsu had stated, they were only in trouble if they got caught. But the art of not getting caught was easier applied in theory than in practice – especially when it came to trying to deceive an immortal.

It was a lunatic plan; but there was seemingly no other alternative – unless Sakura agreed to attempt to seduce the lightning blade away from Sasuke's side – which she most absolutely was _not_ going to do.

' _One that's potent enough to immobilise him. One of Sasuke's greatest advantages is his speed. If we take that away from him, we've got a much better chance of making it to the surface before the effects wear off.'_

' _And,'_ Sakura followed nervously, _'where do we get this drug from?'_

Suigetsu smiled another of his razor sharp, toothy smiles. _'Don't worry about that, Pinky. I've got it covered.'_

Sakura stared uncertainly at him for a moment, before questioning next, _'How are we supposed to get him to ingest this drug?'_

' _That's where you come in,'_ Suigetsu's eyes glittered mischievously. _'You're going to have to slip it into his drink. Or apply it onto the rim of his goblet – something his lips come into contact with.'_

Sakura gripped tightly onto the marble basin's edge. How in the world was she meant to do that without arousing Sasuke's suspicions? She couldn't very well offer him random refreshment! Unless she spiked the golden liquid she'd seen him drink – but then, how would she know when he consumed it? She had to be there to see the drug work with her own eyes before making a run for it.

' _This is crazy,'_ she mentally worried. _'What if I put it in his drink, and he doesn't drink it? I'll lose the drug!'_

Suigetsu raised a hand. _'Calm down, Pinky. You only need to use three drops of this drug at a time. You'll get a whole phial, so that's a lot of attempts. Not even you could mess up that much, right?'_

Sakura's eyebrows twitched in response.

' _Just make sure you keep it hidden in a place he won't find it,'_ the water deity added in warning. Then, after a brief pause, _'I'll contact you again to let you know when Karin gets hold of the drug.'_

Sakura hesitated despite herself. _'Can we trust her?'_ she asked.

Suigetsu snorted. _'She won't screw us over. If she does, I'll kill her.'_

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. The water deity's pleasant face had lost all traces of amity; he looked deadly serious. A second later, the brooding look was gone, and he winked at her, before adding in parting, _'Stay sharp. Maybe you'll learn something interesting.'_

With that, his face evaporated out of sight, and Sakura was left staring at her anxious reflection. She exhaled and turned slowly away, lost in the turmoil of her thoughts. She had never been the sort of girl to engage in trickery of any kind. She was as straightforward and honest as she believed everyone ought to be, yet she was being forced to resort to insincere measures that she would have firmly rejected prior to her abduction. As she exited the bathroom and stepped back into her bedchamber, Sakura contemplated the change in attitude. Sasuke left her no choice, she fiercely defended; she had no other alternative.

Then why did she still feel so guilty, even after everything Sasuke had done to her? He likely had intentions for her that her mind couldn't even begin to comprehend. And the dishonourable truth was that Sakura didn't want to stick around to understand the reasons behind Sasuke's actions – even if he was god.

People of faith accepted everything that fate hurtled their way, claiming it to be a test from the deities they believed in. They were obedient and accepted their destinies, exhibiting remarkable patience and resilience. Sakura knew what Sasuke expected of her; he expected her to accept the fact that the Underworld was her new home. And if she was sensible, and knew what was good for her, Sakura would comply and bend to his will.

But she couldn't. She prayed for forgiveness, but she couldn't let go of the life she'd had on the surface. Maybe she was selfish, and a wretched disbeliever, but fate had chosen to test her far too cruelly, beyond the burden she could bear. It had delivered a blow straight to the weakest part of her. To never see her mother and friends again, to be trapped, forevermore, in the deepest, most secretive caverns of Earth, in a world that was as frightening as it was beautiful, and with only spirits, strange beings, and the death deity himself for company…?

 _I can't_ , Sakura thought miserably, as she sunk into the armchair before the hearth, her head feeling strangely light all of a sudden. She had no alternative but to fulfil her role in Suigetsu's plan. And if drugging Sasuke was the only way to disable him… then she would do what she had to do. And pray to whichever other benevolent deity that existed for protection from Sasuke; that once she was back on the surface, he wouldn't hunt her down. That he wouldn't tear her soul from her body in retribution for her treachery.

And if death did choose to follow her… Sakura swallowed thickly, unable to bear thinking of the penalties. Then at least she would have seen her mother one final time. At least she would have been given a chance to say her proper farewells.

Sakura sat for a long time in silence, watching the crackling of the flames moving in a lulling, hypnotic dance, until eventually, her vision blurred and turned to black as sleep crept up on her.

* * *

Sasuke alighted and passed through the towering gates of his palace. He stormed down the tree-flanked path, positively seething. Jiraiya still suspected him. He had noticed the way the old fool had regarded him throughout their exchange, had done everything in his power to bluff his way through the encounter and blatant accusations. And he believed that he had bluffed well – but was it enough to throw an immortal as shrewd as Jiraiya off his trail? Only time, and reports from the messenger, would tell.

His hands closed to form fuming fists. It had taken every ounce of his will power to _not_ engage Jiraiya in battle for his bothersome meddling. To do so would have been impetuous and a declaration that he had everything to hide. How he despised Jiraiya, and all the other elder gods and goddesses! He loathed them with every fibre of his being for the injustice they had partaken in against his family. He knew that fact was the root of Jiraiya's suspicions toward him; he believed that Sasuke wanted to strike back at them for the past. But the truth was that Sakura's connection to Tsunade was entirely an unfortunate coincidence. Sasuke hadn't stolen the girl away out of spite or in the name of vengeance. He _wanted_ her, and that reality was completely independent of the fact that she happened to be Tsunade's adopted human daughter.

As he thundered into the palace's entry hall, Sasuke's thoughts diverted to focus on the words Jiraiya had spoken to him. They had caught him off guard, although he had been cautious to keep confusion from registering on his features. The older deity had claimed that Sakura's situation concerned even him. He'd stated that the trees were already shedding their flowers. Sasuke's keen mind raced, and so quickened too did his pulse. Jiraiya did not say random things unless they were somehow connected to the conversation he was having. History had taught Sasuke that the hard way.

So had Jiraiya been implying that Sakura's absence was somehow affecting the state of the trees? Sasuke scoffed. The very notion was ludicrous. That Sakura could somehow be tied to nature… she would have to be nymph or a goddess in her own right to hold any manner of influence over such a significant environmental system. And she was neither. The blood in her veins was incontestably mortal. Sasuke knew this without question. He would have been able to detect otherwise.

And yet, the purity of her soul, the light that had captivated him from the very start – that was certainly no normal occurrence. Sasuke was lost in the contemplation which Jiraiya's strangely selected statement had awakened, as his legs carried him through the art gallery and toward the inner courtyard overlooking his quarters. Was it possible? That there was even more to Sakura than what he had initially believed; that somehow, in all his foresight, he had failed to identify something substantial about her, something that served to account for just _why_ he was so drawn to every part of her being?

 _No,_ he rejected angrily. She couldn't possibly be anything other than human. A human whose soul was untainted for reasons he would soon uncover. Sasuke bitterly acknowledged that Jiraiya had obviously chosen his words with the intention of lodging uncertainty within his mind. And it had very cleverly worked. Sasuke was filled with an even greater resolve to unravel everything about Sakura. Why had Tsunade chosen to adopt her in particular? He had thought that the woman had sought to perhaps atone for her past actions, or maybe she had failed Sakura's biological, mortal parents, and raised the girl out of guilt.

Or maybe, as Jiraiya's words had seemingly implied, Sakura herself was a secret, one that had to be concealed. She'd been guarded so closely and carefully throughout the years he had watched her. But why, and from whom, Sasuke had not yet fathomed.

He released a breath as he passed the stables. He needed to busy his hands, to strike something, to take his mind off the anger that had almost over-flooded in the face of Jiraiya's accurate accusations. He stepped into the forge and was assaulted by unbearable heat, emanating from the scorching flames that blasted in the large stone furnace set against the wall directly before him. Sasuke unfastened his cloak and the tunic top he wore underneath, and silently set about forging fresh steel.

* * *

_She sighed discontentedly from her lonely seat atop the white, column-shaped plinth. Moonlight flooded down from the star-scattered sky above, tinging everything it touched with an ethereal, silvery glow. As she gazed out at the endless set of narrow stairs that climbed up to her mother's spectacular temple, deep longing tugged at her heart. Tonight was the Festival of the Eve of Spring. One single night in the year when all gods and goddesses, regardless of rank, gathered in her mother's valley, drank ambrosia and enjoyed the endless prayers and idolisations sent to them from grateful mortals. It was an event that involved dancing, singing, and general merry-making. All the things she so loved to partake in – but she found herself barred from the celebrations yet again._

_Her mother, Demeter, had promised her that she could attend the following year, when she was a little older and wiser – but had said the same thing the previous year. She pouted unhappily. To think, that she was forbidden to attend a festival that was named in her honour! All because her overprotective mother was convinced that she was far too beautiful to be seen by lesser gods and deities, and that one of the lecherous youths would most certainly attempt to make off with her. She snorted at the thought. Aphrodite and Diana were more beautiful than she was, and they always participated in the celebrations. She hadn't heard any stories of either of her friends being abducted by lust-driven gods._

_She huffed, picking idly at the golden ribbon wound securely around her slender midriff. It blended prettily with the rich crimson of her flowing, feminine gown. Her nymph companions had assisted her in loosely curling her long, pale tresses, and woven them with golden strings of pearls and garnets. A solid, golden, leaf encrusted necklace rested around her neck, and gold-dust shimmered upon her eyelids. But what good was dressing up if she couldn't join in the fun? Even Zeus had pleaded with her mother to allow her to attend, promising to assign her to Hera, who would take good care of her. But Demeter had firmly refused and declared her daughter not yet ready – because who was a better judge of a daughter's needs than a mother?_

_Her eyes turned to the sweetly singing nymphs below her, who were dutifully keeping her company. And although she loved her friends dearly, it suddenly wasn't enough for her to wait obediently and patiently until her mother returned with vivid stories about what wonderful things had come to pass at the event. She was young and curious – and she wanted to be present at her own festival._

" _I'm going," she said with sudden resolve, rising from her seat. The nymphs immediately broke off their music. One of them, a silver-haired beauty by the name of Arenee, looked alarmed._

" _Oh, no, Mistress! Your good mother has forbidden it-"_

_She waved her hand dismissively. "She needn't know. I'll just sneak in, look around a little, and hurry straight back."_

_A blue-haired tree nymph called Rheas shook her head. "You mustn't, Mistress. We cannot allow it-"_

" _I don't know why you surround yourself with these nymphs," said another voice. "How droll they are!"_

_She gasped as a figure materialised into existence at the base of the plinth._

" _Aphrodite!"_

_The Goddess of Love smiled mischievously up at her friend. She was dressed in a purple, sleeveless, shimmering full-length gown, her golden hair curled and laced with tiny amethyst gems set in glimmering gold. Bracelets adorned her arms and wrists._

" _Well, Kore?" Aphrodite blinked expectantly. "Are you going to stay here and miss your own Festival, or are you going to come with me? I already told you; I won't allow your beauty to go to waste!"_

_Kore hopped eagerly off the plinth and accepted the embrace her dear friend offered to her. Aphrodite not only looked exquisite, but she smelt like a dizzying concoction of seduction too. Kore was certain that no god would be able to resist her friend tonight – not that any usually could, anyway._

" _You smell wonderful," she complimented, inhaling deeply._

_Aphrodite laughed; a tinkling, feminine sound. "Careful you don't fall wildly in love with me," she teased, as her friend pulled away. "Now quickly, let us depart; the dancing is about to begin!" She grabbed hold of Kore's hand, but her friend hesitated despite herself._

" _Wait! What if my mother sees me? She will be so displeased-"_

" _She won't; I've had a word with a friend. He'll make sure you're hidden…"_

" _A friend?" Kore blinked in puzzlement. "Who?"_

_Aphrodite simply offered her a sly little wink. "Oh, you shall see. Now, come on!"_

" _Mistress-" Rheas began to protest, but the Goddess of Love swiftly turned on Kore's companions._

" _Not a word to anybody about this," she instructed, "or I'll make you all fall madly in love with the most gruesome of satyrs!"_

_The nymphs blanched and hastily stuttered their promises. Kore giggled at Aphrodite's antics, and without wasting another moment, fled down the stairs with her friend._

_A thrill rushed through her veins as they darted lithely away from the safety of her mother's temple and out into the night-blanketed valley, which was usually closed off to other immortals. The night of the spring eve festivities was the only exception. For the first time in her life, she was disobeying her mother's wishes! Her apprehension and guilt were quickly replaced with excitement. She was finally going to see a true celebration! Kore eagerly wondered what it would be like, and the route to the festival grounds passed in a blur. Eventually, Aphrodite drew to a stop behind flowering narcissus bushes, and whispered to her, "The celebrations are just ahead. Your mother is seated atop the dais in the northern-most point. We're going to head to the trees to the west. Keep up with me, Kore!"_

_Kore nodded, and followed after her friend. As they closed in on the festival grounds, wonderful music drifted to her ears, and she released a delighted gasp. It was exotic, whispering to and commanding the senses, and she felt the overwhelming urge to dance in time with the alluring beat. Aphrodite, who knew her too well, chuckled throatily. "You will have your chance. I have the perfect partner for you."_

_They came to another stop behind a cluster of evergreen trees._

" _Trying to match-make again?" Kore sighed heavily at Aphrodite. "I'll be in enough trouble as it is if my mother finds out-"_

" _She shan't find out. Don't be so spineless, Kore. Now look there!"_

_Kore followed her gesturing finger, and felt her eyes widen as she took in the spectacular sight ahead of them. Deities were gathered around a roaring fire, dressed in togas and gowns of fabulous hues. The smell of food, spice and ambrosia wine filled the warm night air. Gods and goddesses were playing various games and flirting with one another, laughing and having a wonderful time. She spied Selene, her eyes a pale winter grey, looking beautiful and demure in a silver gown. She looked uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving from an unfamiliar, dark-haired god. Younger deity children were skipping and prancing about, ribbons trailing after them. Kore felt a spark of anger. Her mother had claimed she was not yet old enough to join the celebrations, and yet there were children in attendance!_

_Wreaths upon wreaths of flowers adorned the area, some tied to posts with swathes of rich material. Satyrs carrying golden platters of food circled the vast area, whilst nymphs served ambrosia and were responsible for the enchanting music streaming through the air. Kore had never seen so many immortals gathered in one place._

" _Oh," she whispered, as she caught wind of the whispers that were travelling through the air. Mortal prayers reached her ears, each one spoken so sincerely, exalting her name and that of her mother, giving thanks for spring and the bounty it brought. Her eyes watered; she hadn't realised that she was so loved by humans. Her mother always kept her firmly away from even her own temple out, of what she swore was protection._

" _Shall we go closer?" Aphrodite smiled at the wistful look on her friend's face._

_Kore spied the dais, far ahead, shining with light. She didn't want to risk her mother seeing her, and firmly shook her head, fighting against temptation._

" _I shall be quite content to watch from here."_

_Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "You cannot expect me to leave you here alone," she censured, when her face suddenly brightened and she released an excited little squeal and grabbed hold of her friend's hand. "Oh! Oh, there he is! Look, Kore! Look there, next to Apollo! Do you see him?"_

_Kore's eyes darted between the faces, and finally caught sight of brilliant, handsome Apollo. He was dressed in a deep blue toga and was waving a wooden sword, sparring playfully with a grinning child deity. Even in the fire-tinged dark, he shone. Then Kore's gaze moved to the tall, cloaked youth who was watching Apollo's interaction with the little boy – and she felt the air leave her lungs._

_His hair was silky, raven-black, falling in an unruly manner into a face that rivalled even Apollo's in its beauty. It reached the base of his neck in length, spiking erratically at the back. His features were finely sculpted, and almost haughty. He wore black like it was a second skin, and seemed to be moulded from the night itself. Even at the distance from which Kore stood she could glimpse the piercing intensity of the handsome stranger's dark eyes. A silver circlet glinted in his left ear as he raised the golden goblet in his left hand to proud lips. Kore's heart fluttered. Perhaps it was just the hypnotising melody – or perhaps Aphrodite's perfume had somehow displaced her senses; whatever was responsible for the sudden spell that had befallen her, Kore found that she could not tear her gaze away from the young god's arresting form._

" _That," a gleeful Aphrodite, who had been carefully gauging her reaction, whispered, "is Hades."_

_Hades. Even his name was darkly alluring. Was this Apollo's mysterious companion, which Aphrodite had previously mentioned to her?_

" _Well?" Aphrodite nudged her in the side with a probing elbow. "What do you make of him?"_

_Her friend nervously wet her lips, and opened her mouth to offer a response – but her words caught in her throat as the handsome stranger's head suddenly shifted, as if sensing that he was being closely inspected. Kore was powerless to look away when, with frightening abruptness, searing onyx locked straight onto her, effectively impaling her in place._

_Hades was staring directly at her._

* * *

Sakura's eyes fluttered open. The exotic music in the dream sequence seemed to linger, and for a horrible moment, she was disorientated and uncertain of exactly where and who she was. Foreign names whispered through her mind, and she almost grasped them, but they dissipated before she could recall what they had been. She blinked and found herself still seated by the armchair before the fireplace. Slowly, she released a breath, disturbed to feel her heart racing within her chest. It was the second vision she had received when asleep in the Underworld, and like the first, had felt so vivid, so very real – as if she were accessing somebody else's memories rather than dreaming. Which of course was utterly impossible. And even stranger was the fact that she could never remember the full details of what she had seen upon waking. She could recollect vague elements – like moonlight, trees, a great feast and celebration, someone's eyes on her… but little else.

Sakura's head throbbed. She needed a cool glass of water. Gingerly, she rose to her feet, and was overcome with an unexpected bout of vertigo, which almost caused her to topple over. She gasped and clutched back onto the armchair, wondering what was the matter with her all of a sudden. Had she eaten too much food? Or perhaps it had been the golden, honey-like beverage, of which Sasuke had firmly advised her not to drink too much. She counted sixty seconds and tried moving again. Thankfully, the spinning sensation cleared and she was able to leave her room without further trouble.

She paused as she reached the entrance hall. How long had she been slept? How many hours had it been since Sasuke had left her at the armoury? It frustrated her once again that she did not have a grasp of time and how much of it passed. Sasuke had informed her that the flow of time ran differently in the Underworld, but surely it still operated in some basic form? Would Chizu and Ume answer her if she questioned them about it?

Sakura didn't hold much hope of receiving any explanations from her attendants. Sasuke had likely forbidden them from revealing anything to her; the fact that they were always so reluctant to reveal information about the Underworld and its ruler only served to confirm her suspicions.

She deliberated what to do next as she entered the banqueting hall and poured herself a goblet of water. As she sipped the refreshing liquid down and felt the tension in her temples ease, Sakura told herself that there were still other parts of the palace she had yet to see. Did she want to carry on exploring alone? Or would she revisit the areas that required further inspection – such as the library and the art gallery? And even the objects she had spotted on the table in the majestic throne room – hadn't she wondered what they were too?

But none of those options appealed to her as much as investigating the area to the right of the passageway leading toward the inner courtyard – the place Sasuke had curtly deemed as being nothing of importance. She had always been hopelessly curious, and if it truly _was_ nothing, as the stoic deity claimed, then Sakura reasoned that Sasuke would not mind her taking a closer look.

Her mind firmly made up, she exited the banqueting hall and took the door to the left of the central throne room, passing through the corridor and the bejewelled doors leading through to the stretching gallery, which she promised herself she'd dedicate time to later. She hurried to the doors at the end of the art hall and stepped into the white-marbled passageway, heading straight toward the arched opening on the right. It led to a small, square shaped area with a single, golden door bearing another uchiwa crest in its centre. Filigree swirls radiated from the circular fan, etched in contrasting silver. Sakura's heart picked up pace as she reached out to the doorknob, wondering what she would find on the other side – but it didn't budge.

Blinking, she tried twisting again, rattling the handle more forcefully, but it remained firmly in place. The door, Sakura realised with a sinking feeling of disappointment, was locked. Her curiosity amplified ten-fold, as she told herself there _had_ to be something of significant interest beyond the solid barrier before her. What secrets rested therein? She glimpsed a keyhole and placed her hands on her hips. Surely there was a key somewhere. The question was, however, where, and who had it? If the key to unlocking the door was with Sasuke, then Sakura knew she might as well forget all about finding out what was on the other side.

But if Sasuke's servants had access to the room, then maybe, just maybe, she could… her thought broke off as she heard a door closing, causing her heart to jump in her chest. Sasuke? Was he back already? But no – the hurried footsteps she heard scuttling down the corridor did not match the Death God's steady, confident gait. Sakura quickly rushed out of the opening and came face to face with an unfamiliar, ashen-haired boy. He was dressed plainly in a black and white uniform that mirrored Ume and Chizu's simple clothing, and looked as though he were in desperate need of a meal. Large brown eyes widened as they came to rest upon her face, before averting respectfully away.

"Mistress!" he bowed low to her in greeting.

Sakura released the breath she had scarcely realised she'd been holding, and questioned, "Who are you?"

"Pip, Mistress; I work in the kitchens," the boy, who looked no older than sixteen at most, answered politely.

Sakura glanced back at the arched opening she had just evacuated, and gestured. "What is behind that door?"

Pip's eyes slid in the direction she was indicating. He shook his head. "Nobody but the Master has access to that door, Mistress."

Sakura folded her arms unhappily. "You don't have a key?"

Pip hunched his bony shoulders. "It is strictly off limits."

Sakura stared incredulously at him. She was now quite certain that a great treasure was contained within. "You mean nobody else has access? Not even to clean inside?"

The young boy hesitated. "There is a key but… it is forbidden that we enter."

Sakura pounced. "Please tell me where the key is!" she entreated in a hush.

"I'm sorry, Mistress," Pip apologised, bowing even lower. "I've said too much." Looking frightened, he stepped around her and scurried off. Sakura huffed, frustrated. She would just have to try and hunt for the key – or maybe she could ask Suigetsu about the secret door when she next communicated with him. Shrugging off her annoyance, she continued out to the expansive courtyard with the lone tree, and was surprised to find Ume standing before the tree.

"Ume?" she questioned, as she approached her younger attendant's tiny figure. A straw basket rested by the girl's feet, full of freshly pressed, neatly folded clothing. She turned her head and offered Sakura a smile.

"Isn't it beautiful, Mistress?"

Sakura's eyes rose to gaze appreciatively at the shimmering, milky boughs. "Yes," she agreed softly.

"Sometimes," Ume began shyly, quietly, "when I feel sad, I like to come here and look at the tree. I don't think the Master minds. At least," she added nervously, "I hope he does not."

Sakura exhaled. It was the first time that Ume had referred to her own emotions in her presence, and Sakura's interest was immediately snagged. "Why do you feel sad?" she asked gently.

Ume seemed to hesitate for a moment, before shaking her head. "Oh. Forgive me, Mistress; it is nothing." Before Sakura could protest against this, the girl added, "Are you searching for the Master? I saw him pass through here and head toward the stables."

With a quick curtsey, the little maid picked up the basket and hurried back inside the palace grounds. Sakura stared after her in confusion. She had so many questions, about the Underworld, about Sasuke – and about her attendants. They didn't seem like spirits. What was the nature of their tie to Sasuke? Had he promised them something in return for their servitude?

She sighed heavily. Trying to obtain answers was like searching for a needle in a haystack; impossible and utterly infuriating. She glanced left in the direction of the death deity's quarters and felt a nagging, curious desire to see what his room looked like, but she had absolutely no intention of prying when he was nearby. What would he make of her actions? Her heart fluttered at the mortifying thought of Sasuke walking in on her while she casually snooped around his personal quarters. She knew that she would have to wait for him to go off soul collecting before she could explore his part of the palace at her leisure.

Sakura only became aware of the direction her feet were carrying her when she passed over the long stone path that wound around to the stables. Her eyes distractedly trailed over the narcissus blooms as her sense of smell was once again overcome by sweetness. Eventually, she took the right turn that led to the dusty area Ume had indicated and halted, suddenly wondering why she had even chosen to find the Death God. He'd left her so awkwardly in the armoury before; what could she say to him following that?

 _Maybe I should try asking him about the time again,_ Sakura internally debated, but was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of metal clanging upon metal. It was coming from the direction of the forge. Sakura drifted slowly forward toward the stone hut. The wooden door was slightly ajar, providing a glimpse of the firelight housed within. As Sakura neared, she heard a loud hiss and the smell of coal and hot metal permeated through her nostrils. She pressed a hand lightly against the left wall of the hut, and peered through the opening, squinting against the heat that assaulted her skin. For a second, all she could see was a haze of smoke, which quickly cleared to reveal a tall, masculine figure, bent over a large anvil.

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat as the flames from the blasting stone furnace illuminated the strong lines of Sasuke's broad and markedly _bare_ shoulders. He was naked above the waist, and the fire blazing beside him threw a flattering warm glow upon his complexion. Sakura's eyes trailed over the hard ridges of muscle in his back, watched in helpless fascination as they tensed and relaxed with every hammering stroke delivered to the steel blade which he was so expertly crafting.

Her heart was thundering explosively inside her. She felt the sensation of heat intensify in her face, tried desperately to convince herself that the furnace was entirely responsible – but in reality, Sakura knew she was only deluding herself. She was, after all, a teenager, and one whose cursed hormones had decided to awaken at the sight of the half-naked _god_ of a man standing before her. She watched, transfixed, as Sasuke's skilful hands worked their art. He shifted, and Sakura's suddenly chapped lips parted as she glimpsed the profile of his well-defined chest.

 _Oh God_ , she thought senselessly. He had an athletic build and muscles in all the right places, the _perfect_ places. And did the distinct edge of muscle she spied on his lean abdomen belong to the elusive six-pack that most boys her age had to slave away for months at a gymnasium to acquire? Sakura swallowed thickly, her gaze moving to admire his strong, smoothly muscled arms. Working in a hospital had meant that she was no stranger to shirtless men, but even the most physically active of her patients could not compete with the heavenly body that was on display before her. Coupled with his face, those sinfully beautiful, haughty features and intense dark eyes, it was a knock-out combination that Sakura was certain would break even the hardiest of female backbones.

 _I've got to stop staring_ , she told herself, but it was a half-hearted censure as she watched Sasuke pause in his craft and reach out to take a mouthful of water from the large goblet placed on a low, cloth covered table loaded with various instruments including tongs, metal discs and rods, and different sized and shaped hammers. Her gaze widened as it followed the path a naughty, stray droplet of water took as it trailed from his chin, down his sculpted chest, and Sakura found that she suddenly felt thirsty too. Which she considered odd, when she had only just taken a drink prior to finding Sasuke…

The death deity rolled his shoulders back, and Sakura breathlessly exhaled as he clenched and unclenched the hard muscles that lined his shoulder blades. Then, without warning, he stopped, his back to her – and abruptly turned his face to the left, as if sensing her presence. Sakura smothered a gasp and recoiled away from the door, as if burned, pressing her back against the outer wall of the forge, her heart racing fitfully. _Stupid._ How stupid was she to have just stood there! She was overcome with shame and guilt. She'd been standing, ogling a guy like the mindless, hormone-crazed teenager she'd always prided herself on _not_ being. And not just _any_ guy; a brooding, dangerous, and undeniably sexy Death God, who was probably going to kill her when he came to realise exactly _what_ manner of thoughts had passed through her mind at the sight of him, so gloriously masculine and so completely shirtless-

Scorching fingers closed in a vice-like hold around her left wrist, yanking her away from the cool sanctuary of the wall and into the burning, stifling enclosure of the forge, with speed so blinding that it took Sakura's stunned mind a few seconds to catch up to _what_ , exactly, had happened.

When she finally came to her senses, she realised that she was pressed up against the inner wall beside the open door, trapped from moving any further to her left by Sasuke's right arm, resting firmly by her head. Sakura's pulse palpitated as her gaze fell on the deliciously defined chest she had been admiring just moments earlier. It rose and fell steadily in time to Sasuke's calm and collected breathing – a stark contrast to the heaving of Sakura's own as she struggled to draw fresh air into her oxygen deprived lungs. She distantly registered that Sasuke was holding a slender dagger in his left hand – but she couldn't focus on it for long enough to be alarmed. She was far more terrified by the sight of smooth, slick, bare skin, only half her arm's length in distance away from her.

Sakura felt smothered and trapped between Sasuke's body in front of her and the warm wall behind her, and for a horrible moment, couldn't tear her eyes away from his impressive pectoral muscles. Then his voice came to her, and Sakura was certain that her cheeks were even more aflame than the furnace blazing over his left shoulder.

"What is the matter, Sakura…?" his words, uttered in a wickedly sensuous murmur, succeeded in drawing her attention to his face. Her lips moved in an attempt to formulate a coherent response, but to Sakura's mounting horror, all her pathetic, deplorable vocal chords could manage was a high-pitched, questioning hum.

"Hmm?"

 _Oh, hell no!_ Her inner voice yelled at her. _Just ask him to kill you right now. Go on! End your despicable life! Because you know, there's no way you'll ever live this down!_

Sakura's breath arrested once again as Sasuke tilted his head and angled it toward her, bringing his face to within inches of hers. Panic ran rampant within her, rooting her to the spot. She was frozen in place, pressing desperately back against the wall as if in an attempt to meld into it, her frightened, doe-eyed gaze fixing onto his wilful lips, as he exhaled, "I asked you… what's wrong?"

Flustered, she once again floundered for words. After several fruitless attempts at speaking, and when Sasuke didn't move his face away, she finally managed to croak stupidly, "H-hot."

The death deity raised a dark, questioning eyebrow in response, and a mortified Sakura realised too late precisely what she had said, and hastily amended, "I-I mean it's… it's hot in here. Very… very…" her eyes darted involuntarily to his lips again - lips that she was quite certain were fighting to suppress a knowing smirk, before gulping nonsensically, "I-I'll go."

But her body remained pinned in place by the burning severity of his gaze. She could hear the air escaping her mouth in short, rapid bursts, and knew that Sasuke could hear it too. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life, and genuinely wished that she could wither out of existence at that moment. In response, Sasuke lifted his left hand, and tilted her chin up with the sharp edge of the dagger in his grasp. Sakura's eyes rose to meet fathomless onyx, regarding her down the barrel of an aristocratic nose.

"When your blade is complete," Sasuke stated, "we spar."

Sakura's sluggish brain took a moment to acknowledge the meaning of his words, and when it finally did, she began to shake her head in incredulous disbelief. The sword resting on the anvil was for her…? Suddenly, she didn't care about Suigetsu's plan, or even her desperation to escape the Underworld. All she could think about was the need to get away from Sasuke at that very moment – to race back to her room, and lock herself in it for the remainder of her duration in his realm. Because the way her heart was galloping so uncontrollably within her shook Sakura to the core, disturbed and unsettled her beyond anything else.

The pointed end of the sword pressed more firmly against the tender skin on the underside of her chin, as the death deity warned dangerously, "That was no request, _Sakura._ "

She recognised an order when she heard one, and decided not to push her luck any further. The heated intensity in which Sasuke was regarding her caused alarmed tremors to flutter through her veins. Those eyes. They were stealing away her ability to think rationally. She had to get out and away from him. _Now._ Swallowing, she finally directed a furious, screaming command at her treacherous limbs to _move._ At long last, and far too late to save face, her body kicked into gear. She slipped to the right, stumbled clumsily around him, and practically dashed out of the forge, and back down the path leading to the safety of the palace's interior.

Sasuke slowly lowered the dagger in his hand. He'd glimpsed the searing heat in her cheeks, heard her struggled attempts at drawing breath, and finally allowed the dark, smugly amused smirk that he'd kept carefully repressed in the girl's presence to grace his lips.

He had Sakura _precisely_ where he wanted her.


	20. Chapter XIX

**Chapter XIX**

* * *

_Beware the baleful, woeful nest,_

_That lusts with thirst for mortal blood,_

_There her tears shall fall to rest,_

_And spurn within him wrath's great flood,_

_That hand that hath ne'er been stayed,_

_Ever a whisper from her aid._

* * *

Sakura panted as she burst into the bedchamber, slamming the doors shut behind her. She stood for a moment, wild eyed, gazing unseeingly into space, before her legs buckled, causing her to slide slowly to the floor. She was troubled by the rapid pounding of her heart and swallowed down deep gulps of air, trying desperately to regulate her thundering pulse.

The image of sweat-sheened, gleaming skin was singed into her skull. Sakura blinked, and the imprint of Sasuke's sleek and well-defined body, silhouetted against the forge's blazing furnace, remained firmly in place. She lifted her palms to her cheeks, to discover that they were as hot as flame.

"Oh, God," she choked, squeezing her eyes senselessly shut, only for them to fly open again in alarm when a vision of tantalisingly perfect pectorals and abdominal muscles flashed behind her closed lids.

Sakura raised her fingers to grasp at her hair, the gesture mirroring her inner distress. She was thrown by the intensity of her internal reaction to glimpsing Sasuke in his shirtless glory. It had happened instantaneously, without thought or intention. And Sakura was left disturbed and confused beyond reconciliation. What, exactly, had she been expecting? _Of course_ Sasuke's body was as perfect as his infuriatingly flawless face. He was a god! Why was she so affected by what she had seen?

Why was her heartbeat refusing to settle?

Sakura swallowed thickly, her throat feeling more parched than ever. She knew what the reality of the situation was; yes, being cornered against a wall by a bare-chested, smouldering Sasuke had sent her composure splintering and panic escalating, along with her stupid, _stupid_ hormones. But it was what he had said to her that unleashed even greater pandemonium upon her overwhelmed senses.

' _When your blade is complete, we spar.'_

Sakura released a trembling breath. The Underworld's King, the God of Death, had consented to tutor her in the way of the sword - precisely what Suigetsu had urged her to convince him to do. But was he playing right into their hands, or had he somehow already figured out what they were planning? What else could have possibly caused him to change his mind about training her?

 _I can't do this_ , she silently despaired, her mind buzzing in agitated, jumbled turmoil. When she had tried to refuse, Sasuke had informed her that she had little choice in the matter. But surely he knew that there was no way she could possibly, conceivably, take up his offer? It was outrageous, and his efforts would be doomed to fail. The death deity was far too powerful and superior, far too graceful and skilled to relegate himself to the level of a clumsy, inexperienced novice.

A sudden thought spurned Sakura's pulse to quicken even further; what if Sasuke went about sparring with her shirtless, as a way to test her discipline and focus? The very idea stained her pink cheeks with a fresh, furious blush. She released an unhappy groan, once again cursing fate for landing her in such an impossible fix. How could a thoroughly unremarkable mortal girl like her hope to match a great god on any level?

 _Alright, get a grip!_ Sakura blinked as her bolder inner voice broke through the discord of her dejected thoughts. _Maybe he knows, and maybe he doesn't. Keep freaking out like this and there's no way you'll find out for certain! Besides, if he did know, don't you think Suigetsu would've warned you? Think!_

Sakura's fingers loosened their talon like grips on her tresses as the voice of reason slowly began to ward irrational panic back. What use was there in losing focus? So she was up against an immortal god who made everything he did look effortlessly sexy, a god who also happened to be the most dangerous and intimidating entity she had ever encountered. But hadn't Suigetsu insisted that Sasuke was interested in her? The cogs in Sakura's head began to race as the fog of anxiety finally dissipated. Her thoroughly uncomfortable encounter with the death deity in the forge had served to consolidate Suigetsu's belief. Sakura's jaw clenched tightly as she recalled how Sasuke had asked her what was wrong, when he had already known the answer. There was no other way to interpret his words; he had plainly enjoyed her obvious embarrassment and sought to increase it by mocking her. Surely if he hadn't been interested in witnessing her reaction, he would not have bothered to haul her into the forge in the first place – unless he just took pleasure in mortifying her?

 _How arrogant,_ she fumed to herself, glaring angrily at the side of the luxurious four-poster bed before her. But was Sasuke really that kind of a god? _No,_ she shook her head. He struck her as the type who wouldn't act unless there was a reason or gain for him to do so. Which begged the question; what had he gained from forcing her against the wall? Apart from the smugness of watching as his captive got all flustered? She'd been far too preoccupied and distracted by the sight of his naked chest to notice at the time, but Sakura was certain that his eyes had been on her the entire while.

Sasuke had displayed, on more than a few instances that with her, that he had no regard for personal boundaries. He always watched her so intently, and with absolute attention, as if waiting to see what she would do, what she would say. Which could only mean…

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. It was _insane_ for her to even entertain the idea, to dare hope that it was somehow possible. That maybe, just _maybe,_ the fact that Sasuke seemed to be so interested in gauging her reactions meant that she had at least some tiny degree of influence over her situation, in the sense that she was in control of the reactions she chose to show him. She raised a fist to her mouth, biting nervously down on the knuckle of her index finger as her thoughts followed through. He hadn't consented to training her for her own benefit, or because she had requested it of him, of that she was sure. Sasuke had his own motives.

But _what,_ exactly, were they…?

Frowning, Sakura rose from her hunched position by the doors, and headed straight to the bathroom. She could smell the smoke and coal from the forge clinging to her hair and skin. She needed a hot, cleansing bath to soothe the lingering agitation in her body. Firstly, though, she had to communicate the new development to Suigetsu.

Locking herself in the toilet once again, Sakura filled up the marble basin and called urgently to the Sea God. To her immense relief, the water deity appeared almost instantaneously. Sakura immediately felt better and more reassured, remembering that she had another immortal on her side.

' _What's up, Pinky?'_ Suigetsu greeted. _'Is this a business call, or did you just miss me?'_

Sakura, as usual, ignored his attempts at flirting, and answered, _'Sasuke's agreed to train me.'_

Suigetsu blinked up at her, perplexed. _'Huh?'_ he mentally replied. _'I thought you said he disagreed?'_

She nodded. _'Yes, but… he changed his mind.'_

The water deity raised a pale eyebrow, looking completely unconvinced. _'Something's fishy. Alright, out with it! Tell me what happened.'_

Sakura took a deep breath and filled him in, choosing to leave out the fact that Sasuke had been shirtless and had cornered her against a wall – although the warmth she could feel in her face was evidence enough of her embarrassment. She desperately hoped as she finished explaining her encounter that Suigetsu wouldn't notice her blush, or make nothing of it.

But of course, fate was never kind to her. Once she was done, Suigetsu immediately and perceptively commented with a toothy grin, _'Uh, your face is as pink as your hair. You sure that's all that happened?'_

' _Yes!'_   Sakura telepathically rushed to respond. _'It- it's just the light!'_

' _Uh huh,'_ Suigetsu raised both eyebrows this time. _'You know you're a hopeless liar, right?'_

Sakura scowled. _'The most important thing is that he's agreed. That's what you wanted, isn't it?'_

' _Yeah, but why?'_ Suigetsu mused, his teasing visage quickly replaced with a thoughtful look as he contemplated the reasons behind Sasuke's altered decision.

' _I thought about it too,'_ she offered. _'I don't think Sasuke would agree just because I asked him.'_

' _You're right about that,'_ the water deity nodded. ' _As far as gods go, Sasuke's about as selfish and self-centred as you can get. No gain, no pain, as far as he's concerned. The bastard won't do anything unless he deems it worth his while.'_

Sakura swallowed. Suigetsu's words were a confirmation of her earlier thoughts.

' _Then…'_ she dared to begin, but stopped abruptly at the sudden glint she detected in Suigetsu's lavender eyes. Wary of what might be passing through the mischievous god's mind, she prompted, _'What…?'_

' _Your workout with him won't involve a skimpy outfit, will it?'_

Sakura's eyes widened. _'You-!'_ she glared, closing her hands to form angry fists. _'You're such a pervert!'_

Suigetsu snickered with amusement. _'Hahaha! And you're so easy to wind up! Maybe that's why the asshole's agreed; let's face it, you're cute, and your reactions are pretty priceless.'_

Sakura inhaled sharply. Hadn't she considered that, also? Suigetsu noticed her odd expression, and rolled his eyes.

' _Seriously, Pinky, I already told you; he's interested. You think he'd pass up a chance to get you all hot and bothered? Man, I wouldn't!'_

A flushing Sakura opened her mouth to verbally protest against this, but the Sea God waved a dismissive hand at her.

' _You can deny it all you want, but isn't the fact he's agreed proof enough? Yeah, he's got an ulterior motive, but if you're smart, you can work this to your advantage. You'll toughen up. He won't make it easy for you, but I'm sure you can find interesting ways to make him sweat, too.'_ Here Suigetsu offered her a deceptively angelic smile.

Sakura fought against the overwhelming urge to punch the surface of the water. How shamelessly lewd the ocean deity was! Every other sentence contained suggestive, embarrassing innuendos.

"Great," she muttered sarcastically under her breath.

' _Heh.'_ Suigetsu grinned. _'You'll be fine. Just wear a push up bra and a low cut top and he'll-'_

' _Suigetsu!'_ Sakura mentally hissed, mortified by the very idea. _'That isn't funny!'_

' _Whoa, okay, okay, relax!'_ he held up his hands defensively. _'Geez, I'm only teasing you, Pinky. Just don't mess this up; it fits with our Plan B perfectly.'_

Stressed, Sakura rubbed at her forehead. Not messing up was easier said than done.

' _Hey,'_ Suigetsu added thoughtfully. _'You said Sasuke's busy forging you a sword, right?'_

' _Yeah,'_ Sakura communicated distractedly.

' _So… why not use this chance to snoop around the Underworld?'_

Sakura glanced down at the water's surface. _'What…?'_ she answered irritably. _'I don't even have a map-'_

' _Perfect. That way, if you go wandering to any place you shouldn't, you can just tell that bastard that you lost your way.'_

Sakura stared at his rippling reflection, and was reminded of something. _'Wait, I wanted to ask you; you've been inside Sasuke's palace before, haven't you?'_

' _Unfortunately,'_ Suigetsu yawned. _'Long time ago, though. We haven't exactly been chummy in centuries.'_

Sakura's eyes widened with surprise. _'Wait, he was your friend?'_

' _Pfft,'_ the Sea God scoffed. _'He wishes! Anyway, Pinky, trust me; that bastard's gloomy little haunt is nothing compared to my underwater palaces. Maybe I'll show you, someday.'_

Sakura's eyes averted at that, prompting Suigetsu to chuckle again. _'Don't worry; I won't hold you prisoner there. Well,'_ he added flirtatiously, _'not unless you wanted me to. Heh!'_

Sakura relaxed. An underwater palace sounded magically wonderful, and appealed to the part of her that had always been fascinated by myths and legends. But she stored the possibility away for later consideration. First they had to escape from Sasuke's realm. She shook her head, returning to the point she'd had in mind. _'There's this door, to the right of the corridor after the art gallery. The corridor that leads to the courtyard and Sasuke's quarters?'_

Suigetsu looked puzzled.

' _It's a locked door. I asked a kitchen boy about it, and he told me that only Sasuke has access to it. Do you know what's in there?'_

The water deity slowly shook his head. _'Sorry, Pinky. I don't remember any locked door. Why don't you try asking Prince Charming about it?'_

Sakura shot him a nervous look in response. _'You really think he'll talk about it if it's off limits?'_

' _What have you got to lose by asking?'_ Suigetsu drawled lazily. _'You either do that, or you find the key and open it. But since you're so scared of making Mr. Sour-pants angry, I'm guessing you'll do nothing.'_

Sakura bristled indignantly. Was _that_ the low opinion Suigetsu had of her? That she was some kind of timid kitten who didn't dare go against Sasuke's wishes? Didn't the fact that she was plotting against the God of Death prove otherwise?

' _I'll find that key,'_ she thought out resolutely to him.

' _Heh,'_ Suigetsu winked. _'Good girl.'_ And then, ' _Like I said, go look around. You never know, maybe you'll find something Sasuke doesn't want you to see.'_

With those words, his face rippled out of sight. Sakura was left gazing at her reflection – and with a new sense of resolve instilled in her.

* * *

"You sure your dad isn't home?" Naruto questioned, as he pulled up before the Yamanaka household's driveway.

Ino glanced down at the crystal-encrusted designer watch her mother had gifted her on her previous birthday.

"It's one thirty. There's no way he'll be home now," she assured her blue-eyed friend.

"And there's no way we should be out of lessons right now, either," Shikamaru muttered underneath his breath, as he stepped grudgingly out of Naruto's black and orange convertible, wondering how he had allowed himself to be strung along for the ride. A quick, surreptitious glance to his left reminded him of the reason. Ino wore pale, stone-washed skinny jeans that accentuated her slender legs, and baby-blue ballerina pumps which matched the shade of her cardigan and handbag. Her long hair was pulled back to form an intricate braid. She looked chic, effortlessly stylish, and, well - nothing short of beautiful.

"Oh, Shikamaru, you worry too much," Ino scolded, waving a perfectly manicured hand at him. "I disabled the security cameras this morning after dad left. We're all set!"

Shikamaru's eyes shifted away, as he brooded momentarily to himself. Not much had changed, he told himself. Ino still possessed the uncanny ability to draw him into situations that his better judgement knew for certain were sure to end in complete and utter disaster.

As Ino tapped in the security code to grant entry past the solid front gates to the Yamanaka residence, Naruto turned his face up to the afternoon sky. Although the sun was shining dutifully, thermometer readings had taken a turn for the worse in the last week. Temperature readings were markedly colder, even more so than the average figures expected for early spring.

A bleeping sound signalled that the code had been accepted, and Ino led the way down the neatly-laid tile path, followed leisurely by Shikamaru, a nervous Hinata, curious Sai, and finally a determined Naruto, who allowed the gates to close after him.

They stopped before the large front door, and watched as Ino used her fingerprint to unlock it.

"That's so cool," Naruto enthused, grinning. Prior to Sakura's disappearance, he hadn't called often at Ino's house; but then, he'd never had a reason to do so. Their present visit, however, was more than a mere social call. They were there on important business. He stepped aside, gesturing for Hinata, dressed casually in grey skinny jeans, flat ankle-boots, a white top and a loose grey cardigan, to enter the house before him. Her sweet perfume lingered in the air after her, and Naruto found himself absent-mindedly thinking that he quite liked the light, floral scent.

"Let's keep our shoes on," Ino advised her friends, who nodded. In the unlikely event that either her mother or father returned home from work early, they didn't want to leave any evidence of their visit.

"Anyone want a snack or something to drink?" Ino asked next, as they approached the spacious kitchen.

"Let's just get this over with quickly," Shikamaru answered on behalf of them all.

"Y-yes, I must return before Neji-san notices my absence," Hinata agreed anxiously.

"So what if he does?" Ino demanded. '"I'll just tell him you were with me." But she obligingly led them past the kitchen and toward the stairs that climbed down to the basement.

Naruto couldn't help the snort that escaped his lips. "Neji should lighten up. If the winds change, his face might end up looking that serious forever."

Hinata began to giggle, but quickly caught herself, and coughed, flushing embarrassedly. Naruto shot her a sly grin, but said nothing else on the matter. Then he turned his attention to a solemn Sai.

"Oi. You're quiet," he said, nudging the pale youth in the side with his right elbow.

"Hmm?" Sai turned inky eyes to the vocal blond. "Ah, I apologise; I am merely admiring the interior of the architecture."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that. "This is nothing compared to-"

Ino stopped at the basement door, and whirled, pointing a censuring finger at Naruto. "If you mention Olympus _one_ more time, Naruto-"

"Ino!" Shikamaru said sharply. She blinked, shot another glare at an apologetic Naruto, before swiping the basement door open with another code and the key-card she had stolen from her mother's purse the previous night. Ino flipped the light switch, and they made their way down another short set of steps, before setting foot in the large basement area. Different kinds of furniture were arranged tidily in the wide, rectangular storage room, covered in protective bubble wrapping; dining tables, chairs, sofas, mirrors; Sai even spotted an elegant white grand piano.

The heels of their shoes clattered loudly upon the wooden floorboards. The basement had three small windows, which allowed natural light to stream through. The air didn't smell stuffy as Naruto had expected it to in a basement. In contrast, a pleasant lavender scent filled the well-kept space.

"Dad stores ambrosia in a safe," Ino stated, marching purposefully up to the far wall to their right. "It's somewhere here, I'm sure…"

"Huh?" Naruto scratched his sunshine head. "I don't see anything. Sai?"

Sai's eyes trailed along the wall. He shook his head. "Nothing."

Shikamaru frowned, folding his arms impatiently across his chest. "Ino, are you sure-?"

"There!" Hinata exclaimed softly, pointing to their left. They glanced at her, to find delicate veins surrounding the outer corners of her eyes. Her pupils had vanished, completely overcome by silvery, glowing irises.

Naruto swallowed. Even the ever-cautious and compliant Hinata had taken the risk of tapping into her sealed powers for Sakura's sake.

 _Hinata_ … he thought, feeling pride swell deep within his chest.

Ino moved in the direction she had indicated. "Here?"

"Yes," Hinata answered. She closed her eyes, and the veins faded from her skin, as she channelled her power back into the seal.

"A secret storage area behind the wall," Shikamaru commented, impressed. "As expected of your father…"

Smiling, Ino reached out to push against the wall – and frowned when it didn't budge. "Eh? It won't move-" she pushed harder. The wall remained firmly in place.

Naruto stepped forward, and steered her firmly aside. "Stand back," he warned them.

"Wait!" Shikamaru frowned at him. "Don't use too much power. If you smash the wall, you'll give us away!"

Naruto flashed him a mischievous grin. "Do you really think I'm that much of a knuckle-head?"

"That much is evident," Sai stated seriously, prompting Hinata to gasp in dismay.

"Say what?" Naruto was aghast, and turned angrily on Sai.

Ino glared at both young men. "Will you quit it? Just hurry up and open the wall!"

Naruto sent one final scowl at an innocently blinking Sai, before turning his attention back to the wall. He raised his right hand, and closed his eyes, focusing intently. They watched in silence as golden light began to radiate from his arm. When Naruto's eyes opened again, they were no longer blue, but luminous amber.

"Not too much!" Shikamaru reminded him harshly.

"Heh," Naruto grinned confidently. "Don't sweat it. I've got this!" He placed his palm against the wall. A second later, it depressed inwards, and with a rumble, lifted to reveal a secret compartment, in which was stored a solid iron safe.

"This is it!" Ino exclaimed excitedly. She peered inside and reached out to the security dial, and began to twist it. "Hmm, let's see now," she said to herself.

They waited as Ino turned the dial to varying codes – with little luck. After several unsuccessful attempts, Shikamaru sighed exasperatedly, "You _do_ know the code, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Ino flushed. "I just forgot the order of three middle digits. Give me a second, alright?"

They stood by as she twisted the dial a few more times, and perked when three consecutive beeps signalled the input of the correct code.

"Bingo!" Ino said gleefully, and four pairs of eyes turned expectantly to the safe door as it slid soundlessly open – to reveal another inner door - with another lock. Ino's face fell. "What?" she screeched, dismayed. "Dad didn't mention another lock!"

Shikamaru rubbed stressfully at his forehead. It figured that Inoichi would be so cautious; after all, ambrosia was extremely valuable and difficult for them to acquire.

"This is just great," Naruto mumbled, leaning against the wall.

Ino stared at the lock in dismay – then turned hopefully to Hinata. "Could you use your eyes to decode the mechanism?" At Hinata's hesitant look, the blonde girl pleaded, "Please! We have to get hold of this if we want to help Sakura-"

"It's useless," a new, displeased voice cut in. "Our supplies of ambrosia are all but exhausted, but that isn't the issue at hand, here."

Ino gasped, and her friends tensed, as they turned their faces toward the steps. Shikamaru was the only one to release an inner sigh of relief, secretly pleased that their foolhardy plan had been thwarted before it could escalate to catastrophe.

"The issue at hand," Inoichi continued brusquely, "is why you would sneak in here behind my back and attempt to obtain ambrosia."

Ino met her father's stern, angry gaze, and blanched.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as he entered his square-shaped office, closing the door firmly behind him. Classes were over for the day, and he had the afternoon free. The last thing he wanted to do was lecture teenagers on the wonders of Biology, but he knew that keeping up appearances was of paramount importance in the search for Sakura. He dumped a clipboard full of hastily scrawled notes on his solid oak desk, which was rapidly accumulating paperwork – and sank into his leather chair with another heavy sigh. He spun slowly and idly around, closing his eyes tiredly, his mind plagued with endless worries.

Tsunade was growing increasingly agitated and impatient, and he was starting to fear the worst for her. She needed to go back to work, to reassure the people who depended on her, but of course, he knew there was little chance of the strong-willed woman consenting to do so. Sakura had always taken precedence over everything else.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so dejected," a deep voice remarked. Kakashi's lone, visible eye flew open and he twisted in the chair, to face the unexpected visitor who was stationed by the blind-shuttered windows, next to a tall plant in a large black pot.

"Jiraiya. I didn't see you there," Kakashi relaxed back in his seat.

"Losing your touch?" Jiraiya teased lightly, prompting Kakashi to sigh for a third time.

"We're all on edge," Kakashi answered. "This situation is completely unexpected…"

In response, Jiraiya plucked a small glass bottle out of thin air. "Ambrosia?"

Kakashi was tempted, but shook his head. "No." He cast a meaningful glance at the elder god, before adding, "You know that you're supposed to be preserving our supplies."

Jiraiya waved a hand and released a hearty laugh. "Of course, of course! But a little goes a long way with this delightful drink, as you well know, Kakashi. You do not mind if I do?"

Kakashi shook his head, knowing that he couldn't dissuade the white-haired deity anyway, and watched as Jiraiya took a long, leisurely swig from the bottle. "I don't suppose you've heard anything more?"

Jiraiya peered out through the blinds. He was silent for a moment, before disclosing, "We must tread carefully, Kakashi. He is watching us."

Kakashi instantly straightened. "You say it as though you are absolutely certain."

Jiraiya paused, before replying, "I am. Orochimaru assured us as much."

Kakashi leapt out of his chair. "You saw him!" he uttered, his eye widening in alarm. At Jiraiya's solemn nod, his masked friend pressed, "When?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not two days past… I confess that I expected Tsunade to share this news with you."

"She didn't," Kakashi answered. Then, after a pause, he continued, "That he would appear after all this time…"

"My thoughts exactly," Jiraiya replied gravely. "What's more, he is aware of Tsunade neglecting her duties at the hospital. He would have no way of knowing this unless somebody within the building relayed the information to him."

Kakashi silently exhaled. "A spy," he murmured.

"Precisely. And what do you think that blasted woman did when I tried to warn her about it?" Here Jiraiya gestured theatrically toward the window. "Shut me out, as always! She still holds me to account for something I had no control over. As if I would purposefully abandon those I consider my kin; as if I would have ever intentionally left Minato to fight alone!" He broke off, glaring broodingly into space. Kakashi stared, silenced by the uncharacteristic outburst. Then Jiraiya sighed loudly, and scratched at his chin. "Women," he concluded in disgust.

His friend proceeded with caution. "No word yet from your subjects?"

Jiraiya released a scornful snort at that. "Nothing underwater. And as for the others; young Sasuke has seen to them."

Kakashi's stomach tightened with sudden and unexpected dread. " _Sasuke?_ " he scarcely dared to speak the death deity's name aloud in such a public place. "What do you mean-?"

"I decided, as a precaution, to send my subjects to the Underworld," Jiraiya casually explained.

Kakashi stepped around the table, overcome with a burst of anger. This wasn't the correct way to approach Sasuke, and Jiraiya knew it! "You did _what?_ "

"Of course, Sasuke, being the hospitable and noble god that he is, slaughtered each and every one of my subjects," Jiraiya continued as if Kakashi hadn't spoken.

Kakashi raised a hand despairingly to his silver head. It came as no surprise to him that Sasuke would react in such a way; he had likely interpreted Jiraiya's actions as an accusation of him being actively involved in Sakura's disappearance. "Jiraiya, that was unnecessary; I already told you that I ventured to the Underworld-"

Jiraiya cast an unreadable look at his friend. "Why so distressed, Kakashi? If anyone has the right to be saddened, I do! That rascal massacred all twenty seven of my subjects. That is no small crime."

"You asked for it," Kakashi muttered. "You still don't understand Sasuke's nature-"

"On the contrary. My meeting with him earlier confirmed one very important point."

"You met him?" Kakashi exclaimed incredulously.

"Well," Jiraiya replied, taking another gulp of ambrosia. "It would be more accurate to state that he, in fact, came to meet me; with the carcasses of a few of my poor toads in tow."

Kakashi shook his head, stunned. That Sasuke would ascend to the surface, to confront Jiraiya directly… how angry had the deity before him made the Death God?

"What," he asked tightly, "did you learn?"

Jiraiya met Kakashi's gaze directly, and answered, "That Sasuke truly does not care for our troubles. He made it transparently clear that if we were to contact him about Sakura again, he will find and kill the girl."

Behind his mask, Kakashi's jaw clenched. Unbidden, his hands curled to form frustrated fists.

 _Sasuke…_ he thought, overcome with a twinge of guilt.

"Is this the same boy you knew, Kakashi?" Jiraiya enquired, noticing the tension in his shoulders. "The same youth who used to spar with you? Would you deny, even now, that he is beyond redemption?"

Kakashi's eyes lowered. He was silent.

"Sasuke holds us accountable for what happened to his family," Jiraiya went on. "He does not know that _he_ orchestrated their demise. And the fact that he was so defensive in the face of what he believes to be accusations against him made one thing very clear to me."

Kakashi's eyes rose and met the elder god's again, as Jiraiya declared firmly, "That we cannot trust Sasuke. And unless I search the entire expanse of his Kingdom with my own eyes…" his dark gaze narrowed pointedly, as he finished, "I am disinclined to believe a word he says."

* * *

Sakura drew her cloak more firmly around her shoulders. After soaking in delicious smelling bath oils, hastily drying her hair, and changing into fresh clothes, she had chosen a black hooded cloak and waited for Ume and Chizu to depart with her laundry before sneaking out of her room and out of the palace. Her heart had thundered the entire way, and she'd half expected a still-shirtless Sasuke to intercept her. Thankfully he hadn't, and she'd been able to successfully slip out of the colossal, mist-warding gates without detection. She'd taken Suigetsu's advice to ' _snoop'_ around, as he'd called it, as she'd realised that she had hardly investigated the wild terrain surrounding Sasuke's grand palace. The problem was that without a map, she had absolutely no semblance of direction, or where she was heading. Stepping out of the freezing white mist always felt like a gamble, whereupon Sakura had no idea where she would end up. The vast, rocky caverns all looked so alike.

She wandered along the silvery path, optimistic that her cloak helped to at least conceal her form in the dimness, even if just by a little. She hoped that she would soon come across one of the blue-fire torches she'd spied around in her previous walks along the winding path. But her eyes were quick to adjust and Sakura had the odd feeling that her sight even seemed a little sharper than usual. Was it the strange food and drink she was consuming? She debated whether she could ask Sasuke about it at some point. Her expression fell as the thought of the death deity crossed her mind once again. She roughly guessed that it must have been at least two hours or so since she had encountered him in the forge, if not more. The memory was still so vivid in her head. Unhappily, she kicked aside stray stones, lost in a sea of contemplation.

She found herself wondering once more just what it was that was so interesting about her. Sakura was baffled. Even if she cast aside all humbleness, she couldn't fathom just _what_ had succeeded in snagging a great god's curiosity. Apart from her unnatural hair colour. That hardly warranted kidnapping, though, did it?

 _Maybe I should ask him_ , she thought, in an attempt to amuse herself, as she trudged along the path, grateful that this time she was wearing sandals with solid soles that prevented rocks from digging through into her feet. To pass the time, she began to make up silly exchanges, ones she knew she would never articulate in Sasuke's presence – but it was fun to privately entertain them, all the same.

_So, Great God, has my marvellous mind caught your notice? Because you know that's pretty much my strongest feature; even though you haven't seen much of it… yet. I understand that maybe you're bored with only these dead spirits for company but… abducting someone isn't exactly the greatest way of making friends. Unless that's just your own personal way of making friends, in which case, we really do need to work on your social skills…_

A faint smile touched her lips, as her mental dialogue continued. _You know, if my mother was here, she'd show you a thing or two. I know you're an almighty god and everything, but if there's any human who can take you on, it's my mother. She isn't scared of anything. Not even death. She's braver than I am. Do you even know how to smile? I guess you have nothing to smile about; I mean, this place outside your palace is pretty depressing, isn't it? Ever thought of decorating? Flowers would work._

She walked onwards, lost in the flow of her thoughts. _And what's with your staring, anyway?_ _It kind of freaks me out. Actually, it freaks me out a lot. I know my hair's a strange colour, but really, it's rude to stare, and it's especially bad-mannered to corner a girl when you're shirtless, and-_ she frowned, _you're such a stuck-up jerk, and even if I understand now that I can't actually send you to prison, I'll always hate you for kidnapping me. You think the fact you happen to be so good-looking will change that? I'm not that kind of girl, you bastard!_

Sakura's brows drew together. It was alarming, how erratic her thoughts toward Sasuke were. But the shameful truth was that a small part of her genuinely wanted to find out more about her captor – and not just, she was starting to realise, for the purpose of escaping from him, either. She acknowledged that a significant reason behind why Sasuke frustrated her so much was because of his clipped, standoffish nature, and how it contrasted so greatly with how intently he watched her. He seemed to make a conscious effort to place verbal distance between them – but those rules went out the window when it came to physical proximity. And that fact unsettled Sakura to no end.

It was normal, she reassured herself, for her to be curious. Wasn't it? It didn't mean anything. She was thinking too deeply into it, otherwise. Hadn't gods created humans to seek knowledge and greater understanding? It was only natural that Sasuke fascinated her as much as he frightened her. He was a Death God, who had chosen to snatch her from her home, her family and her friends. Of course she wanted to find out more about him. How had he come into existence? Did gods have mothers, and families? She had so many questions, but she didn't hold much hope that Sasuke would indulge any of them.

It wasn't fair, she decided, as she carried on walking forward, so distracted by her musings that she only realised she'd strayed from the path when she looked back and saw it glimmering faintly far behind her. She scowled unhappily. Had her mind really been so engaged by thoughts of that _jerk_ of a god that she'd lost focus of where she'd been heading? Sakura sighed, turning her head to examine the area she'd drifted into. She couldn't see anything remarkable at first glance, but more careful inspection revealed a cave-like structure to her far right. It was set snugly into a rock-face, and as she approached it, Sakura found that the inner walls of the structure glowed faintly red, then orange, and finally gold in hue, before repeating the magical colour cycle.

Her curiosity firmly captured, Sakura lifted one of the two blue-fire torches resting conveniently in holders on either side of the open rock face and ventured into the cave. She released a little gasp of delight as she turned her eyes to find a naturally formed roof that glinted with green stones of some kind. Were they real gems? Fantastic stalagmites protruded from the uneven ground, each one unique in its shape. A limestone cavern, Sakura recognised, as she walked deeper into it, trying to be as quiet as possible. The rock walls shifted colours like rainbows around her, and she wondered whether anything inhabited the cave.

 _Unlikely_ , she told herself. She was in the Underworld, after all. Unless some manner of mythical creature lurked within, but the cavern looked so bright and inviting, and Sakura's intuition wasn't warning her to run. She followed the winding path, which seemed to grow narrower, and when she glanced back over her left shoulder, she realised that the mouth of the structure was now far behind her. Shrugging, she continued onwards. The colours eventually faded off to reveal normal, grey rock, and stalactites hung from the ceiling, signalling that Sakura was heading deeper into the heart of the cavern. Her ears strained to hear a sound, other than the scraping of her sandals as they crushed over stone and natural debris.

 _I wonder where this leads_ , Sakura thought, as she followed the route left and straight to find herself at the entrance of a large, circular area, illuminated by blue-fire torches attached at regular intervals on dark walls that seemed to glint with silver-like composites.

 _Wow_ , Sakura drew in an appreciative breath, pushing back her hood to allow her an unhindered view of the impressive sight. Stalagmites towered around the expanse of the area. They glowed with unnatural blue light. Boulders were scattered about, as well as strange, hay-like piles and… feathers? Lots of feathers, she suddenly realised, and of varying hues. Did some manner of exotic bird dwell further within? She thought she heard the trickle of water, but it was too faint to discern exactly where it was coming from. The cold, damp air smelt strangely of… what _was_ that? Sakura sniffed, unable to place the scent. She spied an opening to her far right, was just about to contemplate whether to walk toward it, when the torches on the walls abruptly flickered out, plunging the area into darkness.

Sakura immediately froze, listening intently. Silence. She slowly raised the torch in her hand, trying to glimpse her surroundings. At first she couldn't see anything. But the more she stared, the more her sense of paranoia heightened. She heard seductive, feminine laughter above her, and her heart leapt into her throat in alarm. Dreading what she would see, Sakura turned her face upward, toward the stalactite populated ceiling. At least a dozen glowing, cat-slanted eyes stared down at her, causing the blood in Sakura's veins to chill to ice.

It didn't take much brain power to discern that she had walked right into trouble.

She began to turn, moving the torch frantically in an attempt to find the point where she'd entered the circular area, meaning to make a hasty dash toward safety, when the light bestowing flame snuffed out in turn, leaving her in total blackness. A choked, panicked sound escaped her lips. After death, being alone in darkness was her greatest fear. She remained perfectly still, goose-pimples surfacing on her arms, bare beneath the cloak.

 _Stay calm_ , she willed herself. She was in Sasuke's kingdom. Everything residing within it obeyed his law. Nothing would hurt her. Would it? _Stay calm. Stay calm, stay calm…_

"Sisters," a voice that Sakura could only describe as airy breathed somewhere close behind her. She spun to face it, but when the female spoke again, she had moved to Sakura's left. "What hapless little creature has stumbled upon our nest?"

Another chorus of velvety laughter filled the air. The torchlights hanging against the wall flared abruptly back to life, and Sakura caught her breath, the sight before her descending her heart into a frenzied and chaotic beat.

She was most definitely in _very_ big trouble.

Tall, voluptuous, winged women, dressed in gossamer gowns of varying hues and lengths, bound by plaited cord belts at the waist, surrounded her. Each woman possessed long, silky tresses, in shades that seemed unearthly in the blue candlelight. And that wasn't the only thing strange about them. The tips of their fingers and their toes were alarmingly sharp. Claws, Sakura registered nervously. Large wings sprouted from their backs, twitching as they stalked closed toward her, hips swaying seductively with every movement. Their eyes were strange, luminous, and their faces almost feral in their beauty. These were no angels, Sakura knew. Women with claws and wings; she'd read about harpies in mythical tales. And they were by no means amiable creatures.

 _I don't believe this_ , Sakura thought numbly. It wasn't that she didn't believe what she was seeing, although it was always a shock to encounter a new species of being that humans on the surface resigned to fairy-tales and myth. She'd had to quickly acclimatise herself to the fact that supernatural entities like sirens, nymphs – and now harpies - actually existed in Sasuke's world. But Sakura had a hard time accepting how bad luck seemed to follow her around like a bothersome shadow, just waiting to spring an unfortunate situation upon her. Of all the places in the Underworld she could have stumbled across… she'd unwittingly wandered straight into the heart of a harpy nest.

"I know her, sister," another harpy fell from the roof of the cavern, landing with predator-like grace upon the rocky, feather-strewn ground. She had pale, silvery hair and smiled at Sakura, baring razor-sharp teeth. Sakura swallowed, calling upon all her willpower to remain in place. She wasn't certain how to handle the situation she was in. Perhaps, if she remained calm, and polite, and simply apologised, they would allow her to leave unharmed.

Three more descended from the roof from they had been hanging like bats. Sakura stiffened as she felt a clawed hand scratch lightly across her shoulders, thankful that she'd had the sense to wrap a cloak around her body. The thought of those talons scraping against her skin made her shudder with disgust.

"And I," another harpy cooed, slinking forward, her violet eyes a little _too_ bright and interested for Sakura's liking. "She is the mortal maiden we lured into the field."

Sakura's gaze widened as the harpy released a velvety giggle, before transforming before her very eyes in a sudden burst of mist. Sakura found herself staring at a very familiar, innocent looking child; one of the little girls who had snatched her bag and led her into the forest. Led her away from the safety of her friends and toward the flower field.

Led her straight into Sasuke's waiting hands.

As if being kidnapped wasn't bad enough; now she had discovered that Sasuke had also resorted to deceit to acquire her! He'd used her soft spot for children against her.

Suigetsu had been telling the truth when he'd warned her that Sasuke was manipulative.

For an instant, all she could see was red, as she gasped angrily at the child-disguised harpy. "You!"

"It seems you have upset our human guest, sister," another black-haired harpy remarked, as her companion swiftly shed the childish image and retook her true form.

"We must find a way to please her," another frighteningly beautiful blonde sighed.

"Oh yes, let us please you," another murmured into Sakura's right ear, sending a jolt of fear down her spine. She wanted to snap at them not to touch her, but was afraid of provoking them. There were at least fifteen of them surrounding her now, and she could feel more eyes boring into her from above. Her mind raced as she mapped out possible courses of action. If she turned and tried to run, would they stop her? Would they go so far as to physically hurt her?

"Or if we cannot please her…" a curly red-haired harpy continued, smiling maliciously at Sakura, "…perhaps she can please us…"

A chorus of approving giggles met the suggestion.

"Oh, yes, please us…"

"Such pretty hair…" the harpy who was lingering at Sakura's ear cooed, and reached out to stroke Sakura's rosy locks. Sakura swallowed back her nausea when the tip of a claw scraped against her scalp.

"Such a pretty girl," another joined her, trailing a hand down Sakura's cloak-concealed arm.

"She is favoured," another golden-haired one stopped before her, breathless with an excitement that disturbed Sakura to her very core. "Favoured by the Master…"

"Stop!" another voice suddenly exclaimed. Sakura's eyes darted hopefully to the source. A smaller, younger harpy, with short, choppy chestnut coloured hair, stepped forward. She wasn't as curvaceous as the others, and one of her wings seemed misshapen. But the look on her face was markedly different to that of the other women who were slowly closing in on Sakura. "Don't harm her!"

"We shan't harm her, little Lirith," the others spoke in unison.

"We just want to play with her…" the redhead smiled, sharp teeth glinting in the flickering torchlight. "Just a little…"

"Yes, play. She came so sweetly to us…"

"How pleasant she smells; just like a flower."

"Such captivating eyes…"

"I wonder what she tastes like."

"Sister…" another whined. "I am so famished…"

"We all are, sister…"

"Hungry…"

"Hungry for mortal flesh…"

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face. It was time for her to leave. _Now._ She cringed away from the harpies at her shoulders, and nervously apologised, "I'm… sorry for intruding. I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go now-"

"Go?" the voices chorused in dismay, wings flapping, feet scurrying to surge forward at her attempt to retreat. Sakura backed into three other creatures, who reached out to grasp onto her cloak.

"Do not go," they implored.

"Stay with us."

"Yes… stay with us and play."

"Please let go," Sakura tugged at her cloak, but their grips were firm. Her heart pounded. Fear was starting to trickle into her legs, making them feel precarious and unstable beneath her.

"Just a little game," another harpy pleaded, brushing a sharp claw against Sakura's cheek.

"Just one…"

"Stop!" the same voice objected. "The Master instructed us not to touch her!"

"She shan't be harmed," the harpies around her cooed once again. "We will please her…"

Sakura gasped as she felt claws slip beneath her cloak, scratching against the skin of her left arm. "Don't touch me!" she cried, feeling panic, which had been steadily simmering within her, begin to overflow.

"Stop it! Isla, let her go! Get out of my way!"

Sakura snatched back her arm and shoved a stubborn harpy aside. Shock rippled over her recoiling companions' faces, giving way to immediate outrage. Their features suddenly contorted, became even more feral and terrifying. Sakura didn't stop to consider what this undoubtedly meant for her. She saw an opening – and dove straight through it, past a cluster of winged women who shrieked furiously after her.

It was the most awful sound Sakura had ever heard – but she didn't stop running toward the entrance, which her eyes had finally, blessedly, spotted again.

"She has rejected us, sisters!" one of the creatures cried.

"Ungrateful little wench!" another hissed.

"Sister, she struck me!" the harpy Sakura had pushed aside moaned.

"No! _Stop it!_ "

Sakura cried out as she was abruptly jerked back by the hood of her cloak. She lost her balance and toppled to the right, arms flailing in a futile attempt to regain her footing. Pain exploded behind her eyes and in her calf as her leg caught against a boulder's jagged edge. The momentum of the fall meant that she couldn't keep her ankle from twisting as another hostile hand snatched at her cloak, causing her to land on her left side, grazing her elbow in the process.

She choked back tears. Her right leg felt like it was on fire. Her searching fingertips brushed against warm liquid, and Sakura dizzily registered that she was bleeding. She frantically tried to get back onto her feet, but her injured leg and sprained ankle only resulted in an onslaught of agony upon her screaming nerve cells. Panting breathlessly, Sakura turned her face up, to find the harpies closing in, their features cruel, predatory. Hungry for bloodshed.

Sheer panic froze her in place like an invisible magnet, acting upon her body. Pure desperation swelled within her, and a name fell from her lips before she could comprehend it. It was instinctive. Senseless. An urgent, trembling sob for aid.

"S-Sasuke…"

The harpies inched closer. Their razor sharp claws extended to her. Seconds away from sinking into her. Ready to slit her throat. Ready to tear her galloping heart out of her chest.

Sakura opened her mouth, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

" _Sasuke!"_

* * *

Sasuke gazed absentmindedly into the mirror as he secured the final button on the collar of his top. After completing Sakura's sword, he had returned to his quarters to shower and freshen up. Snapping filigree embossed silver gauntlets into place over his arms, the death deity turned away from his reflection and exited the black-marble constructed bathroom. He crossed over to the colossal, lavishly strewn four-poster bed and picked up the jewelled scabbard he'd specifically customised to accompany the sword. Intricate swirls encircled golden flowers, their central heads set with rare, pink topaz stones. Both sheath and blade were fitting for the woman who would wield them; lightweight, beautifully wrought; an exquisite creation of nature.

Yes, it would do nicely, Sasuke thought to himself, as he took a moment to admire his handicraft. He reached out to draw the weapon from its case – and froze, every muscle in his body tensing as a frightened voice reverberated through his mind.

' _Sasuke!'_

His immortal senses placed the pleading voice with its owner immediately. Sakura. She was in pain. He extended his thoughts, seeking her location through the link forged between them by the shackles bound to her ankles – and when an image flashed in response in his mind, Sasuke inhaled sharply.

In a heartbeat, he vanished.

* * *

Sakura slapped seeking, hungry talons away, but they were replaced with others. Cruel hands snatched at her tresses, pulling painfully. Her thoughts boomed in time with the racing of her heart. Terror was clouding her vision, stealing away her ability to draw oxygen. They were all around her, everywhere, their faces no longer beautiful, but twisted and ugly, cat-slanted eyes shining with feral intensity.

_I'm going to die. He isn't coming. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'mgoingtodie-_

Suddenly, the creatures surrounding her tensed. She heard them hiss, and they began to recoil from her, slowly disbanding, their attention drawn toward the opening Sakura had tried so desperately to reach. They continued to retreat, their movements uncertain, when one of them suddenly shrieked, a high-pitched, wailing sound that was neither human nor bird.

Sakura heard the beating of wings, and a deafening chorus of alarmed cries as the harpies flew up to the roof of their nest, shedding feathers everywhere. Trembling, Sakura dared to look up, toward the exit point – only for the air to catch in her heaving lungs.

Sasuke stepped into the cavern.

Immediately, his dark eyes locked onto her - and held fast. Sakura's body shuddered more violently beneath the devastating weight of his gaze, as relief flooded through her.

 _Oh,_ she thought senselessly, trying to swallow back grateful sobs. _Thank God. Thank God…_

His face betraying nothing, Sasuke walked calmly over to her, and looked down, silently examining the state of her; dishevelled locks, a tear-stained face, the shallow scratch on her left cheek, the shredded ends of her cloak. For a heart-stopping moment, he remained perfectly still, his eyes lingering on her injured right leg.

"Sasuke," Sakura began to stammer, her nerve-endings tingling from the static-like, overpowering aura of menace she could feel radiating from his body, an alarming contrast to the unreadable expression on his features. "I-"

Wordlessly, he stepped around her, not permitting her an opportunity to explain. Sakura twisted her head, biting down on her tongue to prevent the whimper of pain from escaping her lips as she watched the death deity move unhurriedly to the centre of the circular nest.

Then, with no manner of warning save for the abrupt plunge in air temperature and the flash of crimson eyes, blinding bolts of blue-white electricity encompassed the death deity's form, snaking jaggedly around him, shooting predominantly upwards, accompanied by a terrifying and strangely melodic sound akin to a thousand birds screeching in unison. The lightning energy sent stalactites flying into the air, reducing rock matter to sizzling debris. Feathers rained down around Sasuke, as the horrifying sound of harpies screaming in agony reverberated deafeningly about the cavern. They fell from the roof of the cave like hail, writhing in anguish on the ground. Some were struck by fresh tendrils of electricity, and convulsed violently, their screams ear-splitting, heart stopping.

Sakura covered her ears, sobbing, nearly retching as the stench of charred flesh and plumage, mixed with the coppery scent of blood, filled the air. Her pulse was racing wildly, her mind thrown by the startling demonstration of the sheer, terrifying power Sasuke commanded.

The Death God spoke coldy and clearly over the riotous din, the fury in his voice chilling Sakura to the bone.

"You disobeyed me."

"Master!" the female creatures howled, their voices now almost demonic in tone. "She rejected usss…"

"Have mercy…!"

" _Spare us!"_

Sakura choked back a scream as a fresh wave of electricity pulsated from Sasuke's body. She was filled with horror when she noticed that some of the harpies were no longer moving on the floor. A few who tried hysterically to fly from the nest were stabbed mid-flight by crackling lightning.

The screams eventually began to quieten, reducing to tortured moans and groans. Finally, blessedly, the unnatural energy enveloping Sasuke spiked and ebbed – but not before he noticed one final, smaller harpy, trying to crawl away to safety. Electricity screeched into the palm of his right hand, and he drew it back, meaning to impale the youngest of the creatures – when Sakura's pleading cry caused the muscles in his arm to tense.

" _No!_ Sasuke! She tried to help me- please, _don't-!_ "

"M-mercy, Master," the brown-haired little harpy wheezed, shaking uncontrollably in fear. "Mercy!"

Sasuke's luminous, crimson eyes narrowed at the injured creature as he considered Sakura's words, before slowly lowering his arm.

"Get out of my sight," he hissed at the little harpy, who wasted no time in making herself scarce. Then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, Sasuke's bloody irises faded back to charcoal and he pivoted around and made his way nonchalantly back to Sakura, who stiffened as he knelt beside her, her eyes glassy with fear.

She had just witnessed him kill an entire nest of harpies. And those who were not dead lay seriously mutilated. All because they had disobeyed his instruction not to harm her. Such raw, devastating power... Stunned, she could only stare in stupefied, muted shock as he swept her up into his arms, and began to walk out of the cavern. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as a fresh surge of pain shot through her right leg – and when she opened them again, she was surprised to find herself in a large, unfamiliar room that was even more resplendent than her own.

It took her dazed brain a few seconds to realise that she was in Sasuke's bedchamber, but she wasn't given an opportunity to dwell on the fact, or to pay much attention to her impressive new surroundings, as Sasuke gently lowered her down onto something soft and comfortable. His bed, Sakura registered, trying to swallow back her anxiety. Then another jolt of stinging pain drew her attention back to her leg, and as Sasuke untied her cloak, she was able to view the full extent of her injuries for the first time.

What she saw caused her stomach to tighten with dread. A deep, ugly gash marred the smooth skin of her calf. She whimpered as Sasuke sat down on the side of the bed before her, and reached out to examine the wound with cool fingertips. The contrast of the carefulness of his touch with the massacre she had seen just minutes earlier made Sakura's head spin.

"Sasuke-" she began again, and was answered with a stern, silencing scowl.

"Be still."

She gulped. He seemed angry, but she couldn't figure out whether his displeasure was directed fully at her – or at the fallen harpies. She quietened, and watched in fascination as his hands glowed with an eerie, pale blue light. Warmth throbbed in her leg, and Sakura's breath hitched as the skin slowly began to mend at the brush of Sasuke's fingers. Sakura's own gripped tightly onto the dark crimson satin sheets beneath her as she stared at the healing wound in amazement, her galloping heart-beat never settling. It suddenly struck her that gods had the power to reverse all ailments and injuries. In Sasuke's case, he even possessed the ability to ward off death – if he wished it.

The gaping gash was soon reduced to a scar, which in turn faded away to leave nothing but soft skin once again. A tingle ran through Sakura's leg and her heart unexpectedly jumped as Sasuke's right palm slid slowly up her calf, a light, tantalising touch that caused her to inhale sharply. His eyes rose, locking piercingly onto hers, and for an awful moment, she couldn't look away. Then his gaze abruptly lowered back to her leg, the palm sliding down again, moving to the golden bangle around her ankle.

Sakura held her breath, as with a casual flick of the deity's wrist, the clasp fell obediently away. His left hand supported her sandal-clad heel while his right trailed over the injured muscles. Sakura felt warmth seep into her cells once more and when Sasuke had finished, the pain had vanished and she was able to move her ankle again. She drew her leg back toward her body, quickly yanking the tattered hem of her dress back down over her knee.

But Sasuke wasn't done. He reached out and brushed his glowing fingers against her left elbow, and Sakura was reminded of the graze she had sustained when falling to the rocky floor. Believing herself to be fully mended, she opened her mouth to dutifully thank him, when the feel of a hand gripping her chin caused the words on the tip of her tongue to dissipate. Her heart leapt as he tilted her face to the right, fingertips trailing over her left cheek. Warmth flooded through her skin, informing Sakura that she'd been injured there too. When it faded, and when Sasuke's index finger idly traced the curve of her cheekbone, Sakura froze, caught off-guard by the unexpected gentleness of the touch. She felt heat, unbidden, pool to her cheeks; the fingertips brushing along her jawline seemed to leave a blazing path in their wake.

She didn't dare to turn her eyes to him. Now that the agony of pain was no longer distracting and inhibiting her senses, Sakura was all too aware of his proximity once again - as well as the fact that she was in his room, sitting with him, on his bed. Her heart pounded, and a strange sensation had broken free in her stomach. An odd fluttering, as she wondered what he was doing, and why he had yet to pull his hand back. She was just about getting agitated, and ready to leap away from him, when Sasuke's hand finally lowered.

An awkward silence ensued. Sakura could feel his gaze burning into her. It was like a magnet that absolutely commanded her to look at him. She fought against it, keeping her attention fixed firmly onto the satin sheets as she whispered thickly, "Why did you hurt them…?"

Another heavy pause fell between them, and Sakura, unable to resist the pull of his eyes any longer, turned her face to him. Dark orbs captured apple-green as he answered flatly, "They harmed you."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat as the weight of his words settled over her. Something flickered in Sasuke's eyes, a guarded look she couldn't quite discern. He seemed to reconsider what he had said, for he swiftly amended, "They disobeyed me."

Sakura silently exhaled. Her mind chose that moment to examine him. He had freshened up, was clad entirely in black, save for the deep grey sash draped across his chest, tied at his left shoulder by an onyx-set silver brooch. His outfit was further accessorised by burnt silver gauntlets and a plaited silver belt. The silver circlet earring in his left ear glinted beneath the warmth of the candlelit chandelier hanging somewhere above them, and silver sandals were secured over the lower legs of his trousers. He wore dark colours well, and black best of all.

Sakura, who had changed into a silver pleat-strapped, navy coloured gown earlier, was certain that her hair looked as dishevelled as her dress. Feeling horridly self-conscious, she blurted out, "Thank you. I didn't mean to cause any-" she abruptly broke off as he reached out, tugging her right leg toward him again. Sakura's muscles immediately tensed at the contact.

"You were trying to escape," Sasuke stated quietly, his eyes fixed on the slender ankle now firmly in his grasp.

Something twisted unpleasantly in Sakura's gut. "No," she shook her head, feeling strangely troubled by how little he trusted her. "I just wanted to look around-"

Dark eyes lifted to meet hers, as he snapped the golden bangle pointedly back in place, in a gesture that wordlessly confirmed that he did not believe her.

Sakura swallowed miserably. "I swear," she insisted. "I wasn't trying to-"

"Hn. Enough," the death deity curtly dismissed, and released her ankle. Before she could protest any further, he leaned forward, causing Sakura's breath to catch in her throat at the sudden, unnerving proximity. He was near enough for her to smell his warm-spice scent. Her pulse drummed erratically as his eyes lowered to her lips. She tensed as his left arm lifted to snake around her, and he drew closer, his mouth just inches shy of touching her own.

 _Oh God_ , she thought frantically, unable to tear her gaze away, unable to function, unable to do anything as panic seized her body. _He's-_

With unruffled nonchalance, Sasuke pulled back, producing something in his left hand, an object he had retrieved from behind her. Sakura looked stupidly down, to find the scabbard of a sword in his grasp. It was beautifully formed, featuring filigree swirls and golden flowers, set with deep pink gems.

Sasuke pressed it into her hands. Sakura gulped, reminded of their encounter in the forge. So he had completed her sword. Which meant…

"Please," she began, "I don't want-"

But he had already risen from the bed. "You will return to your chamber and change into something more…" he paused briefly, dark eyes trailing over her clothes, before finishing "...suitable."

Sakura blinked down at the encased blade, and then back up at Sasuke, finding no room for negotiation in his unforgiving eyes, as he added, "Then we spar."


	21. Chapter XX

**Chapter XX**

* * *

_Take up arms, the time is nigh,_

_For you to take to those two feet,_

_Away from constrictive, repressive eyes,_

_That kept you chained in caged retreat,_

_Come show him now, what you can do,_

_And crush the doubts he holds for you._

* * *

Sakura's shoulders hunched unhappily as she trudged after Sasuke. Part of her had secretly harboured hopes that the death deity would depart ahead of her, and consequently allow her an opportunity to examine his room in greater detail, but he had swiftly opened the elaborate double-doors in a wordless instruction for her to follow him out. Clearly, Sasuke did not wish to waste any time in commencing their so-called 'sparring' session. As far as Sakura was concerned, the word was synonymous with her being utterly humiliated. Her eyes lifted to rest sulkily on the back of Sasuke's raven head as he led her toward her chamber. She silently wondered why he was bothering to escort her, but decided against questioning him about it. As they reached the doors to her bedroom, and Sakura entered, she cast an uncertain glance back at the god who lingered by the doorway.

"Meet me in the entrance hall," he stated. "You have fifteen minutes."

Sakura's lips parted incredulously, before she reminded him, "I don't have a watch."

In response, Sasuke stepped forward. She stiffened as his eyes narrowed at her, and he reached out to grasp both door handles.

"Estimate," he uttered curtly, and with that, stepped back out of her chamber, pulling the doors shut with him.

Anger spiked within Sakura, causing her to glare heatedly after him. She released a little sound of frustration, and stomped her freshly healed right foot on the ground – a childishly petulant action, she knew, but was far too vexed at that moment to feel ashamed about it.

"Jerk," she huffed beneath her breath. He was just utterly _impossible_ , so completely and unashamedly arrogant and infuriating. But hadn't she been grateful to him for saving her life just minutes earlier? Now the pendulum of her feelings had swung straight back to hatred. She exhaled, remembering the feel of feather-light fingertips trailing up her calf, down her cheek, along her jaw. The mere memory set something fluttering oddly in her stomach again, and a frustrated scowl settled on her face. What was the _matter_ with her? The swiftness in which her sentiments toward Sasuke altered was unsettling. She despised him for pushing her into sword training, an activity that would be thoroughly uncomfortable for her to endure, yet she felt guilty for bad-naming the very person who had appeared to aid her within seconds of her calling his name. Someone who'd had no qualms about slaughtering malicious creatures simply because they had intended on harming her.

She was finally starting to realise, with alarming clarity, that Suigetsu's assumptions actually held some merit. She'd been foolish to doubt him, to cling to denial. The death deity seemingly _did_ hold a peculiar kind of interest in her, certainly enough to punish those who threatened her well-being.

' _They harmed you.'_ Sakura's heart skipped a beat at the recollection of Sasuke's response to the question she had posed to him. It had taken precedence over the harpies disobeying his orders. What did the fact that he had chosen to disclose those words initially mean? What did it mean when his hand had lingered upon her leg, and on her face?

He was a god. She was mortal. It didn't mean anything. It _couldn't._ Just thinking about it made her mind throb.

Shoving the subject out of her head, Sakura swallowed and looked down at the sword in her possession. It was nowhere near as intimidating as Sasuke's, but felt strangely suited to her arm and was surprisingly lightweight when grasped with both hands. The scabbard was a work of art, she reluctantly admitted, tracing over a silver filigree coil with her left index finger. And the pink stones – something told her that Sasuke's decision to include the colour was not merely down to coincidence.

Sakura turned her attention to the burnt gold-hued, elegant hilt, wrought with silver, vine-like swirls. Closer inspection revealed leaf-shaped engravings, set with tiny emeralds. She drew the blade from its sheath and released an appreciative breath. It glinted in the warm candlelight, its polished length slender yet durable. She shifted her eyes nervously to the sharp, pointed tip. How was she ever going to master the use of such a magnificent weapon?

She slipped the sword back into its jewelled casing, and tossed it onto the bed, feeling anxious. Why hadn't she just refused Sasuke's order? What would he have done if she had?

 _It's not like he would have killed me_ , she internally grumbled, wrapping her arms comfortingly around herself. Then she thought about how Sasuke treated others who disobeyed him, the image of writhing harpies flashing through her mind, and she began to pace agitatedly about the room. Making him mad certainly would not help her cause. He already trusted her so little. She had seen proof of that when he'd snapped the golden bangle back over her right ankle. He was so ready to accuse her of trying to escape from the Underworld…

She took a deep breath, held it for three seconds, before slowly letting it out. _No_ , she reasoned _._ Now was _not_ the time to rebel. In order for Suigetsu's plan to work, she had to gain some measure of Sasuke's trust. It would be a laborious, uphill climb to do so, but she had to at least _try_. And if her pride had to take a blow in the process of fighting for escape, then what other choice did she have?

Sighing heavily, she moved to the massive wardrobe and threw its central doors open. Hands on hips, she stared at the wonderful assortment of dresses. None of them were appropriate for a sword-fighting session. What in the world was she supposed to wear?

"Change into something more _suitable_ , Sakura," she muttered to herself, mimicking Sasuke's earlier words. "Not that it's going to make a difference, because you're going to get your butt kicked, anyway…"

She trailed off as something caught her eye. Placed at the end of the long rack of flowing gowns was a collection of what seemed to be clothing specifically designed for more active activities. Sakura pulled one out, and examined a deep red dress with short, angel sleeves and a brown, leather, pleated skirt. The outfit also featured a sweetheart neckline and a brown corset. It looked like it would reach halfway down her thighs in length at the very most. She blushed furiously. There was no _way_ she would wear it to a training session with Sasuke.

An idea suddenly entered her mind. Perhaps, if she wore shorts beneath the skirt, it would be more acceptable. She rummaged through the lingerie drawer, and found nothing suitable in it. Then she pulled open the hosiery and slipper drawer, and was relieved to find a dark brown, legging-like garment that reached her knees. It was tight-fitting – but would conceal her bare skin.

 _This will do_ , Sakura told herself, and quickly changed into the clothes. She turned to the full-bodied, angel-framed mirror once she was done, scrutinising her reflection. The short dress fit snugly to her form, accentuating her natural curves. She pulled nervously at the neckline, rearranging it to cover her breasts more modestly, before tying the brown strings at the front of the bust and bodice. Then she turned back to the wardrobe, and opened the shoe compartment, immediately spying a brown, knee-length pair of sandals. She stepped into them, secured the straps in place, and then searched through the wardrobe's inner shelves, finding a pair of brown, leather arm-guards. Sakura pulled them on, fastened them at the elbows, and turned back to her reflection – and frowned.

Her hair was a dishevelled mess.

She walked over to the bathroom and scrubbed her face, promising herself that she would have another long soak in the tub after what she was sure would be a gruelling and disastrous sparring session – then returned to her room and hastily brushed her hair, smoothing it down as much as possible. When she was happy that it no longer looked like a tangled pink bush, she pulled it up into a high pony-tail and stood back to regard her completed outfit in the mirror.

Surprisingly, it looked decent, like an old-fashioned, female gladiator costume that looked unexpectedly stylish on her. She retrieved her sword, made to leave the room, but hesitated at the last moment, moving back to the vanity table to douse herself with perfume. Ino had often told her that a lady _always_ smelled good, regardless of the situation. It was the _only_ reason, Sakura insisted to herself, why she had chosen to touch up on fragrance. Casting one final glance at her reflection, she exited her room.

* * *

Sasuke flicked an irritated glance toward the top of the staircase. Sakura's sense of time, he had quickly realised, was completely off. The fifteen minutes he had allocated to her had dragged on to thirty five. Even without a clock to guide her, surely she had to realise that she'd kept him waiting for far longer than he had instructed? And Sasuke was _not_ accustomed to being made to wait. What was she _doing?_ All he had asked was for her to change into something more appropriate.

Broodingly, he turned away and began to pace the entrance hall impatiently once again. The wrath that had flared within him when he'd discovered an injured Sakura in the harpies' den still lingered. Sheer anger had pushed him to accuse her of attempting to escape his realm, but the stricken look on her face had confirmed that she had not intended to do so. She had only wanted to explore his kingdom further. The death deity's eyes narrowed distrustfully. He didn't believe for a second that Sakura had completely given up on her desire to leave the Underworld. It struck him as suspicious, that she had made no further attempt at doing so since learning of his true identity. Was it fear alone that commanded her compliance? Or did something else account for her unexpected obedience to his will?

He allowed his thoughts to unravel as he waited. When he had healed her, he had been furious – and not only because he'd been disobeyed by foolish, doom-seeking harpies. He had also been frustrated with Sakura. She was far too weak. Far too delicate. The reality was that she would not last a minute out in the darkness of the Underworld's caverns without him watching vigilantly over her. It simply wouldn't do, he fumed to himself, for her to be so defenceless. She needed to toughen up, and toughening her up was precisely what he was going to do.

But that was not the only thing he intended. He would harden Sakura in the ways of battle and develop her sword-fighting prowess – and break her resistance to him in the process. His pulse quickened as he recalled the alluring sight of her, wide-eyed and shaken and breathless, sitting on _his_ bed, watching as his fingers had worked to heal her injuries. He'd felt her muscles tense at his touch. He'd heard her breath catch in her throat. He'd seen the pink blush that had stained her cheeks. And he had wanted nothing more than to push her down onto the satin sheets, and teach her a different kind of lesson for being reckless enough to roam the terrain beyond his palace alone.

Sasuke released a quiet hiss of breath. Following the reaction he had witnessed from Sakura in the forge, he was finding it increasingly more difficult to keep his hands from touching her. And although he relished the opportunity and excuse to do so that their sparring sessions would undoubtedly bring, he was also wary of the fact that he would have to work harder to keep his restraint firmly in check. It was soon approaching a surface fortnight since he had first snatched her from the fields. Desire for her, to feel the heat of her body beneath his, was becoming unbearable. But that was not all. He hungered to understand her, and the confounding reactions and sensations she instigated within him.

When he had first heard Sakura's call to him, and realised her location, something had twisted unpleasantly in his stomach. An immediate gut response to the realisation that she had been in danger – and that fact disturbed and troubled him.

The sight of her tear-stained cheeks had bothered him. Why? He had wanted to snap at her to cease her pitiful weeping. And her terrified plea for him to spare the smallest harpy had stayed his hand. He'd found himself sparing a creature he otherwise would not have thought twice about mutilating. _Why?_

The sound of light footsteps descending the majestic staircase behind him drew Sasuke out of his gloomy contemplations. He turned to find Sakura making her way slowly down the steps. His eyes trailed over the outfit she had selected, noting that she had chosen to conceal her upper legs. A sensible decision. Her hair was tied back from her face, and it made her appear younger, even more innocent.

She stopped at the final step, and shiftily averted her gaze, muttering, "I hope this is suitable."

Sasuke gave her a pointed look, before spinning curtly on his heel. "Hn. Come."

Sakura pulled a face, assuming that his lack of answer meant that she had dressed appropriately. She followed him to the right of the hallway, beneath the arched openings, and through a door that led down a long, narrow, stone corridor.

"Where are we going?" she asked, as Sasuke opened the wooden door at the end of the passageway and stepped into a small, square shaped room that was fully constructed in grey stone. It was dimly illuminated by torches set in bronze sconces, fixed on each of the four walls.

When Sasuke did not reply, Sakura's eyebrows drew together to form a perplexed frown. She then noticed the lever-like device on the floor. The death god reached out to grasp her elbow, tugged her to stand beside him in the centre of the room, and pulled the lever back.

Sakura stared blankly at it, and for a few seconds, nothing happened. Then she yelped and instinctively grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt when the ground beneath them suddenly rumbled and began to move. The death deity's gaze lowered briefly to the small fingers clutching at his left side, but he did nothing to remove them. Sakura quickly let go when she realised what was happening. They were standing on a circular platform that was rotating down a long, vertical shaft. So the lever had operated it. Sakura spied tracks set into the stone wall surrounding them and immediately understood how the mechanism worked; the platform lowered by spiralling down along the rails. The journey was a long, dizzy one, and by the time they had reached the bottom, Sakura felt quite queasy.

Sasuke, in stark contrast, was completely unaffected. He stepped gracefully off the platform, which had come to rest in an enormous, stone-constructed room. Towering, sturdy columns lined the far left and right walls. Another set of pillars formed a massive circle that surrounded the centre of the room. In the middle was a humungous, lowered, circular area. A small set of five stairs encircled it, leading down to its sandy base. In the top right corner of the arena were a cluster of wooden posts and balancing beams of varying heights, lengths and diameters. The room was brightly illuminated by the multitude of golden chandeliers hanging from the high, dome shaped ceiling. Sakura spied a single, wooden, arched door in the centre of the left wall. There were no windows, yet the air felt surprisingly cool.

A rectangular, blue-cloth draped table laden with goblets, jugs, a gold-filled crystal decanter, and a small selection of dishes had been set to the right of the circular area. Beside it was a wooden crate which held a curious selection of what appeared to be training-related items, including discs and wooden pegs and sticks. A large, uchiwa fan crest was painted in the middle of the far wall ahead of her, its edges bearing cracks that had not been refilled. The fan also adorned the gold-stitched tapestries hanging from the walls, but the daunting room was undecorated and surprisingly plain otherwise.

A greater sense of curiosity overcame Sakura as she once again found herself pondering the significance of the symbol. What did it mean? She turned her head, meaning to ask Sasuke about it, but the death deity was already making his way toward the circular area. Nervousness fluttered through her. She was alone with an immortal god, about to engage in her first sword-training session. And there didn't appear to be a quick and immediate exit back to the ground floor of the palace.

Sasuke had descended the steps, and cast an expectant look back at her. Sakura's pulse quickened. Part of her wanted to protest that she really had not been serious when she'd asked him to tutor her, but the expression on Sasuke's face communicated all she needed to know. He would not allow her to leave until their first lesson was over.

Reluctantly, she followed him and stepped into what was evidently the sparring arena.

"The training dome," Sasuke formally introduced, gesturing to the area surrounding them.

"Is that platform the only way to get down here?" And get _out_ , Sakura silently added.

"Yes," Sasuke nodded.

Sakura noticed another lever, set into the top ring of steps to her left. "What does that do?" she pointed.

"It unearths the second level of the arena," Sasuke answered cryptically, before his left hand moved to draw his sword, affording her a detailed view of the weapon. The long, slender blade glinted pure steel. It had a black hilt, was exquisitely forged, and Sakura was once again struck by how very deadly and sharp it looked. The proficiency and effortless grace of Sasuke's hold only served to amplify her anxiety.

"Kusanagi," he uttered, causing Sakura's eyes to dart from the katana to his face. "A lightning blade that cleaves through everything it strikes."

He began swiping slow, idle motions in the air and Sakura watched in awe as blue-white sparks suddenly crackled into existence around his hand, before swiftly sweeping upwards and outwards to envelop the entire length of the weapon, spiking erratic tendrils of lightning. It was the same frightening energy he had used to floor the harpies. Then, abruptly, Sasuke stabbed the sword into the ground, the blade emitting the same melodic screech she had heard back in the nest. Sakura's eyes widened as the sand surrounding the area flew up and away, giving way to stone, cracked beneath the force of the strike, splintered as though it were made of wood.

She slowly exhaled, unnerved and fascinated all at once. "How do you do that…?" she asked him, referring to the electricity snaking around the sword. The blue-white light danced across Sasuke's face, its glow rendering his chiselled features even more unearthly, and Sakura could not tear her eyes away. Her heart pounded. Just how much power did he possess, to fracture through stone like it was merely fine spun glass?

The lightning tendrils ebbed before hissing out of existence. Sasuke broke eye contact, and replied, "Chakra; a combination of spiritual and physical energy that, once honed, affords particular abilities."

 _Chakra._ Sakura's brain eagerly stored the new information. She was internally surprised by how readily her captor was offering it, knew that it was imperatively important that she didn't miss a word. She hoped that Sasuke wasn't planning on using his special _abilities_ during their training sessions; she was already at enough of a disadvantage without him calling on what looked to her to be magical powers.

"Only to gods?" Sakura questioned next.

Sasuke shook his head, his dark gaze meeting hers again. "All living things house chakra."

Sakura stared back at him, baffled. "You mean… I could do that too?"

"No," Sasuke stated. "The chakra contained within mortal cells is significantly weaker. It can only be channelled to enhance physical strength and reflexes. It cannot be manipulated to form elemental energy."

 _Oh._ Sakura tried not to let her disappointment show. From the description the death deity had given her, she understood that chakra was some type of natural source of internal energy that could somehow be called upon and harnessed to increase stamina, fitness and power. She wondered how that was done, and debated whether Sasuke would grant her another detailed answer.

It suddenly then occurred to Sakura that the conversation they were having was probably the most extended one they'd had since she had woken up in the Underworld. Then the fact that they were having an actual civil conversation struck her, causing her heart to skip a beat. For the first time, Sasuke wasn't being sarcastic or curt in his responses to her questions, and that fact made Sakura feel a little less intimidated in his presence. His deep voice was like black velvet, rich and mesmerising. She was silently disconcerted by how utterly compelled she felt to listen to each and every word he said.

Her focus turned back to the subject at hand. Sasuke was obviously knowledgeable about it; his clear explanations reflected that fact. Then she reminded herself, _of course_ he knew all about it; he was a god who knew everything there was to know about… well, _everything._

"How is chakra channelled?" she asked.

Sasuke paused. It seemed to him that Sakura was genuinely eager to learn more; he had her full and undivided attention. "Through training," he said. Then, pointing the tip of Kusanagi toward her, he ordered, "Draw your sword."

Sakura's anxiety instantly returned. "Umm," she began uncertainly, her eyes darting erratically to rest on anything _but_ the handsome god before her, as she fumbled to express her primary concern. Her nerves got the better of her, causing her to blurt out, "You- you'll go easy on me… right?"

Sasuke blinked once, stared at her for a second in a manner that only served to heighten her agitation – when, to her utter astonishment, the left corner of his lips drew back to form the faintest hint of a wicked smirk. Sakura's breath caught at the sinfully sexy sight, and her heart proceeded to race before she had even begun to physically exert herself.

Why was he giving her such a look…? What in the world was he thinking? She was dismayed to feel warmth trickle into her cheeks. Did she really _want_ to know?

"Draw your sword," Sasuke simply repeated.

Sakura nervously wet her lips. Awkwardly, she pulled her freshly forged blade from its scabbard, setting the casing on the steps behind her. Then her gaze returned to Sasuke, who stepped toward her. She tensed as he began to circle her, waited for his next instruction – when something knocked into the centre of her spine, causing her to stiffen in surprise.

"Straighten your back," Sasuke's reprimanding voice spoke directly behind her. She realised that he'd struck her lightly with the blunt base of his blade's hilt. She rigidly did as he asked, then felt something cool and hard rest against the side of her right knee and looked down to find the Kusanagi hovering between her legs. Her heart leapt in alarm, and she was ready to turn and demand what Sasuke was doing, when pressure was applied against her knee, effectively forcing her legs further apart.

Sakura swallowed. She understood that Sasuke had just corrected her posture, but that didn't stop an embarrassed blush from rushing to fill her cheeks. He could have just _asked_ her to space her feet, damn it…

The death deity nonchalantly drew the sword back and stepped around her, his eyes scrutinising her stance.

"Raise your blade," he ordered next, his tone brisk once again. Sakura complied. While the sword in her hand was not unbearably heavy, she was unaccustomed to wielding the weapon, and her grasp felt clumsy, uncomfortable. When she tried a few experimental loops, it felt stranger still.

"Your elbow," Sasuke prompted, and Sakura was reminded of their encounter in the armoury, and immediately straightened it. She was confused when Sasuke said nothing more, merely stood back to regard her with dark eyes. The seconds inched by, and before Sakura had even counted a full nine in her head, the muscles in her arm began to ache. A further five seconds passed, and Sakura's arm, overcome by the pull of gravity, gave up, lowering the sword back to her side.

"Hn," Sasuke released a snort of contempt. The girl had managed to keep her arm raised for the pathetic duration of fourteen seconds; even less than the seventeen he had anticipated. She would need to learn how to channel basic chakra flow through her internal chakra network before their sparring sessions could truly commence. Which meant he had to start with the very basics.

Sakura watched, puzzled, as he stepped out of the arena and over to the wooden crate, picking it up like it weighed nothing more than a plastic box. Then, joining her once again, the Death God set it down, and took out a selection of slender, metallic hoops from one of the inner compartments. Sakura noticed that they were different sizes in diameter. Stabbing Kusanagi into the ground beside it, Sasuke lifted one of the wider hoops.

"Catch it."

"With my hands?" Sakura asked hopefully, thinking that the task seemed simple enough.

"…" Sasuke gave her a look. "With your sword."

Sakura glanced down at her blade. She reasoned that as long as Sasuke threw one at a time, and didn't toss them too fast, the task was achievable, as long as she concentrated on her timing, which she supposed was the purpose of the exercise.

"Alright," she answered cautiously. She was relieved that Sasuke wasn't engaging her in an aggressive round of sword-fighting right away, at least.

He threw the first ring, almost leisurely, and Sakura raised her sword, swiping it out the air with little trouble. She allowed the hoop to fall around her arm and looked expectantly back at Sasuke, who tossed the second at a similar pace. She caught it. He threw a third, a little faster, and to her left. The fourth was tossed to her right. The fifth, he threw lower down, and without waiting for her to straighten, chucked the sixth, way over her head. He paused, watching as she scrambled frantically back to retrieve it mid-flight, his eyes carefully gauging her reaction speed. Then he tossed another, more quickly, to her right. Even before she had lunged to catch it, he threw another to her left.

"Wait!" she protested. "You're going too fast!"

"Hn," he snorted, as the ring he had thrown fell to the flat sand coated floor. " _You_ are too slow."

Sakura frowned lightly at this, but before she could say anything else, Sasuke held out his right hand. She watched in astonishment as the rings flew off her arm, back into his waiting grasp, like metals attracted to an overpowering magnet.

 _That's so cool_ , a tiny voice in her head whispered. Shocked that she would even think such a thing, she stomped it out, turning her focus back to the death deity, who was holding up another ring.

"Again," he instructed, tossing the first hoop. She snagged it, and leapt to the right for the next, her eyes darting back to him in anticipation of the third. But Sasuke threw it together with the fourth, at different heights, and in two different directions. Sakura gritted her teeth, snatching one before scurrying back for the other. She released a relieved sigh when she managed to grab both before they hit the ground – but wasn't given a chance to enjoy her little achievement, as Sasuke threw two more in kind – rings that were noticeably smaller in diameter.

He was steadily making the task more difficult, Sakura realised, and forcing her to exert herself to a greater degree, pushing her into reacting even faster. She scrambled to catch them, losing her balance as she lunged with an outstretched arm to snag the second ring out of the air. But Sasuke was relentless. With the ghost of a smirk gracing his lips, he threw three more in succession.

Sakura gasped, managed to grab one, and just missed the second. The third landed on the top of her head, making her yelp and raise her free hand to her scalp in discomfort.

"Focus," Sasuke's hard voice censured.

Breathing hard, she opened her mouth to argue that hurtling three at her wasn't fair – but her merciless trainer had already tossed another two. Her eyes widened and she rushed to catch them. Sasuke tossed three in a row again, one after the other. Setting her jaw in determination, Sakura's gaze darted quickly between the three airborne rings, her mind rapidly calculating where the other two were likely to land based on the speed and direction they were travelling, before leaping to snatch the first with her sword. Immediately she pivoted, dashing back to her right, successfully managing to catch the second. The last one had been heading over her. She turned, her gaze widening as she glimpsed the final ring, descending rapidly to the floor. She threw herself forward, lunging to catch it – and fell to the ground, thrusting her blade forward just in time to snag the edge of the ring. It fell over her arm, and she sat up, breathless, turning to regard Sasuke with a triumphant smile.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, feeling immensely accomplished and proud of herself.

Sasuke felt something twinge unexpectedly within him. That smile. It was the first time she had offered it to him. And it was as beautiful and blindingly brilliant as the sunlight that never touched the planes of his realm. Her green eyes twinkled with victory, and he was struck by the sight. Quickly, he averted his gaze, concealing his internal reaction. Sakura had started out unconvincingly, but had quickly developed a strategy that would increase her chances of obtaining all rings. And it was the correct strategy.

She was a fast and eager learner. And the death deity found himself reluctantly approving of that.

"Hn," he turned back to the crate, allowing her a moment to gulp down oxygen. He picked up a new set of hoops – these even smaller than the last set, and held up the first in the batch.

Sakura got back to her feet. _'Hn?'_ That was all he was going to say? She wasn't given time to dwell on it, because Sasuke threw two more hoops at her – at a much faster speed than before. Sakura flinched, catching one, but missing the other, her short-lived happiness faltering. Two more hurtled toward her – one aimed directly at her head. She squeaked, raising her sword in defence, somehow managing to parry the hoop away instead of snagging it. She managed to pluck the other out of the air, but it was considerably more difficult. When Sasuke tossed another three, she knew with a sinking feeling that there was no way she could retrieve them all. She managed one; the other two fell with a dull thud to the floor. She stopped, lungs burning, and directed an angry glare at the death deity.

"Please…! Slow down!"

He shot her a contemptuous look.

She scowled in response. "You're making it too difficult-"

"Focus," he clipped again, before throwing another two discs in separate directions. Sakura sprinted, lunging for one, and then scurried back for the other – but Sasuke had already tossed another three into the air. Sakura unhappily gave up, finding no point in wasting her energy. She fell to her knees on the dusty floor, exhausted from the strenuous and relentless exercise. If Sasuke had intended for it to be a gentle warm-up activity of sorts, he'd grossly overdone it. She hadn't even thought of stretching beforehand, and knew her muscles would punish her for the oversight later.

She glanced up as the death deity approached, and looked down unsympathetically at her.

"Get up," he ordered coldly.

Sakura fought to regulate her breathing. "Just… just give me a minute to-"

Cool steel touched her throat, as Sasuke pressed the tip of his blade against her skin, and commanded more emphatically, " _Get up_."

Sakura gulped, and hauled herself back to her feet. Her heart was still drumming, and leapt when Sasuke gestured to the lowest of the wooden poles, set in the cluster of posts and balancing beams in the upper corner of the arena behind him. What was he going to ask her to do next?

"What are those for…?" she asked nervously.

"Chakra training," the death deity responded, before leaping gracefully and fluidly onto the tallest, thinnest post, turning to regard her with perfect poise and balance. "When you step onto the first post," he gestured toward the lowest, thickest one with Kusanagi, "focus chakra into your legs."

Sakura stared at him, towering over her like a dark, majestic hawk on an unreachable perch. "How do I channel chakra to my legs?" she frowned. She didn't even know how to access the mysterious energy source.

"Clear your mind," Sasuke instructed. "Focus on the physical energy contained within you, and the spiritual energy that surrounds you. When your mind and body become one, you will connect with your chakra flow."

Sakura blinked blankly up at him. Sasuke wanted her to _meditate?_ She'd accompanied Ino on a few yoga classes in the past, which had only lasted for three weeks before her best friend had swiftly moved onto a different health craze. She had managed it fine back then; but how was she going to clear her mind with _Sasuke_ standing there with her, watching her with the same intensity with which an eagle examined a particularly interesting morsel?

She knew the purpose of the exercise; to test her sense of balance, as well as chakra channelling. But the latter seemed to Sakura like an utter impossibility; she hadn't even _heard_ of chakra prior to entering the training grounds. She was probably going to fail miserably at connecting to it.

The death deity pointed his blade expectantly toward the lowest post. It reached just below Sakura's waist in height. She propped her sword against it, then cautiously climbed up. It was wide enough to stand comfortably on, and she looked to Sasuke for the next instruction.

"When you have connected to your chakra flow, use your post to cross to the next," here he gestured to the post a short leap away in front of Sakura. The jump was achievable; but landing in perfect balance at the top was another matter entirely. Knowing her luck, she would fall right off and land flat on her face. She felt her cheeks warm in mortification at the mere thought. Sasuke was so flawless at everything he did, which was to be expected of a god; but she certainly did _not_ want to look like an incompetent, clumsy idiot before him.

"How do I know if I've connected to my chakra flow?"

"You will know," Sasuke replied cryptically.

Sakura swallowed. If she _did_ fail, she reasoned, then Sasuke only had himself to blame for giving her unreasonable tasks that were way ahead of her capabilities.

She summoned the memory of the yoga lessons she'd experienced in the past, recalling the breathing exercises the eccentric female instructor had given the students in attendance, and closed her eyes. She could still feel the weight of Sasuke's stare as he watched her, but forced herself not to focus on it. She drew a deep breath, held it for five seconds, before slowly exhaling, working to clear her mind of all thoughts.

At first it was difficult. She kept worrying about getting it wrong, what Sasuke would do if she did, how he might react – but she told herself to concentrate on her breathing. Eventually, she felt her pulse growing steadier within her.

She was at one with her environment; the same way she had always felt perfectly attuned to nature. Her mind was free; in harmony with her body. She was in a safe place where nothing and nobody could reach her…

The death deity watched her intently. His crimson eyes informed him that the aura of agitation surrounding her had calmed significantly. He could see the outlines of her inner chakra network, branching out with delicate veins, its natural hue a pale, pleasant green. It flowed steadily through her in response to her deep, even breathing. Sasuke was silently surprised to find that he was unexpectedly impressed; Sakura clearly possessed a greater discipline over her mind than he had initially realised. Was it down to luck, he mused, or was it possible that she had a natural knack for concentrating her chakra flow? It was certainly a possibility for mortals to reach such an elevated spiritual state; but doing so usually required many years of intense, focused training. How was it possible that Sakura, who he knew to be entirely inexperienced in combat of any kind, was able to regulate her chakra at the first attempt? Intrigued, he waited for her to make her move, curious to see what she would do. Channelling chakra was one thing; controlling it was another.

A strange stillness had settled over Sakura's senses. She saw a multitude of colours behind her closed eyelids, like a rainbow spectrum that kept shifting every few seconds. She felt warmth radiate through her, followed by a funny tingle, like her nerve-endings were responding to a low voltage stimulus. It was an odd yet pleasant sensation. Was this what Sasuke had meant, she silently wondered, when he'd told her that she would know when her chakra was channelled correctly? She was amazed at the confirmation that such energy truly existed, and turned her mind to her legs. She wanted the colours she could see to pour into them. She tried to direct them to do so, and for the first few attempts, nothing happened.

 _Focus_ , she willed herself. Surely there had to be a way to channel the warmth into her legs. If she just concentrated on imagining the colours streaming through her blood vessels a _little_ harder… just a little bit more…

Her legs tingled, almost felt as though they were burning, and her eyes flew open, an astonished gasp escaping her lips.

"My legs," she exclaimed, "they feel... different."

"…" Sasuke's gaze lowered, to find that she had managed to direct her chakra to the limbs he had specified. His eyes locked back onto her face. She was staring at him with a look of uncertainty.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat when Sasuke slowly raised a dark brow at her. "Hn. You have channelled your chakra," he stated. She was shocked to detect a grudging look of _something_ passing transiently across his features – but it was gone too quickly for her to decode. He gestured toward the post, and nodded for her to attempt to leap to it.

Sakura faltered in the face of the daunting task, and felt some of the warmth in her legs immediately dissipate. Alarmed, she crushed down the anxiety, trying to return her mind to its previously balanced state. She slowly inhaled, ignoring the way the Death God was watching her, directing her attention completely onto the surface of the post. It was still wide enough to support both her feet. She could do it. And if she didn't succeed the first time, what did it matter? She had already managed to channel her very own chakra! That in itself was a feat, she knew.

The warmth returned to her legs. It was then or never, she told herself. She took a deep breath, counted down from five, her mind racing to approximate the jumping distance, her heart pounding with adrenaline. When she got to zero, she darted off her perch. Her right foot landed on top of the post, and she teetered precariously forward. She'd applied too much of a force behind the jump, and her arms flailed to regain balance.

"Your chakra will anchor you – if you retain it," Sasuke's voice cleaved through the panic of her thoughts.

She immediately redirected her thoughts to her legs. Somehow, miraculously, she managed to steady herself, placing her left foot firmly beside the right. She released a relieved breath, and turned her face to Sasuke, who was scowling at the less than graceful jump he had witnessed.

"You lost your focus," he deadpanned.

Sakura stiffened. "I've never done this before," she shot back, a part of her irritated that he chose to criticise her instead of acknowledging what she had done well. Her mind stilled at the realisation. Why was she annoyed at all? It wasn't like she even _wanted_ him to think anything of the fact that she had managed to channel her chakra on the first attempt.

"Summoning chakra is useless if you lack control," Sasuke added, as if directly reading her mind. A sinking feeling filled her – one she stubbornly refused to identify as disappointment.

"This is new to me," she defended incredulously.

"Hn," Sasuke dismissed, thoroughly unimpressed, before gesturing to the next post. "Again."

Sakura folded her arms unhappily. "No," she said, prompting the death deity to lift a questioning eyebrow at her refusal. Quickly, she added, "I mean, I _can't_. I won't be able to do it."

Dark eyes narrowed disapprovingly at her. "Giving up, Sakura…?" he taunted. Perhaps, he told himself, she was not so eager to learn, after all.

Sakura clenched her teeth tightly, forcing back her mounting frustration. "People train for years to do things like this. I got lucky with this post; there's no way I'll make the next one."

"You redirected your chakra," Sasuke stated pointedly, reminding her that she had already managed to succeed in a task she'd initially viewed as impossible.

Sakura's eyes widened. Was he acknowledging her achievement after all? "Sasuke," she began. "I…"

"Again," he repeated.

She swallowed miserably. She didn't feel like she could even focus enough to channel chakra back into her legs. Irritated that she was being pressured to do something she knew she could not succeed in without dedicated practice, she jumped hurriedly to the next post, falling well off the mark she'd aimed for. She winced as she landed on her rear on the ground. Sasuke swiftly descended from his post and joined her.

"You did not try," he reprimanded.

Sakura felt her patience begin to splinter. "I can't do it," she answered petulantly, glaring at his sandal-clad feet. She was a realist who was aware of her capabilities and what she couldn't achieve. Sasuke clearly had his head in metaphorical clouds if he thought she stood a chance at actually using her personal chakra stash to improve her fighting prowess. "I'm not a fighter," she muttered, extending her legs. Now that the warmth of chakra flow had worn off, they felt oddly sore – as though she had overstrained her muscles.

Without warning, Sasuke stepped forward, stabbing his Kusanagi into the ground between her legs. Sakura flinched, drawing her knees close to her chest, her heart leaping fearfully to her throat as Sasuke crouched down to regard her with a glare that had the ability to freeze over hell itself.

"You will be," he clipped, and before she could respond, reached out and yanked her back onto her feet. Sakura gaped after him, watching as he moved over to the table with dishes and beverages. He poured a little of the golden drink from the decanter into a goblet and returned to her, practically thrusting it into her face.

"Drink," he ordered.

Sakura accepted the offering in bewilderment. "Why are you doing this?" The question came out little above a whisper. "I don't understand _why_ you would waste your time on-"

"Retrieve your sword," he cut her off abruptly. Sakura bit her lower lip, her frustration cresting.

"Please, I just want to know-" she tried, once again, to be polite.

But Sasuke clearly did not hold manners in high regard. He shot her a withering look that warned her she was sorely pushing it. Part of Sakura, the raging part that was fed up of being intimidated into submission by the god before her, wanted to persist further, to see _what_ , exactly, he would do if she continued to insist for an answer. But the more sensible part that pleaded with her to remember that she needed to work on gaining his trust told her that she would be making a very foolish mistake by choosing to do so. She already knew from her previous attempts that Sasuke did not respond well to having his actions questioned. She swallowed, averted her gaze, and after wrestling with her temper and crushing her anger back, grabbed her sword, her grip tense, betraying her inner aggravation. He was so stiflingly controlling. So completely impossible to reason with, and talk to; could she really endure further training sessions?

She gulped the drink down, half-wishing she could hurtle the goblet at him like she had before, and that this time, it would strike his arrogant head and he would come to realise that she did _not_ appreciate being bullied into complying with his will. She released a quiet breath, feeling a little calmer as the delicious brew began to take effect, soothing the aches from her body and restoring a semblance of order and clarity to her mind. However, a part of her still secretly wanted to punch the death deity in his _stupidly perfect_ face for bossing her around so much and continuing to dictate what she could and could not do.

 _He's a god, and you're in his kingdom_ , the voice of reason whispered in her mind. _You'll just have to suck it up for now. Don't lose your cool. You have to try to get him to trust you! Look, he's annoyed. Apologise!_

But swallowing back her pride and blocking out the inner voice that begged her to hold her ground was not easy. Sakura somehow managed to do it regardless, and lowered her gaze, as she offered quietly, "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to this." She lifted her eyes uncertainly to the death deity, who was scowling at the posts and making a point of _not_ looking at her. Taking a deep breath, Sakura asked softly, "Could we try the rings again?" When he did not respond, she added hopefully, "Please, Sasuke?"

A heavy pause followed her request. Then, at last, piercing onyx shifted to lock onto her. The Death God regarded her for a long, thoughtful moment, his expression betraying nothing of his inner thoughts. Then, wordlessly, he picked up another set of hoops.

* * *

Ino did her best to ignore the displeased scowl that she could feel her father practically drilling into her head. After Inoichi had caught them red handed in the act of attempting to acquire ambrosia, he'd promptly ordered them back up to the lounge for what they'd all anticipated would be a lengthy scolding. But when they had entered the room to find Asuma, Gai, Kurenai, Iruka _and_ Mrs Yamanaka waiting for them, they knew the scolding was on the verge of upgrading to a very thorough grilling.

Naruto released an unhappy groan as he plopped down in the couch beside Sai. "Oh, man," he whined, scratching stressfully at the back of his sunshine head.

"They were trying to steal ambrosia," Inoichi informed the other elders stiffly. Five pairs of accusing eyes turned to examine the guilty youths. Poor Hinata was nervously twiddling her index fingers and looked utterly ashamed of herself, her fair face flushed with embarrassment. Sai stared coolly and expressionlessly back at them. Ino sat with her legs and arms crossed, scowling like a sulky teenager who was just seconds away from throwing the mother of all tantrums. Naruto was muttering to himself, and Shikamaru looked like he thought the entire situation was just too troublesome to be dealt with at such an early hour in the afternoon.

"Why would you want to do such a thing?" Kurenai questioned in dismay.

"The very idea is reckless!" Iruka exclaimed.

"Typical of youth," Gai agreed, shaking his head sadly.

"Who orchestrated this plan?" Asuma demanded.

Shikamaru shot a look at Ino, who, after fidgeting uncomfortably for a moment, burst out, "Me! It was _me_ , okay? My fault! I strung the others along. Are you _happy_ now?"

Ino's mother, dressed in a chic navy pencil skirt and white blouse, with her darker blonde hair tied up in a tight bun, released a shocked gasp. "Dear one, how could you even _think_ to-?"

"It wasn't just her idea," Naruto argued, "We agreed together! Right guys?"

Sai nodded solemnly. Hinata stuttered her agreement, but Shikamaru frowned.

"I tried to talk reason into them-"

"Oh, that's right!" Ino pounced, glaring at him, her throat burning with the bitterness of disappointment. "You had _nothing_ to do with this!"

Shikamaru released a heavy sigh. "Ino-" he began, but was swiftly interrupted by Inoichi.

"Have you lost your senses?" he censured them. To Ino, he frowned, "You relinquished your powers of your own will. Do you realise just how much ambrosia you would need to consume in order to regain them?"

"I don't want my powers back for me! I want them back for _Sakura-_ "

"I'm curious," Asuma said, folding his arms. "What, exactly, do you all think you can do for Sakura?"

"I could look for her," Ino gestured desperately, her frustration peaking. "I can't just keep sitting around like this and doing _nothing_ -"

"We _are_ looking for her," Kurenai reminded her more gently. "Please, Ino. Do not allow your emotions lead you into doing anything brash-"

"You aren't looking hard enough!" Naruto exploded, leaping to his feet, his blue eyes flashing with emotion. "It's been nearly two weeks since Sakura-chan vanished! And you're telling us you haven't found a _single_ clue?"

Shikamaru rubbed stressfully at his forehead. This wasn't the correct way to handle things; why did Naruto always have to get carried away?

Iruka held up his hands "Naruto, please, compose yourself-"

But Gai's temper had been unleashed. "You accuse us of not searching thoroughly for the girl? We may not be as youthful as the rest of you, but we've still got some tricks up our sleeves!"

"Do not think for a moment, that we are not pushing the rules in our hunt for Sakura," Inoichi snapped. "But to break them with such carelessness would be madness!"

"You would risk drawing even further attention to us. If we disregard our oaths, who is to say he will not do the same?" Asuma demanded.

"He doesn't even _know_ that Sakura-chan is-" Naruto began to protest loudly, and was quickly cut off by Ino's mother.

"Naruto! Please."

Naruto clenched his jaw, fury brewing unbearably within him. "Why don't we just confront that bastard Suigetsu, and get it over with?"

Sai felt the muscles in his body tense. His heart began to pound to a sickening rhythm.

"It is our intention to do so," Kurenai replied patiently. "But we have been unable to locate him."

"Where _else_ would he be apart from in the oceans?" Ino scowled.

"Kakashi informed us that Jiraiya has already sent his subjects to the sea depths. They have not found Suigetsu yet," Iruka answered.

"That makes no sense," Shikamaru spoke up. "Unless he's somehow masking himself, he wouldn't leave the seas unattended."

Gai hesitated, before disclosing, "There has been increasing disruption to all surfaces of water."

Shikamaru stared at him. "That doesn't seem like a coincidence, if you've been unable to find Suigetsu."

Alarm bells were ringing in Sai's mind. He had to say something. If he didn't, they would soon connect the dots, and if they did, he would be held accountable by the one who truly had Sakura.

"It must be a diversion," he said evenly, internally sickened by just how easy his tongue found it to throw them off course.

Inoichi regarded him intently. "A diversion?" he echoed.

"Yes. A precaution he has taken to throw us further of his trail." When the others merely looked at him, he elaborated, "He would not leave the oceans unattended, as you said." He nodded to Shikamaru. "If he gives the impression that he has…"

"It would make him appear like he's a less likely culprit!" Ino finished, smacking a fist into her palm.

"That damned bastard," Naruto seethed. "I'll _kill_ him!"

Hinata said softly, "I-if that is so, then is he somehow, perhaps, cloaking Sakura's location from us…?"

"Impossible," Gai scoffed. "Jiraiya's subjects ought to have found her!"

"Suigetsu has absolute control over the oceans…" Shikamaru began. His mind was racing to piece everything they knew together. "He has the power to dispose of Jiraiya's toads immediately."

"That must surely be what has happened," Kurenai agreed. "Kakashi told us that Jiraiya had not heard from his subjects."

"Which can only mean…" Asuma frowned deeply, following the trail of thought.

"The only way we can be certain of what is happening down there is for one of us to descend to his palaces," Iruka finished with finality.

"That would be dangerous," Ino's mother shook her head. "To intrude on his territory…"

"Wait. Wait!" Ino exclaimed. "Dad, I had this idea; what if _you_ connect with one of the toads! That way, you'll be able to search through its eyes."

"…" Inoichi raised a hand to his chin, pondering her idea.

"It's a good plan," Shimakaru supported. Ino's eyes turned to him. He met her gaze, and nodded.

"Yes," Kurenai said slowly, her eyes lighting up with hope. "That might just work!"

"You'd be able to gain intelligence, from the safety of the surface," Asuma supported.

"You've _got_ to do it," Naruto urged. "It's the quickest way to find Sakura-chan!"

"Please!" Ino pleaded. "Dad!"

Inoichi held up his hands. "It is workable," he replied after contemplation, silently impressed by the sharpness of his daughter's mind. "But one issue prevents us from implementing this immediately."

" _What?"_ Naruto was ready to tear his hair out. "What is it?"

Shikamaru sighed heavily in understanding. How troublesome everything was, he thought to himself, before stating tiredly, "Locating Jiraiya."

* * *

Sakura ran her fingers through her freshly dried hair. The fragrant shampoos were wonderful, and made her tresses feel even silkier than usual. The delicious body oils had similar powers, turning Sakura's soft skin to pure satin. She absent-mindedly wondered what ingredients were contained within the toiletries that existed in the Underworld, as she exited the bathroom following a long and well-deserved soak in the bathtub.

After practicing with catching rings a little more, Sasuke had noted her fatigue and terminated their first session, dismissing her from the training arena. She had made her way back up to her chamber alone, her thoughts spinning like the platform that had carried her back to the palace's ground floor. She'd reflected on the lesson whilst enjoying the hot water's soothing effects on her tired body. As she had expected, the death deity had been a relentless and unforgiving tutor. She'd tumbled to the ground on more than several instances, and one particularly painful fall had resulted in another small dose of the yellow liquid to banish the ache in her knee and replenish her energy. Sakura made plans to return to the training area soon – _alone_ – to practice on channelling and controlling her chakra. That way, when Sasuke called her down to spar with him, she would be a little better prepared.

Maybe Sasuke would offer her some kind of reward if she worked hard enough to improve quickly. Her stomach twisted strangely at the thought. What kind of reward was she hoping for from him? That he'd start trusting her more?

 _Yeah, right_ , she thought despondently to herself. What she truly wanted was to return to the surface - even if it was just for an hour. She missed the warmth and brilliance of the sun's light so much. And she missed her mother and her friends even more desperately. As she climbed into bed and slipped beneath the luxurious sheets, she found herself wondering whether her mother had received her letter yet. Had she been able to decipher the secret message she'd included between the words? Or was her mother so caught up in her grief that she'd turned a blind eye to Sakura's coded call for help?

She sighed heavily, staring up at the beautiful underside of the canopy, her eyes finding new, rich details every time they gazed up at the exquisitely woven fabric. She knew that she was unlikely to procure any kind of prize. She would just train for her own benefit. She didn't think she would ever be much good, and certainly no match for a mighty immortal, but she would do her best. Maybe, if Sasuke saw her putting in the effort, he would at least cease to be exasperated and disdainful toward her. And if he was less annoyed with her, _maybe_ , just maybe, she'd be on her way to inching toward gaining a tiny degree of his respect and trust.

 _Sasuke…_ his name was the last thing to drift through her mind as sleepiness quickly overcame her. She closed her heavy eyelids, and lost herself to slumber soon after.

* * *

_Kore huffed impatiently. How much longer was she expected to wait? Her mother had left her by the flowing fountain in the stone courtyard, with firm instructions for her to remain in the resplendent, hedge-lined area. She turned her eyes up to the pristine white palace exterior. Elegant marble columns and balconies towered up to a vividly blue sky. The sun shone with jubilant radiance, its life bestowing rays throwing golden warmth upon everything they touched._

_Apollo was in a good mood, Kore mused to herself, her gaze trailing idly back to the fountain before her. It depicted three beautiful nymphs with trailing gowns and cascading, wavy tresses. Birds with beaks parted in joyous song perched on their slender hands. Kore bit back a giggle. She'd heard that Hera had given poor Zeus a terrible time when he had first unveiled what he'd innocently insisted was an aesthetically pleasing, decorative ornament built in her honour. He must have found a way to convince his temperamental wife, because the magnificent sculpture still stood intact._

_Her thoughts turned curiously to the meeting taking place in Zeus's halls at that very moment. She had thought it odd that her mother had insisted for her to accompany her on the journey; often, she was left behind, in the safe enclosure of Demeter's abundant, rolling fields. But she had heard from Aphrodite the previous night that all those with a seat in the Pantheon were in attendance, which unquestionably meant that it was an important gathering. Kore supposed that her mother's decision to take her along was for her own protection; because Apollo and Aphrodite were unable to watch over her, as they always did, regardless of her mother's insistence that she had no reason to assign anybody to follow her._

_Kore felt a wistful longing tugging at her heart. How she wished she could join them also! But she knew that she did not belong amongst the assembly. She was young; even younger than Hermes. The matters Zeus discussed with the others did not concern her, Demeter had patiently assured her many times._

_She drifted away from the fountain. Her mother had sternly instructed her not to pass through the narcissus flowered archway and the small set of steps she spied distantly ahead of her. Kore had obediently agreed, but found herself irresistibly drawn to the area. She cast an anxious glance back over her shoulder, up at the elaborately carved balconies overlooking the sprawling courtyard. Nobody was around, she reasoned, and she had already been waiting for a very, very long time. She needed to stretch her legs. She would just have a quick peek around the arch's corner, and return to her waiting spot right away. Zeus's palace was well guarded. She was confident that no harm would come to her._

_Anxiety and excitement fluttered within her as she approached the archway, the same mixed feelings she experienced whenever she thought about going against Demeter's wishes. She had been tempted to do so more often lately, which troubled her. When she'd confided this to Aphrodite, her beautiful friend had insisted that it was a normal part of maturing. It would soon be time, Aphrodite had mysteriously said, for Kore to depart her mother's nest._

_The very thought filled Kore with apprehension. Her mother had always been by her side. How could she exist without her?_

_The scent of flowers grew stronger and sweeter the closer she drew to the archway, which meant that another garden was nearby. Kore hesitated just before the opening, glancing back behind her again. The courtyard was clear. Taking a deep breath to reassure herself, she stepped through the archway – only for her breath to catch in her throat._

_Standing in the middle of another rose-filled, pergola-sheltered garden were two tall figures. Both were clad in long, black, flowing cloaks. One was unfamiliar to Kore, and with his back turned to her, she couldn't make out anything about him other than flowing, silky raven hair secured atop his head and the raven feathers lining the high collar of his cloak. The man touched long, slender fingers lightly to his companion's left shoulder, and swiftly departed from the garden, taking a path that Kore guessed provided another route toward the palace's interior._

_But she didn't dwell on who it could have been. Her attention was fully ensnared by the individual who was left standing in the garden. Her heart was all at once thundering within her as she recalled the only other instance before that she had looked upon that unmistakeable face. The night of the Eve of Spring celebrations. Those dark eyes had locked onto her – and she had ignored Aphrodite's pleas and turned away, immediately sprinting straight back to the sanctuary of her mother's temple, half terrified that he would follow her. He had not, and she'd been unable to remove the memory of his eyes from her mind since. Now he stood before her again._

_Hades._

_She released a trembling breath, drinking in the sight of him. He looked as darkly handsome as he had when she'd first glimpsed him, even more frighteningly so in the early afternoon's light. He seemed to be waiting also, perhaps for his friend to return to him, for he abruptly turned his back to Kore and proceeded to examine the flowers surrounding him. She clutched onto the cool wall of the archway that shielded her from his view, watching as Hades ventured deeper into the garden, and further away from her._

_Kore chewed anxiously down on her lower lip. She knew she ought to turn back, while she still had the chance. Her mother would be none the wiser. But something tugged at her with each step Hades took. Soon he would round the corner that would remove him entirely from her view. What if she never got the opportunity to see him again…?_

_Her legs moved without conscious thought. Her stomach fluttered like the wings of the pretty little butterflies that were flittering between the flowers adorning the impeccably tended area. Keeping close to the white-rose hedges that lined the edges of the pergola, Kore shadowed the youth who strode with admirable confidence and grace ahead of her. She maintained a careful distance between them, commanding the plant-life around her to keep her movements silent and concealed. Her wide eyes followed the proud lines of his broad shoulders. She did not know what exactly it was about Hades that piqued her curiosity and retained it. He somehow seemed different to the other deities she had seen, possessed a measure of something she couldn't quite place her finger on, something she hoped she might understand, if she followed him for long enough. All the while she could feel the racing of her heartbeat, reminding her that she was disobeying her mother's wishes._

_The guilt was enough to stop her in her tracks. What was she thinking? If her mother found out that she was sneaking after a stranger-_

_Her thoughts broke off, as Hades drew to a sudden stop in turn. She felt every muscle in her body tense as words were unexpectedly spoken to her, in a voice so tantalisingly smooth in its tone that for a horrifying moment, Kore froze in place, stunned by the devastating and instantaneous effect the alluring sound wove over her senses._

" _Who follows me?"_

_Her lips parted, a shallow, startled breath escaping them. He had detected her? But how? Panic seized her as Hades swiftly turned. She gasped, retreating into the hedges, commanding the flora around her to conceal her from his dark, searching eyes. He was drawing closer, closer, close enough for her to glimpse the grey flecks in his onyx depths. He stopped directly over her hiding spot, his gaze darting completely over her cloaked form. Up close, his beauty struck her like a physical blow. He was like a sculpted masterpiece, commissioned by the great Zeus himself. Upon finding nothing, a light frown settled over his features, and Kore felt heat rush to her cheeks. The expression only served to enhance his smouldering good looks._

_Then, abruptly, Hades stepped away, and continued along the garden. Kore hardly dared to breathe, as the reassuring whispers of the flowers reached her ears. They gently informed her that she had not been seen. But her mind was not listening. It was far too preoccupied by the bewildering burning sensation that had kindled to life deep within her chest; a burning so profound that it left her breathless. Like fire. Like the very flames of Tartarus of which she had been told such frightening tales by a deviously grinning Apollo._

_Burning… burning…_

* * *

Sakura's eyes flew open, her chest heaving for oxygen as the vision faded beyond her memory. When she tried to sit up, the room spun violently. Nausea assaulted her senses, and ice-cold tendrils of fear wrapped around her throat, squeezing chokingly as she was overwhelmed by a rushing, unpleasant feeling that sent her doubling over, clutching at the silken sheets in a desperate attempt to draw breath. But she couldn't. The pain in her chest was crushing, asphyxiating.

"H-help," she whimpered, the awareness of her heartbeat, pounding chaotically within her, only fanning the flames of panic that were surging up to engulf her entirely. "Help…!"

It was happening again. The dreaded, terrifying sensation of having something being wretched violently out of her. She squeezed her eyes shut, the air escaping her lips in laborious gasps. She panted, fighting to fill her lungs, but every time she did, the pain only intensified.

Hands suddenly grabbed hold of her shoulders, tugging her up. Through tear-blurred eyes and the onslaught of vertigo she was able to make out Chizu's alarmed face.

"Mistress!" her attendant's arms closed comfortingly around her. "Mistress, what is the matter?"

Sakura's voice wedged in her throat as another wave of pain compressed her windpipe.

"Heavens!" she heard Chizu exclaim in fright. "Fetch the Master, child! Fetch the Master at once!"

Sakura closed her eyes again, trying in vain to ward back the mounting sense of doom that whispered to her that she wouldn't recover this time. Her mother had always given her the medicine immediately, within minutes of an attack. But now her mother was far away from her. It had surely been at least five minutes since the episode had begun, and Sakura was starting to lose feeling in her arms and legs. She felt her heart skip a beat, palpitate twice, and it was the final push that sent her spiralling into the arms of hysteria.

* * *

"Master! Master!"

Sasuke's eyes shifted away from the fireplace as Ume burst into the room, her eyes wide with terror. He was on his feet immediately, scowling at her hysterics, as she babbled, "S-Sakura! The Mistress! Master, the Mistress, she-"

He did not wait for her to finish. In an instant, he had flickered to Sakura's bedchamber, pushing the doors open to find the young woman doubled over and gasping for oxygen. A cold, wrenching sensation ripped through his gut, and he was by her side in an instant, ordering a distraught Chizu away.

"We- we found her Master- she will not respond to me-"

"Bring me ambrosia," Sasuke instructed sharply. At Chizu's wide-eyed, glazed stare, he hissed, _"Now."_

The maid quickly exited the room to do his bidding. Sasuke sat before Sakura, gripped onto her arms, pushing her up. He caught his breath as she turned her face unseeingly up to him. Her cheeks were pale, lacking in their usual colour. Tears streamed from her eyes, the green irises darkened with pain. She seemed unable to focus on him.

"Sakura," he murmured, holding her close, his right hand lifting to press against her forehead. It was cold and clammy to his touch. He reached out to her mind with his own, seeking to identify the source of her discomfort – and was answered by a blindingly painful jolt. White flashed across his vision, and for a minute, he could not see her. The sensation quickly diminished, but left the death deity feeling even more disturbed. What had just happened? Dark eyes widened as he sensed Sakura's heart palpitate dangerously within her, momentarily cutting off her desperate attempts at breathing entirely. He held a hand to her chest, and willed the distressed organ's rushing beat to slow. What was the _matter_ with her? He tried once again to connect to her thoughts, but was once more struck by an invisible barrier; as though the pain that she was experiencing was a physical obstacle that prevented him from reaching her.

Sakura's slender little fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt, as she managed to pant, "M-mecine. Meh…cine!"

"What?" Sasuke frowned, his hands lowering to grip onto her arms once again.

"M…!" she swallowed down a shallow gulp of air.

Sasuke stared at the top of her pink head, his thoughts spinning in a cyclone of chaos. In all his years of watching her, he had never seen Sakura in such agony. And the effect it had on his own body was something he could not have anticipated.

"I… I n-eed…" she wheezed, "muh-medi-cine…!"

The Death God froze. _Medicine?_ But Sakura was a perfectly healthy human female. Why was she asking for medicine?

Chizu burst back into the room, a goblet full of ambrosia in her shaking hand. Sasuke snatched it from the woman's grasp, commanded her and Ume to leave them, and guided the cup to Sakura's discoloured lips.

"Drink," he instructed harshly.

Sakura's head rolled to the side, and she released a strangled whimper. Sasuke cursed, realising that she was unable to accept the drink without aid, and tilted her chin back, forcing the liquid down her throat. Sakura spluttered and swallowed, coughed and gasped until Sasuke had poured it all into her mouth. He discarded the goblet to the floor, watching with widened eyes as the ambrosia seemed to have an instantaneous effect on her. The colour slowly began to return to her face, and her eyes began to regain their focus. She drew in a deep gulp of oxygen, shuddered and then collapsed, trembling, against him. Her face buried into his chest, the fingers clutching his shirt finally loosening as the pain within her waned before gradually ebbing away, as the healing golden liquid coursed through her system.

Sasuke exhaled, his grip on her arms tightening, his mind racing to process what he had just witnessed. For a long while, neither of them moved. A heavy silence hung between them, interrupted only by Sakura's efforts to regulate her breathing once again. Then, finally, she stirred, her muddled thoughts lethargically coming to terms with the fact that she was on her bed, in the Death God's arms. Her pulse began to quicken again, but this time to an entirely different rhythm, sending heat blooming to her cheeks. Horrified by the compromising position she found herself in, Sakura immediately made to draw back – when she suddenly became painfully conscious of something thrumming rapidly against her left ear.

She blinked as realisation washed over her, stealing her breath away all over again, causing her to freeze in place against him.

Sasuke. She could hear his heartbeat.

It was pounding.


	22. Chapter XXI

**Chapter XXI**

* * *

_The heart that pounds,_

_In fitful discord,_

_It quivers and trembles,_

_As if to afford,_

_The reason why,_

_Mine ears could hear,_

_That resonant pulse,_

_So thunderous, clear._

* * *

Sakura stared, in wide-eyed shock, at the discarded goblet on the floor. Her limbs had locked in place, her head fixed in position against Sasuke's strong chest. Her mind was spinning in a whirlwind of commotion, full of disorderly thoughts that collided violently together. Any attempts to hear the words ricocheting within her skull were hindered by the almost mesmerising sound of Sasuke's thundering heartbeat. She listened, overcome by a rush of conflicting feelings. Disbelief. Alarm. Wonder. Uncertainty. Bewilderment. And beneath it all, a trembling fear.

The death deity possessed a heart. Just like a human. And one that seemingly responded to feelings in the same way a regular mortal heart did. Sakura was not sure why she found the realisation so surprising. Only when the organ's distressed pounding eventually slowed to a calmer, resting rhythm did Sakura finally allow her stunned brain an opportunity to process the possible implications of what she had heard. But in truth, she knew there was really only one logical conclusion for her to draw, and it happened to be the very one that was the most difficult to accept.

The very thought of anything startling or disturbing Sasuke was ludicrous. He was so cold, so aloof, so distant and unsympathetic. Yet for his heart to have reacted in such a manner, and in response to _her_ ; what did that mean?

 _What else could it mean?_ A little voice whispered in her head. _He saw you having the attack. It unsettled him._

Sakura released a quiet breath, scarcely aware that she'd been withholding the oxygen in her lungs. Had Sasuke… had Sasuke somehow been _worried_ about her welfare…? Sakura's mind reeled with confusion. Concern for another required some degree of emotional empathy, and Sasuke's standoffish nature and blunt words toward her told a completely different story; one decidedly limited to disapproval and contempt.

But she once again recalled the smouldering looks. His disregard of personal space. All the lingering touches. The fact that he had stolen her away from the surface to begin with, after watching her for an indeterminate length of time…

Something fluttered deep within Sakura's stomach as her mind frantically worked to piece the opposing pictures together to form an image that was more coherent. And when the jumbled fragments finally cemented together, she was left with a stark reality that was impossible to deny.

Sasuke's racing heart hadto mean he cared about her - to some extent. There was no other explanation. Dazedly, she finally drew back, willing herself not to look up into the death deity's face. Feeling awfully self-conscious, she managed to communicate thickly, "I'm fine now."

The hands gripping her arms did not loosen. Sakura's pulse accelerated when her words were met with a dragging silence. She counted the seconds, until, unable to stand it any further, she snuck a quick glance up at Sasuke – only for the air to still in her lungs all over again.

The Death God was staring straight at her – and staring intently. As if his eyes were somehow seeking to drill directly through her skull. She detected the tension in his tightly clenched jaw, an uncharacteristic betrayal of the internal turmoil that was running rampant within him. Sakura, unnerved by the closeness of their bodies and at being the sole focus of that penetrating gaze, looked away again.

"Sasuke-" she fumbled. "Really, I'm-"

"What was that?" he interrupted, his voice tight, clipped. Alarmed, Sakura fought against the urge to attempt to struggle out of his grasp. She knew he would only release her when he chose to do so, and she did not want to risk irking him further. Besides, she was still feeling disorientated. Perhaps that was why Sasuke had yet to let her go.

He wanted an explanation. It was the final confirmation Sakura did _not_ need of the fact that Sasuke really _had_ been concerned.

Keeping her eyes averted, she began carefully, "It happens every spring."

Sasuke seemed to be waiting for her to elaborate, so Sakura continued slowly, "The doctors aren't sure why, but the medicine makes it go away."

A heavy silence ensued, before Sasuke bluntly echoed, "The medicine."

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "It…" she frowned lightly, before disclosing, "It tastes just like the drink you gave me. But my mother only gives me a little…" her voice trailed off, her throat closing over miserably. She missed her mother so terribly, and her mind throbbed. She wanted to rest, but Sasuke had still not relinquished his hold on her arms. She blinked as a familiar heaviness suddenly weighed her eyelids down. Every episode always left her feeling exhausted, and she would sleep for hours afterwards.

 _Stay awake,_ she willed herself. She couldn't fall asleep in Sasuke's presence. She needed to make sure that she didn't…

Sasuke stiffened as Sakura abruptly slumped forward against him once again. He looked down at her pink head, to find that she had fallen into a sudden, deep slumber. Scowling, he held her for a few moments more, before shifting to lower her gently onto the bed. Drawing the sheets over her, he stood back, his eyes fixed on her serenely sleeping face as he contemplated the information she had imparted to him.

According to Sakura, the panic-like attack occurred every spring. Human physicians had been unable to diagnose what the problem was, but medicine that tasted like ambrosia was the cure. The wheels in the death deity's mind raced. Was it possible that Tsunade had been feeding Sakura the wine of the gods? But for what purpose would she choose to do so? Was it simply to soothe the agony of the strange episodes that plagued Sakura? Or had she been giving it to the girl at other times, also?

He had never witnessed Sakura having an attack before. He reasoned that they must have occurred on the scattered nights when he had not visited her home to watch her in sleep. If Sakura suffered from a mysterious ailment that could not be identified, then it was understandable that her overprotective mother would resort to using the drink of the gods to restore her child to health.

But, Sasuke silently argued as he gazed down at his slumbering captive, ambrosia's effects were only temporary when administered in small, infrequent doses. Tsunade knew that the beverage had the power to heal wounds and not serious illnesses, not unless a very great deal of it was swallowed on a regular basis, enough to completely alter the blood chemistry in a mortal's body. However, the transition from human to god was often a painful and unpleasant one. Humans did not simply become deities. The intoxicating and potent effects of ambrosia meant that they became very sick first. Only those who could endure the multitude of side-effects which included hallucinations, fever, night-sweats and nausea were rewarded with the ultimate prize of eternal life.

Even then, when attained, immortality would be a temporary state, unless followed with additional, regular doses. Humans who gained godhood would always need to drink ambrosia to retain their immortality. The more years they drank, the less they would need. Sakura had given no mention of the attack recurring when the 'medicine' wore off; which led him to conclude that her condition was cured by ambrosia – at least, until the following year's spring.

Sasuke's frown intensified. Why would an episode only occur in springtime? It could not be due to a surface allergy, because she was in the Underworld. What other reason was there? How could the ambrosia cure her, if she was only given a small amount?

He remembered Jiraiya's cryptic words about the state of the trees, shedding their petals early in the season. Did that somehow correlate to Sakura's ailment? There had always been _something_ about the girl, something Sasuke had never quite been able to decipher. Now another mystery had been woven into the interconnecting threads that made up the fibre of Sakura's being. And it was infuriating for him to have his thoughts dispersed into chaos over her once again.

She was no ordinary human. That much he had always known for certain. The light that radiated from her screamed so. The way she had somehow managed to ensnare his undivided attention was further proof. And yet, her blood was mortal. She tired like a mortal. She was weak - like a mortal.

A mortal who had managed to call upon her inner chakra network at the first attempt.

The death deity raked his fingers through his raven hair in frustration. She was a contradiction in every possible way. And what he had just witnessed and heard had flung the deductions he had drawn about her into disarray. Understanding her and uncovering every one of her secrets was now no longer something Sasuke simply desired to do. It was no longer a mere whim. He _needed_ to know what she was. He needed to know why Tsunade had sheltered her so much – and why the other surface bound gods and goddesses were so protective of her.

He had always just assumed that it was simply because she was Tsunade's adopted human daughter. But now the Death God's intuition was telling him otherwise.

Sakura, he concluded, as he reached out with an index finger to brush a strand of silky, pale coral hair away from her cheek, was valuable. Or surely possessed something of value, something she did not even seem aware that she had. And Sasuke made a silent vow to do everything in his power to find out _precisely_ what it was.

* * *

Tsunade stared down at the rows of phials slotted neatly into twin metal racks, which Shizune had placed carefully onto the coffee table. The slender containers, sterile on the inside, were forged of durable steel.

"You're absolutely certain that you were alone when you input the code?" Tsunade questioned softly.

Shizune nodded. She had taken the night off from working at the hospital at Tsunade's insistence and dutifully delivered the phials that her friend had requested.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I'm sorry for the delay; I had to be sure that nobody else at all was around."

Tsunade plucked one of the ampoules out of the rack. "And Kabuto?" she prompted, her eyebrows drawing together to form a frown at the mere mention of the junior doctor's name.

"He has not done anything suspicious yet," Shizune replied.

"Keep watching him," Tsunade ordered. "We can't afford to take any chances."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune nodded.

Tsunade sighed heavily, reaching for the small glass cup of sake she had poured herself. "Two weeks," she muttered in a low voice. "And no trace of her. How could I have failed her again…? I did everything in my power to protect her this time, Shizune."

"Please don't blame yourself," Shizune attempted to comfort her friend. "Whoever took her must have been plotting to do so for a long time."

"I should never have let her out of my sight," Tsunade shook her head, holding a frustrated fist to her forehead. "I knew, that night, that something was wrong. I felt a cold presence, Shizune. And still I allowed her to leave the following morning." She downed the rest of the alcohol, before pouring herself another glass.

"She wasn't alone," Shizune gently reminded her.

Tsunade snorted. "I should have known better than to trust her to _Ino_. That girl is nothing but a conceited little airhead."

"She cares a great deal for Sakura. She must feel terrible-"

"Not terrible enough," Tsunade snapped. "If she had not been so preoccupied with her _hairdresser_ on the phone, then-" Abruptly, she broke off. There was no use in blaming Ino, she knew. The reality was that Tsunade had not been vigilant enough. Sakura's doe-like eyes and sweet smile had always been her weakness. Her chest constricted. How she longed to see the girl again!

Sighing again, she murmured, "The surface is already beginning to suffer from her absence. I am doing my best to sustain flora, but without Spring, flowers cannot truly bloom."

"The trees are already shedding their petals," Shizune agreed sadly.

"Damn that Suigetsu!" Tsunade cursed, glaring vehemently at the unfortunate table before them. "It never crossed my mind that he would actually stab us in the back like this!"

"It seems very strange for him to do so," Shizune remarked. "Especially when he knows that he is so outnumbered."

"He is a fool," Tsunade seethed. "He can only avoid us for so long." Then she turned her attention back to the phial in her hand. "We must place these in a secure location. We cannot risk anything happening to her blood."

"Where will we take them?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade stared thoughtfully at the containers, before responding, "I'll seal them in the base. Then," she added resolutely, casting a formidable glance at her friend, "I'll visit the hospital, and monitor that snake Kabuto myself."

* * *

" _I have a wonderful surprise for you."_

_Kore felt heat creep into her cheeks at the words, spoken in a smooth, pleasant tone. It wasn't often that Zeus invited her to his palace to converse, and even more of a rarity that she was granted the honour of an audience with their leader alone. She was quite surprised that Hera was not on Zeus's heels, hounding him about something or the other._

_They stood on one of the pristine white balconies overlooking the resplendent gardens. Kore snuck a surreptitious glance at the glorious Thunder God who stood proudly beside her, and was overcome by a fresh wave of awe. It was all too plain to her why Zeus was so popular amongst females. She could see why they swooned and clamoured for his attention whenever he happened to breeze by them. His features were finely-sculpted and striking, coupled with unruly, golden hair and piercing, sky-blue eyes that lit up with brilliant clarity whenever he smiled his charming smile, and clouded over ominously if he was displeased._

_He possessed a calm and amiable disposition that could only be marred by a burst of uncharacteristic anger or his tendency to inadvertently land himself in a dispute with his hot-tempered, beautiful wife. Kore had heard many tales of the legendary disputes between the pair, which Hera reportedly always won. But despite his gallant, often flirtatious nature and love of all things beautiful, Zeus was a just and wise King who was respected and admired by his fellow deities, and greatly feared by worshipping mortals. None dared to challenge his authority._

_Sharp eyes caught her staring, and offered her a playful wink. Kore blushed even more deeply, before courteously averting her gaze._

" _This is our little secret, Kore," Zeus allowed his tone to drop dramatically. "Your mother would probably kill me if she found out. I barely managed to convince her to let you spend the day with me."_

_Kore's heart fluttered with excitement. Was the surprise Zeus's early birthday gift to her? He had always insisted that she call him 'father' - although she knew that he was not truly her biological father - but he was the closest figure to a male parent she had ever had, and she was touched that he had remembered the occasion._

" _I promise to keep it a secret," she whispered back, all too eager to find out what lay in store for her._

_Zeus chuckled, and reached out to place an affectionate hand atop her head. "There's a good girl. Please do not worry about your mother; let me handle her."_

_Kore nodded, feeling reassured. The warmth of Zeus's fleeting touch slipped away as he directed his eyes back to the sprawling gardens below them._

" _Your surprise awaits you at the stairs leading down the mountain trail. You had better hurry, if you don't want to be late," he added cryptically._

_She did not need to be told twice. Thanking a smiling Zeus profusely for his generosity and time, Kore curtsied low before spinning around to depart the balcony. She skipped through the lavish, flowering gardens, and hurried all the way to the majestic, imposing golden gates that hailed the entrance to Zeus's magnificent palace. The Guardian stationed there barely looked up from where he sat on the large boulder directly before the radiant gates, scribbling poetic verses in a little book as she passed him._

_Kore was breathless by the time she reached the top of the endless, winding stone staircase that led down Mount Olympus. It was commonly known amongst mortals as the Trail of Peril; a heavily guarded path that featured a fearsome, humungous nine-tailed beast at its base, three sand-wielding warriors who lay in waiting for any foolish trespassers at the mid-section of the path, and a lyrical fighter who commanded seven blades at the summit. It was a track that humans were not permitted to venture, and those few who were had to prove their strength in battle._

_Waiting obediently before the first step were four pure white horses with golden eyes, wings and manes. Their bridles were wrought in gold and silver, fastened to a beautiful, solid gold chariot. A glorious, shining crest depicting the sun and flames was blazed across the elegantly carved body of the carriage. Sturdy wheels displaying smaller circular insignias gleamed invitingly at her. Kore gasped in instant recognition, her eyes flying up to find a handsome, golden-haired young god standing casually by the chariot's side._

" _Apollo!" she exclaimed, her heart fluttering in anticipation as her keen mind instantly concluded that she was looking right at her birthday gift._

_Apollo, dressed in a white toga with a golden sash tied across his athletic chest, grinned at her._

" _Want to go for a ride?" His deep blue eyes twinkled mischievously at her._

_Kore gawked at him. Zeus had conspired with his son to arrange a tour in the sky for her? And in the very chariot Apollo used to raise the sun every morning, no less! She could hardly contain her delight. She knew her mother would frown upon such an excursion – but at that moment, Kore did not care. She had always longed for adventure and excitement; and adorable Apollo was standing before her, offering both._

" _Really? I can?" she asked eagerly._

_Apollo chuckled. "Sure. We'd better get moving before your mother notices, though!"_

_Kore did not waste another second. She jumped into the chariot, a huge smile illuminating her face. Apollo stepped in after her, his arms closing around her sides, and tugged at the reigns. Immediately the horses trotted into motion, circling smoothly around and gradually gaining speed._

_As they neared the edge of first step, Apollo called over the sound of galloping hooves, "Hold on!"_

_Kore clutched onto the front of the chariot, and squealed fearfully as the majestic horses opened their mighty wings and burst into flight. The carriage swerved, and she almost lost her grip, caught off guard by the sheer speed and momentum at which they were travelling through the air. Apollo's left hand released the reigns to rest firmly against her side, steadying her._

" _Heh," he chuckled into her ear. "How'd you like it, Kore?"_

_Kore gulped, her eyes peering over the spacious chariot's edge to glimpse nothing but pure blue sky and puffs of cloud. Her stomach was turning somersaults, and for a terrible moment, she thought she was going to be sick. Thankfully she wasn't, and her body soon began to adjust to the strange, weightless sensation of flying._

" _You do this every day," she exclaimed, thinking how very wonderful it had to be to bestow life-giving light upon the earth far below them._

" _Yes," Apollo answered. "It gets tedious, believe it!"_

" _How can you say that?" Kore shook her head, as they passed over a crystal clear ocean. "You have such freedom!"_

_Apollo shrugged. "Sometimes I'd like to spend more time on the surface."_

_Kore sighed wistfully. "And I always wish that I could fly."_

_Apollo laughed. "That makes us ideal friends then, doesn't it?"_

_She smiled softly. "Yes," she replied. "I suppose you are tolerable."_

_Apollo released a melodramatic howl. "You wound me, Kore!"_

_She giggled as the handsome god steered the chariot down through the clouds, closer to the surface of the ground. They passed over Aphrodite's temple, over a forest and mountains. Kore drank in the spectacular, breath-taking sights painted by nature around them. The horses flew through a flock of birds which swiftly parted to allow them passage. When Apollo directed his steeds even lower, Kore released a thrilled laugh as tickling butterflies broke loose in the pits of her stomach._

" _Slow down!" she cried helplessly, but a grinning Apollo, witnessing her obvious joy, only spurned the horses on faster._

" _If you think this is fast, you haven't seen anything yet!" he boasted, as they soared over a golden corn field. Kore didn't recognise it as one of her mother's, and leaned forward when she spotted a dark, moving object far below them._

_Apollo seemed to spot it at the same time, and, after a moment of intent staring, gave a sudden, triumphant shout._

" _Hah! That bastard!" he crowed. Kore's heart leapt into her throat as the chariot abruptly plummeted down further at alarming speed._

" _Apollo!" she screeched. "What-?"_

_The chariot hit the ground roughly, throwing Kore to the left. Apollo's arm caught her waist and swiftly drew her back to safety. But the horses did not slow down as Kore had expected. Instead they galloped on, until they drew up behind the moving object Kore had spotted from high above. Another chariot, black-hued and embellished with swirls of brilliant gold, steered by four imposing yet graceful black steeds, was thundering across the field. Its rider was dark haired, cloaked in midnight blue. Without warning, Apollo yanked at his horses to overtake, and drew up directly before the dark chariot, abruptly stopping it in its tracks._

_Kore frowned and opened her mouth, ready to censure Apollo for such an awful landing, when her eyes came to rest on the raven-haired rider of the chariot they had intercepted. The words she had prepared to hurtle at her friend promptly diminished as she was hit with a jolt of recognition._

_Hades was scowling at Apollo._

" _What do you want?"_

_His rich, exasperated voice tantalised her senses, and Kore was mortified to feel heat rushing to her cheeks. Her heart was immediately pounding at the mere sight of the mysterious, handsome young god whom she desperately rued Aphrodite drawing to her attention. What was this feeling? She had the senseless urge to hide behind Apollo's back, out of sight of those piercing eyes, but Hades had not even acknowledged her presence._

" _Hah!" Apollo grinned. "As cheerful as always! What are you doing out here? Have they sent you on another errand?"_

_Hades' frown deepened, and Kore could not help but stare, so hopelessly enthralled. He was surely the most beautiful man she had ever seen._

_He answered Apollo's question with one of his own. "Why are you on the surface? Being idle, as usual?"_

" _Idle?" Apollo echoed incredulously. "I work harder than you do, you spoilt bastard! What do you actually accomplish in the Underworld? Your family run it all for you!"_

_Kore's heart skipped a beat. The Underworld? Hades was connected to that fearsome, loathsome, light-deprived place? Aphrodite had failed to inform her of that!_

_In response, Hades tugged on the black and gold reigns secured to his red-eyed steeds and stated contemptuously, "Hn. You know nothing."_

" _I know that you're about to lose."_

_Hades shot him a sharp look. When Apollo simply flashed a grin back, Hades reluctantly demanded, "What…?"_

" _You're going to lose the race we're about to have," Apollo taunted._

_Kore did not dare to speak. But internally she was screaming at Apollo. He had seemingly forgotten that she was with him. And it strangely irritated her that Hades had yet to spare her so much as a single glance, as though he also thought her invisible._

_The dark-haired god snorted. "I'll pass."_

" _Hah!" Apollo pounced. "What's the matter, Hades? Scared you'll lose when a girl is watching?"_

_Kore's pulse quickened when Hade's fathomless gaze finally flickered briefly onto her. There was no hint of recognition in his eyes; nothing that suggested he remembered her from the night of the festival. Then, all too soon his attention turned back to the Sun God behind her._

" _You're always dead last," Hades quipped back, reminding the light deity that he had lost on the previous five occasions._

" _Not this time," Apollo replied gleefully. "Let's race through this field, and into that forest, right now. What do you say?"_

_Hades looked bored. "I see no incentive for me to do so," he answered flatly._

_Apollo snorted in turn. "Bastard. Fine. Let's place some stakes."_

_Kore discreetly elbowed Apollo in the side. She was ready to dismount the chariot and storm off home, and would have done so, but Hade's magnetic presence kept her glued firmly in place._

_Apollo glanced briefly down at her. "Don't worry," he said distractedly, "We'll definitely win."_

_Kore frowned, and opened her mouth to protest that she did not want to be involved in whatever childish contest he wanted to embark on with Hades, but Apollo was already talking on._

" _If I win, you acknowledge that you're dead last, and you'll let me ride your chariot for the day."_

_Hades rolled his eyes. "Idiot. My steeds do not allow another to steer them."_

" _You'll order them to allow it," Apollo smiled. "Unless, of course, you're scared of losing!"_

_Hades shook his head in exasperation, before reluctantly consenting, "Fine."_

" _Yes! Prepare for defeat!"_

' _Damn you, Apollo,' Kore inwardly fumed. She made a silent promise to smack the foolish young god senseless the second they were out of Hades' sight…_

" _And your terms?" Apollo prompted._

_Hades seemed to consider for a moment, before answering, "Your chariot…"_

_The Sun God waved his hand. "Heh. Finally acknowledging that it's better than yours? Sure, you can have it for the day, if you-"_

"… _With the girl on it," Hades finished._

_Both Kore and Apollo's jaws dropped. She was rendered mute with astonishment. Hades had been practically ignoring her the entire time – and now he had decided to string her into the winning stakes?_

" _Wha-?" Apollo floundered incredulously._

" _You heard," Hades stated nonchalantly._

" _No, Apollo," Kore hissed furiously to her friend, her heart pounding agitatedly within her. "I refuse to be a part of this silly contest! If my mother finds out I am with a stranger, you know that she will-"_

" _Unless," Hades' voice cut in icily, sarcastically, "you are afraid of losing."_

" _Like Tartarus I am!" Apollo tossed back._

" _If you do this, I will never forgive you!" Kore whispered fiercely._

_Apollo cast a helpless look at her, and then turned his attention back to Hades. "Uh… the lady wishes to be left out of our contest. Let me take her home first, then we can-"_

" _You waste my time," Hades dead-panned, before swiftly tugging at his horses to steer around them._

" _Wait-!" Apollo began, and turned desperate, imploring eyes to Kore. "Kore, Hades is a brother to me. You don't have to be afraid of him. I know he looks and acts a bit scary, but he's just showing off. We won't lose, and it'll be fun. Your mother won't know, I promise!"_

" _No," Kore said, folding her arms resolutely. Hades' horses looked very fast, and the mere thought of the stoic god driving her around in the chariot caused an unpleasant fluttering sensation to assault her gut. She was at a loss to understand why the enigmatic deity would even desire to do such a thing. The only possible explanation was that he had deliberately included her to irk Apollo. The two certainly seemed to share a bizarre kind of friendship._

" _Please?" he shot a look at Hades' chariot. The dark-haired god's horses were starting to trot away from them. "It's been such a long time since we've raced, and I know we can win when we enter the forest-"_

_Sudden realisation struck her. Apollo wanted her to assist his course, by removing flora in his path, thus giving their team an advantage. She scowled, and shook her head._

" _Has your friend cheated before?"_

" _Hades always cheats. You've just seen how arrogant he is. Wouldn't you like to see him lose?"_

_Kore opened her mouth to refuse again, but Apollo, who knew her far too well and could sense her resolve wavering, persisted, "I promise you, Kore, that you'll love this. You've always told me that you wish you could go on an adventure. Here is one, right now. Let's beat him together, and then you can ride this chariot alone. I'll be right behind you. What do you say?" He gave her a hopeful smile, one that always managed to pull on the strings of her heart._

" _But my mother-"_

" _Will never know. My father will make sure of it."_

_Kore pursed her lips. She knew there was no way they would lose, and the prospect of driving her very own chariot was admittedly an attractive one. Maybe she could even surprise Aphrodite. Besides, she thought that she would quite like to see Hades frown a little more. Releasing a heavy sigh, she muttered, "Oh, alright. The things I do for you, Apollo! But you owe me."_

_Apollo threw his arms delightedly around her for a quick, joyful moment, before turning to call after Hades._

" _Hey! Bastard! Not so fast! We'll take you on right now!"_

_As if he had anticipated this, Hades halted his steeds and turned to regard them over his shoulder. As Apollo's chariot drew up beside his, Kore cast a nervous look at the mysterious deity, who was once again completely ignoring her existence._

" _We race to the vale beyond the forest," Hades stated._

" _You're on!" Apollo grinned, his eyes burning with the light of challenge. "We'll show you dead last!"_

_To Kore's amazement, the left corner of Hades' lips tilted upwards to form a faint smirk. The sight made her pulse hurtle faster. She had always been watching him in secret, from afar. It felt strange to be in his presence, without the need for hiding._

_It felt… exhilarating._

_Apollo counted down from three, and on his signal, the horses surged forward at the command of their masters._

* * *

The vivid images faded away to black, and all remnants of memory dissipated into nothingness. Sakura awoke, feeling lightheaded and queasy. She stared blankly up at the canopy for a moment, before recollection struck her. She had suffered an attack, which had been witnessed by Sasuke. The death deity had given her the golden liquid to drink, which had worked in much the same way her mother's medicine did. He had asked her what had happened, and then… then…

 _Then I must have fallen asleep_ , she thought groggily to herself. Slowly, she sat up, and looked around – to find Sasuke seated in the armchair next to the flickering hearth. Noticing that she had awoken, his eyes shifted away from the fire to rest upon her face.

Sakura stared back in soundless surprise. Had he been waiting there for the entire duration in which she had been sleeping? Silence roared between them, broken only by the crackling of the steadily burning flames.

Carefully, Sakura pushed back the sheets and scooted forward, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Sasuke rose as she gingerly got to her feet. But the room suddenly whirled, causing her to tilt precariously to her left.

The Death God was by her side in an instant. Sakura inhaled sharply as Sasuke's steely arm wound around her waist, allowing her to rest her weight against his right side. However, the nauseous sensation in her stomach prevented her from dwelling on the feeling of her body pressing against his.

"My head," she managed, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's spinning."

"The ambrosia is affecting you."

The dizzying sensation briefly waned, allowing Sakura to open her eyes again as Sasuke eased her back to sit on her bed once more. Then he stood before her, watching her intently.

"Ambrosia?" she echoed in confusion. It sounded oddly familiar, but her attempts to recall where and when she had heard it were in vain, like the word belonged to a distant, forgotten memory she could not quite place.

Sasuke paused, before uttering pointedly, "Your medicine."

She directed a puzzled look at him, and opened her mouth to ask what kind of drug ambrosia _was_ , exactly, when the room lurched violently again.

"Ugh," she clutched onto her head, willing the unpleasant sensation to pass.

"Sakura." His clear voice seemed to lift the haze from her mind a little, and she forced herself to keep perfectly still. She found that when she did so, the room spun much less.

"Yeah?" she whispered, keeping her eyes firmly shut. It was easier to enact a normal conversation when that charcoal gaze could not ensnare her in its dark web.

After another pause, Sasuke questioned curtly, "How many times?"

Sakura frowned, but kept her eyes closed. "Huh?" she asked. How many times _what?_

"How many times does it happen?"

 _Oh_ , Sakura realised. He was referring to the attack. She found it strange that the Death God seemed to require her to answer. Surely he had the ability to just read the information directly from her head? But evidently he did not, or could not.

 _He has to care, even if it's just a little,_ a voice whispered in her mind. _He's still asking about it. Maybe he wants to understand…?_

She did her best to ignore the tingles that surfaced across her skin as Sasuke's fingers brushed lightly over her forehead. Almost immediately the throbbing pain ebbed, but the displacing feeling of spiralling in a twister remained.

"It's different every year," she replied slowly. "I used to get just one attack. Then it became two. Last year I had three, but the year before, I had four."

Silence met her response. When it began to grow uncomfortable, Sakura said hesitantly, "Sasuke…?"

"Rest," he ordered flatly. She heard him move, then the sound of doors opening, footsteps treading in, Sasuke murmuring something she did not quite catch – and then the doors closed.

When Sakura opened her eyes again, she found that the death deity had left the room. Chizu and Ume stood before her, their faces mirroring mutual concern.

* * *

Every year, it was different. And yet it only happened in spring. Sasuke's thoughts cycled rapidly as he descended the royal staircase and made his way to his bedchamber. So he had assumed incorrectly; the attacks were _not_ cured by ambrosia; they were seemingly just soothed until the next episode occurred.

A deep frown weighed upon his brow. What manner of ailment afflicted Sakura? And more importantly, how in the world had he failed to notice it before? He had watched her for so long, yet not once had he witnessed her in such torment. He could not detect any sickness in her body. What was this mysterious illness?

The death deity did not like the feeling of not knowing what was wrong with her. He was a god! How was it possible that he had been unable to connect to her mind in the midst of her pain?

His frustrated thoughts then turned to the liquid which he had administered to her. Sakura's medicine was ambrosia; there was no question about it. Nothing else compared in flavour. Sasuke recalled that he had allowed her to drink more than usual, following her consumption of the wine during training and again when she was having the attack.

But he had not given her enough to induce debilitating side-effects. A normal human would require another two full goblets at least, to result in the light-headedness she had complained to him about. It seemed that Sakura was particularly sensitive to ambrosia's effects, which was another oddity. Mortals often had to wait for at least ten minutes before the wine began influencing their system. With Sakura, it took effect almost immediately.

Questions; he had so many damned questions. Asking Sakura about it, he knew, would yield unproductive results. The girl did not have a clue what was wrong with her. But surely Tsunade would know? She specialised in health and medicine, after all. It seemed inconceivable to Sasuke that the overprotective woman would turn a blind eye to her daughter's health problems. He was almost completely certain that Tsunade knew what was responsible for Sakura's attacks, and had chosen, for some inexplicable reason, to have the girl believe that doctors had never found a cause.

Did the other deities who flocked around Sakura know about her condition, also? Or had Tsunade kept it concealed from their eyes too?

But why would she hide it? What was it about Sakura that required such protection and secrecy?

The question returned him to the same, maddening starting point. He always circled through so many thoughts, only to arrive at the very one that lay at the heart of his desire to understand her; what was it that made Sakura so _different?_

There was no way he could question Tsunade about it. But perhaps, if he asked another…

Sasuke stopped abruptly before the lone, shimmering tree in the courtyard overlooking his quarters, as an idea slowly began to take form in his mind.

* * *

Sakura watched absentmindedly as Ume carefully folded freshly pressed laundry away. The dizzying sensation in her head had finally, blessedly, diminished. Her attendants had stayed dutifully by her side, anxiously asking her every other minute whether she required anything. Sakura had wanted only water, which Chizu had just left to fetch for her.

The maids had helped her change into a flowing silver gown, with pleated gold straps and a golden girdle wound around her slender midriff. Her hair was worn loose and free. Ume was chattering pleasantly on about wanting to show her mistress the rest of the palace. Sakura listened, her thoughts distant and focused firmly elsewhere. More specifically, they were centred on a certain Death God. Despite his clipped, reticent tones, Sasuke had handled her so carefully.

How was it even possible, Sakura found herself wondering once again, that his destructive hands were also capable of such gentleness?

"-the throne room, is it not, Mistress…?" Ume was saying.

Sakura blinked, ashamed that she had been caught being negligent, and shook all musings of Sasuke out of her mind.

"I'm sorry… what?" she asked.

Ume blinked large eyes at her, and then giggled. "I hope I am not being too bold in saying that you seem distracted, Mistress."

Sakura sighed heavily. A part of her desperately wanted to confide in somebody about Sasuke, and how much he frustrated and confused her. But she knew that Ume and Chizu were not permitted to talk of their Lord, and trying to speak to them about the enigmatic deity would only result in awkwardness for both parties.

"I'm sorry," she apologised again. "You're right, I was just thinking-" she abruptly broke off when she suddenly became aware of a jingling sound. She realised that she must have heard it earlier, but in her preoccupied state had paid it no attention. Her eyes lowered to Ume's small waist, where she spotted a set of keys attached to a large silver ring, fastened to a black sash.

Ume, who was still busy folding clothes, did not notice her staring.

Sakura immediately remembered the mysterious, locked door and was overcome with instant curiosity all over again. Did one of the keys Ume carried open it?

Mindful of the fact that Chizu would walk back in at any moment, Sakura thought quickly, and casually asked, "Is there a master key for the rooms in this palace?"

This time, Ume was the one who was distracted as she smoothed over a freshly washed dress and peered at it. "Hmm? Oh, yes. I think that this must be pressed again. There are crinkles here."

Sakura's heart fluttered hopefully. There _was_ a master key! The question remained , however, whether or not the key was currently in Ume's possession.

Her mind formulating a hasty plan, Sakura said lightly, "I don't suppose I could borrow that key for a little while?"

Ume glanced back over her tiny shoulder and gave her a muddled look. "Forgive me for asking, Mistress, but… why would you require the key?"

Sakura thought of the place in the palace that Ume was least likely to go to, and blurted unthinkingly, "The training dome. There's a locked door there. Sasuke meant to show it to me earlier, but we didn't get time."

Ume looked puzzled. Sakura didn't blame her. She knew her words were making no sense.

 _Oh, God! You didn't get time? Are you listening to yourself?_ Her inner voice groaned. _That's just lame! Think of something else more convincing!_

With a false smile plastered onto her face, Sakura amended, "Do you know the door?"

Ume shook her head. "No, Mistress. I confess I have never ventured there."

"Oh," Sakura said, thinking it remarkably lucky that she had guessed correctly. "Well, I really would like to open that door, and since Sasuke gave me permission, I thought that you wouldn't mind lending me the key. I would bring it straight back." Deciding to take a gamble, she bluffed, "Maybe we could even go down there together?"

Ume looked uncertain. "I…" she began. "I think, perhaps, you ought to wait for the Master…"

 _Damn it,_ Sakura internally fumed. Ume wasn't buying it! It was little surprise. Her cover story was utterly deplorable. Where was her sharp wit when she needed it?

Then a sudden idea struck her. She hesitated, feeling horrible for even considering it. But her desire to see what was behind the locked door prevailed.

"Alright," she sighed, waving a dismissive hand. "It doesn't matter. I'll just tell Sasuke that you didn't give me the key. I'm sure he'll just show me later, when he isn't too busy."

The effect of the words was instantaneous. Ume's eyes widened, and she seemed to blanch.

"O-oh," she stammered. "Please do not tell the Master that I did not give you the key. If he has granted you permission, Mistress, then please take it." She unclipped a large silver key from the ring at her waist, and held it out to Sakura with a tentative smile. Sakura, feeling rotten for essentially resorting to emotional blackmail to gain the object, accepted it.

"Thank you," she said softly. Ume was so sweet and trusting. She reminded Sakura so much of Hinata. Plagued by the guilt of lying, she almost handed the key right back. But the doors parted, and Chizu bustled in, carrying a tray full of hot, steaming food. Sakura instinctively shoved the key into the small skirt pocket of her gown, safely out of sight.

As Ume turned back to fold the remainder of the clothes, Chizu placed the tray beside Sakura and said, "I thought you might be hungry, Mistress."

* * *

Suigetsu looked up at the familiar sound of approaching feet stomping over stone. _Finally_ , he told himself, rolling his eyes in exasperation. Karin had a knack for being completely unpunctual – just like all the other women he had ever known.

"You think it's sexy to keep a guy waiting?" he demanded, folding his arms across his chest in displeasure. "Well it isn't. It's lame."

Karin shot him a contemptuous sneer. "Why would I want to act sexy in front of _you_ , idiot _?_ " she glared.

The Sea God flashed a sharp-toothed, suggestive grin at her. "We both _know_ why."

Karin was furious to feel heat creeping into her cheeks. "I-idiot," she stuttered. "You're disgusting!"

Suigetsu merely tossed her a knowing look, and chuckled. Then, deciding that he had already wasted enough time, he mentally communicated, _'Sasuke's agreed to train Sakura. Which means we've got to start planning how we're gonna get hold of that potion.'_

Karin scowled in displeasure. She didn't like the idea of Sasuke _'training'_ Sakura; it sent all kinds of paranoid, insecure thoughts whispering through her head.

' _I told you I'll handle it,'_ she snapped telepathically at him.

' _You'd better get a move on, then. The sooner you get it to Sakura, the more chances she has at pulling this off.'_

' _The little pink-haired freak will probably blow it.'_ Karin stated derisively. _'She looks like she's good for absolutely nothing!'_

Suigetsu snickered. _'Jealous much? Just because she gets to spend so much time with your precious Sasuke-kun? You're right though; she probably will blow it right in front of that bastard's face. Bet he'll enjoy it, too.'_

Seconds trickled by as the penny dropped. Karin's jaw promptly followed. _'You- you're so gross!'_

Suigetsu blinked innocently at her. _'What did I say?'_ he asked, feigning ignorance.

' _Ugh!'_ Karin placed her hands on her hips. _'I'll go visit the hag as soon as I can get clear of Juugo. Stop bothering me all the time!'_

' _Hey, I never told you to come. You didn't have to come here to talk to me._ ' After a pause, Suigetsu remarked sneakily, _'Not my fault you miss me so much.'_

' _Hmph!'_ Karin glared daggers at him. _'In your dreams, idiot! Now don't bug me again, or you can kiss that potion goodbye!'_

' _Bitch. You'll kiss your life goodbye if you stab me in the back,'_ the water deity's eyes glowered menacingly at her. _'That includes Sakura. You betray her, you betray me. We're leaving together. Got it?'_

Karin looked away. _'Whatever,'_ she snarled. Then, shooting him a sour scowl, she bit out, _'She'll get the potion when I'm ready.'_

With that, the water nymph turned and stormed away, leaving Suigetsu gazing after her, his luminous eyes narrowed with distrust.

* * *

Sakura's stomach formed apprehensive knots as she crossed through the art gallery, silently praying that she would not be intercepted by any servants, or worse, Sasuke himself. After she had forced herself to accept warm soup and bread, as well as the water she had requested, Sakura had informed Ume and Chizu that she needed more rest. The maids had left to allow her some privacy, and after waiting for what she deemed to be an ample enough time, Sakura had snuck out of her room. A part of her still felt absolutely awful for utilising deceit in acquiring the key. She had always been so good and honest, and considered lying to be an abominable, shameful act. What was _happening_ to her?

It had been the only way, she fiercely defended. If Sasuke was going to insist on keeping secrets from her, then she had to take necessary action to find out things for herself; how _else_ was she supposed to understand her captor and her situation better?

As Sakura neared the end of the gallery and stepped into the corridor that led to the mysterious door, a tremble of anxiety seized her. What if there was a good reason why Sasuke didn't want her to see what was behind the door? What if she did not like what she saw? What if something horribly frightening lay in wait beyond it?

What if Sasuke found out she had entered?

 _Chickening out?_ Her inner voice taunted. _What would Ino say if she saw you getting cold feet?_

 _Shut up_ , Sakura snapped at herself, and did her best to crush down her jittering nerves. She hurried through the arched opening on the right, and stopped before the innocent looking golden door. Her pulse raced as she cast a guarded glance back over her shoulder. Nobody was around. It was then or never. She retrieved the key from her pocket, and without allowing herself another second's hesitation, slotted it into the keyhole. Her heart leapt when she felt the lock give way in a single twist. Taking a deep breath, she twisted the knob and pushed the door warily open, her body tensing in anticipation of the fact that _anything_ could leap out at her.

Nothing did. She was met by the sight of a long, ordinary, rectangular shaped, candle-lit room with yet another impressively arched, vaulted ceiling. Quickly, Sakura stepped inside and closed the door firmly behind her. The sound of her falling footsteps was subdued by the rich, deep crimson carpet beneath her. Lining both sides of the room were gold cloth-covered tables. Books and parchments were arranged in tidy piles over them. Sakura spied ancient looking scrolls. Her curiosity ignited, she drew closer to them.

The room was dimly illuminated by tall, twin-headed, bronze floor candelabra, which made it difficult to see everything clearly. Sakura reached out and picked up a scroll, angling it toward the nearest flickering light source. It contained writing that was illegible to her. Placing it carefully aside, she picked up another, and gently unwound it to find herself staring down at a very faded picture.

For a long moment, her eyes couldn't make anything out about it. Then, slowly, she recognised the lines of faces, and hair. Black and gold. Two people, she strained to see, seemed to be standing beside each other. The parchment was so badly worn that it was impossible to make out their features clearly. Sakura gave up trying to do so, and moved onto another open parchment. A sun crest was drawn onto it. Sakura supposed that it might have looked magnificent once, but again, the colours were washed out, all details damaged.

 _Wow_ , thought Sakura appreciatively, the bookworm within her delighted at her unanticipated discovery. How old were these scrolls? Her fear had completely diminished, leaving nothing but fascination in its wake. She was fully absorbed, felt as though she had stumbled upon ancient artefacts that belonged in a prestigious museum. She desperately lamented that she could not understand the characters scrawled onto the parchments and in the pages of the heavily bound books before her. Sakura trailed to the right side and examined curious looking, pretty trinkets and even more mystifying scrolls and books.

She gasped as she spotted a beautiful, authentic red and white uchiwa fan, adorned with precious garnet gemstones, resting by one of the parchments that depicted a map of sorts. Feeling almost afraid to touch it, Sakura reached out and grasped the fan by its handle. It was truly magnificent, a delicately constructed piece of art that was solid in its weight in gold.

The candlelight around her shifted and flickered, and something in the corner of her vision caught her attention. Still gripping onto the fan, Sakura turned, her eyes widening in surprise. At the end of the room was another low table, with many small candles lit atop it. The same uchiwa fan insignia was stitched into the black cloth that covered it. Sakura drew closer, noting that fans were also painted onto the bare stone walls of the room. She reached the table, to discover a beautiful bouquet of freshly assembled, fragrant flowers. She recognised chrysanthemum, xeranthemum and lilies; all mourning and remembrance flowers. Coupled with the candles before her, Sakura had the unnerving feeling that she had walked into a shrine of sorts.

The strange, unsettling sensation of being watched suddenly befell her. Sakura glanced apprehensively behind her, but all was quiet, and she was most definitely still alone. Then she turned her attention back to the table, and her eyes, which had been engrossed by the flowers, lifted to regard the wall directly before her.

What she saw caused the air to abandon her lungs.

Set within a solid gold frame was a massive portrait that had been concealed from view by shadows when she had first entered the room. Her gaze immediately fell onto the person who took central focus in the striking painting – and she was hit with a jolt of unexpected recognition.

 _Sasuke._ It could not have been anybody else. Yet he seemed different, and she could not believe that she was looking upon the very same god who had kidnapped her. His raven hair was longer, his face clearer and somehow brighter. And Sakura realised why. A genuine half-smile was gracing his lips – and Sakura was left gawping at the sight. He was seated on an impressive black upholstered, gold lined chair, dressed in hues of dark blue and rich gold, with a sapphire droplet in his left earlobe. He looked every inch the regal and haughty prince.

Sakura's dazzled eyes rose to regard the astonishingly beautiful woman standing to his right, her slender, creamy hand resting lightly on Sasuke's shoulder. Her dark features were almost a precise carbon copy of Sasuke's. The woman was dressed imperially in a luxurious midnight gown, her long, black hair adorned with braids and tiny silver, star-strewn pearls. She was smiling softly, her dark, long-lashed eyes shining with open love. Her heart-shaped face looked so young, and yet Sakura dizzily thought there was no mistaking who she _had_ to be; Sasuke's mother.

Her focus shifted to regard the tall, handsome, stern-looking man standing directly behind Sasuke. His hair was a dark shade of brown, worn loose to his shoulders, his eyes dark and intense. Heavy, weary lines marred his brow, and he was dressed in grey and black, his high-collared, rich cloak bearing delicate silver chains and detail. The man looked formidable and imposing. There was no trace of a smile on his face.

 _His dad…?_ Sakura thought to herself in amazement. She could certainly see a slight resemblance in the way Sasuke frowned.

Then her eyes moved to the last figure in the painting, standing to Sasuke's left. Clad in deep crimson and gold, with raven feathers lining his black cloak, was a young man with features so arresting that Sakura felt the air physically leave her lungs. The angled, sculpted lines of his strong jaw were so very reminiscent of Sasuke's; the aristocratic nose; the proud, graceful posture. The stranger's long, dark hair was pulled back atop his head, wayward strands falling to frame his chiselled, handsome face at the sides. A crimson droplet glinted in his left ear. He, too, was unsmiling. Unlike the others, however, he was armed, the bejewelled case of a sheathed sword held firmly in his left hand.

Sakura then turned her attention to the final feature she had bypassed at first glance, and she lost her breath all over again. The stranger's eyes seemed to stab directly though her skull. They were heavy-lashed, piercing in their intensity; vivid crimson depths that were taking over her senses. A strange, foreign sensation was creeping up over her. Her heart was pounding, and the lightheaded feeling was swiftly returning. The more she stared up into those eyes, the more she was overcome by a terrible, ominous feeling of foreboding. A choking, irrational fear. All at once, the room seemed to be closing in on her. Something white suddenly flashed across her vision, and her mind was overcome with searing pain.

Strong, merciless fingers gripping her chin. Words she could not hear. Spinning, bloody kaleidoscopes…

Those eyes. They were blazing right into her soul. She senselessly and frantically thought that she could not let them, that she had to look away, because otherwise… otherwise…

_It will happen all over again._

_What…?_ Sakura thought in alarm, feeling smothered, incapable of drawing oxygen into her heaving lungs as unintelligible whispers reverberated deafeningly in her head. What was _happening?_ Any attempts to piece together the chaos that had ensued at the sight of those eyes only resulted in further pain. Another agonising flash assaulted her, leaving the imprint of crimson burning into her brain. Tears blurred over her vision, causing a gasp to escape her lips as the room lurched, her stomach tilting along with it. She reached out to steady herself, but her clumsy hand knocked into something – a candle, which fell off the table and rolled onto the ground. The edge of the cloth was set immediately alight as it came into contact with the flame.

It caused the last remnants of rationality to flee from Sakura's panic-stricken mind. Without thinking, she backed away, the only coherent thought resonating in her skull being that she needed to get away from those eyes.

Escape. She had to escape, to keep them from seeing her, from dooming her all over again…

With incredible effort she tore her gaze away from the silent stranger's. Sakura whirled around, panting, ignoring nausea's attempts to floor her. She burst out of the room – and collided straight into a warm, solid body. Her right hand lost its grip on the uchiwa fan, which fell with a resounding clatter onto the marble ground. Dizzily, Sakura looked up into Sasuke's face. His hands automatically reached out to seize her by her trembling arms, and he opened his mouth to say something, when, abruptly, he stopped, his breath catching sharply in his throat as his gaze shifted from Sakura's sobbing face, to beyond the open door behind her.

The sight before him caused the Death God's eyes to widen in pure horror.

The table at the end of the room. It was on fire.


	23. Chapter XXII

**Chapter XXII**

* * *

_The tears that spill will take their course,_

_Torn in two, is heart and mind,_

_Besieged by crippling, cold remorse,_

_The words, in silence, she cannot find,_

_Soft! The moment doth approach,_

_When she extends to him,_

_An olive branch._

* * *

Sheer desperation propelled Sasuke forward. In a heartbeat he had shoved Sakura aside and lunged through the door. Something wrenched violently inside his chest at the sight of the flames blazing wildly before him. Without thinking, he reached out and snatched the edge of the burning cloth, tearing the remnants of charred fabric away from the table. But the wood beneath it had also caught fire. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke allowed his eyes to bleed to crimson, the black pinwheels contained within the bloody irises spinning rapidly on command. At his will, the flames diminished before extinguishing entirely. Sasuke was left staring, wide-eyed, at the scorched remains of the table, his pulse thundering.

The oxygen he had involuntarily repressed from his lungs escaped in laborious agitation as he leaned forward and raised his right hand to press tentative fingers lightly upon the surface of the framed portrait.

Relief flooded through his veins. The painting was untouched, intact. He had reached it in time.

His gaze lowered as he took a minute to regulate the chaos of his heartbeat. The picture was one of the few remaining mementos he possessed of his family. If any harm had befallen it…

Abruptly, Sasuke severed the thought, crushing down the tumultuous emotions it summoned, his eyes returning to the painting. He stared at it for a long, lingering moment, before turning rigidly away, his jaw tightly clenched.

Sakura's pulse was racing so hard and fast that she half feared she was on the verge of falling into cardiac arrest. Her mind buzzed from the disjointedness of her thoughts as she struggled to comprehend _what_ , exactly, had happened. She was unable to keep the trembles that wracked violently through her body at bay, as the death deity stepped out of the room, and in one, swift, pointed motion, slammed the door securely shut. When Sasuke had pushed her aside, Sakura had lost her balance and fallen to the floor, the key in her pocket flying out and onto the ground. She watched as he bent down to retrieve it. There was an odd finality about the lock clicking back into place.

Green eyes, darkened with tears, lifted to rest apprehensively on the Death God's face. She caught her breath when she detected pure, unbridled fury there.

Sakura's heart palpitated in fright. She did not know what had come over her, but she knew that she had gone too far this time. The painting had probably been ruined, and Sasuke was rightfully incensed. She was certain that the death deity was going to disregard his previous assurances and terminate her life at that very second.

Terror caused Sakura to open her mouth, intending to offer a frantic, desperate apology, even when she knew there was no possible excuse for her actions, not when he had already made it transparently clear to her beforehand that she had absolutely no business in the room. Every muscle in Sakura's body quivered when the Death God stepped forward and reached down again to pick up the uchiwa fan she had dropped so carelessly earlier. All hastily prepared words hitched in her throat when Sasuke's eyes abruptly lifted from the fan in his hand to direct a glare at her, one that was so devastatingly chilling in its intensity that she physically felt the blood drain from her face.

"Sasuke," she began to stutter, panicking when his hands closed to form angry fists at the sound of her voice. "I-"

She broke off when something incredibly hostile flashed across his crimson irises. Irises so similar to the ones that had instigated such pandemonium within her. The static-like, overpowering aura radiating from him him was one of unrestrained, malicious intent. Sakura recoiled, feeling it profoundly. It crackled over her like an unbearable electric current, crippling her ability to move, to think. She had never been so petrified in her life.

But Sasuke did not strike her, as she feared. His furious eyes slipped away from her, and he glowered at the ground for a moment, as if engaged in an internal struggle of sorts. Then, without a word, the Death God walked by her and exited through the arched opening, disappearing down the corridor that led toward the courtyard.

The silence that followed his departure was shattering. Sakura was left alone, stricken, distraught, the suffocating sensation of guilt crushing at her very soul.

* * *

The fingers clutching the key tightened as a fresh wave of fury washed over him. Sasuke stormed across the courtyard, his expression positively thunderous. It had been difficult. It had been so _very_ difficult to impel his legs to walk away from her, to stop himself from doing something they surely would have both come to regret. A part of him had wanted nothing more than to seize Sakura by her delicate shoulders, slam her against the wall, and yell at her for being such an incompetent, clumsy idiot.

He directed a murderous glare at the stone-laid path beneath his feet. How could anybody be so utterly _stupid?_ Had he not made it explicitly clear to her that the shrine room was absolutely off limits?

 _No,_ the Death God seethed to himself. Sakura just had a death wish. And he half-wanted to turn back and grant it to her. _Literally._ The girl was too inquisitive for her own good, and if the portrait had been damaged in any way, he did not know what he might have done to her.

His gaze fell on the beautiful ornamental fan. It had belonged to his mother, and the fall it had suffered at Sakura's hands had resulted in a small chip forming in the left corner of the handle. It was repairable, but did not compensate the fact that it had been dropped so disrespectfully to begin with.

It only served to intensify his wrath even further.

Sasuke entered the eastern wing of the palace and stalked down the long, magnificent corridors. A livid hiss escaped his lips as he stepped back into the grand entrance hall, his eyes coming to rest upon two familiar figures, both carrying straw baskets loaded with freshly washed linen.

Without wasting another second, the death deity approached them.

Ume was the first to acknowledge his presence. She curtsied low, Chizu following suite as both maids parted at the base of the staircase, believing that their Master intended to ascend the steps.

Instead Sasuke held up the master key in his right hand, crimson irises ablaze with accusation.

Chizu's eyes moved from the key to her Lord's face in confusion. Upon detecting his antagonistic demeanour, the woman swallowed apprehensively. Ume blanched, released a startled gasp, and began to tremble.

"Explain," Sasuke bit out, "how Sakura obtained this key."

Chizu shook her head, at an utter loss to provide him with any reason. Keeping her gaze respectfully averted, she began uncertainly, "Forgive me, Master, but I do not know-"

Sasuke's attention shifted to the quivering little girl behind her, and he knew for certain that he had found the culprit who was responsible. His temper flared further. He ought to have known the pathetic ball of sentimental fluff that was Ume would grow soft on his captive. What ruse had Sakura used to acquire the key?

Ume shrivelled beneath the severe weight of the Death God's glare. She opened her mouth to explain, but was so petrified that she could not form words at the first few attempts.

Chizu stared at her in dismay. What had the foolish child done? There was no possible way for her to attempt to shield the girl, when she did not know what had happened.

"I-I…" Ume stuttered, rooted to the spot by fright.

Sasuke's glare became lethal. "Speak!" he snapped impatiently.

"M-Master she… she- t-told me you- granted her permission to-to take the k-key…"

Sasuke inhaled sharply. His stormy expression walled off, and he stared blankly at the little maid who shook like a leaf caught in the midst of a ferocious tempest.

She had resorted to trickery.

His anger erupted like an internal volcano. Ume was babbling an apology, begging his forgiveness, but the death deity barely heard her. His mind was focused on one thing, and one thing alone.

Sakura had _lied._

But she did not lie. She was not the kind of person to engage in such dishonesty. In all the years he had watched her, he had only seen her to be candid and good.

Why would she choose, then, to fool a child as innocent and trusting as Ume? What had driven her to do such a thing? Not only had she disregarded his words, she had also misled the maid before him by falsely informing her that he had given his consent for her to take the key. Being curious was no excuse. What she had done was wrong.

Sasuke's fury was complete. He felt the skin of his right arm tingle, his chakra flow spiking dangerously, on the verge of summoning destructive lightning energy. He felt the need to fracture. To maim. To vent out the inner rage he was experiencing, an anger that was so immense, he was caught quite off guard by its level of vehemence.

And he was left internally disturbed by just how easily Sakura was able to provoke such a violent reaction within him.

But he crushed the murderous urge down. It was Sakura, not Ume, who was at fault. And he would not confront her now. He was not certain he could retain control if he did.

Without another word, he spun on his heel and stormed out of the palace, leaving the little maid sobbing behind him.

* * *

"Damn it," Naruto huffed, as he dropped down onto the grass next to his friend. "I can't sense that old pervert anywhere!"

"Are you surprised?" Shikamaru inquired lazily. They had come to rest beneath a cluster of trees in an open field located on the outskirts of Konoha. "He was the first one to master Sage Mode. It would be an embarrassment if he made this search too easy."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me," the blond muttered, before raising his eyes up to the late afternoon's blue sky. A brief silence settled between them. Then Naruto quietly questioned, "What if we don't find that bastard Suigetsu or Sakura-chan underwater?"

Shikamaru turned his eyes up to the sky in turn. He watched a fluffy cumulus cloud float slowly by, before answering, "Then we'll know that Suigetsu isn't the only one involved in this."

Naruto clenched his jaw tightly. "You think _he_ is?"

The young Nara released a heavy sigh. "It's hard to say. Suigetsu acting alone doesn't add up. He's not that stupid. There has to be another party involved."

"I can't stand it," Naruto's hands closed to form angry fists. "I can't stand this waiting. She could be anywhere right now. She could be _hurt_ -" He broke off, swallowing back the desolation that swiftly rose to clog his throat.

Shikamaru regarded him askance. "Suigetsu wouldn't risk any harm coming to her. But we can't afford to waste any time. Things are already changing…" his voice drifted off, as a leaf fell from the tree directly above them. Naruto reached out, snagging it in the palm of his hand before it could touch the ground.

When his fingers uncurled, the youths found themselves staring at a leaf that ought to have been a lustrous fresh green in hue, in keeping with the season.

Instead its edges were a dull, faded brown.

* * *

Sakura wound the shawl more tightly around her huddled form. After Sasuke had left her, she had finally picked herself up and returned to her bedchamber to wallow in misery. She sat before the fireplace, unable to shake off the icy sensation that jittered around her whole body despite the flames' heat.

What had she done? Sasuke was fuming; so incensed that he had not even uttered a single word to her. All the hard effort she had invested in keeping up a compliant appearance had come undone following an act of pure mindlessness. What had spurned her into going through with it?

She was too impulsive and always had been. Too curious for her own good. Her mother had always scolded her for it. Fresh tears burned at her eyes. Why couldn't she ever do anything right? People had always complimented her on her intelligence and sharp wit. Yet those favourable qualities had seemingly vanished when she had been snatched from the surface. She kept messing up around a god who clearly did not tolerate senselessness of any kind. Why was she so clumsy around him? When was she going to start pulling herself together?

 _Never_ , her inner voice taunted. _You've blown it this time, genius. You saw how mad Sasuke was. You practically burnt down a shrine. You think he'll let that one go easily?_

Sakura released a dejected groan, drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms. What madness had possessed her when she had gazed upon the portrait? A flash of vivid crimson caused her muscles to tense as she recalled the eyes that had been responsible for sending her reeling. Why had she reacted like that to a mere painting?

Just thinking about it made her brain ache. She suppressed a shudder, her thoughts whirling in a chaotic rush. Sasuke had a family. Or he'd had one in the past. The candles and mournful flowers suggested they were no longer around. The stunning woman she had seen had unquestionably been Sasuke's mother. The resemblance was striking and undeniable. It led her to conclude that the other two men she had seen were Sasuke's father and… a brother? They certainly also possessed a likeness to the death deity in terms of their dark, aristocratic features.

A part of her found it difficult to digest the fact that gods had families. She never would have imagined that immortals were born to parents, like humans were. She recalled Suigetsu's words, about gods fashioning mortals in their image, and lifted her head a little, to peek at the steadily burning flames again. How desperately she wished to understand! She had so many questions to ask Sasuke. Sakura realised with a sudden, profound sense of sadness, why his anger affected and upset her so much. She had wanted to learn abouthim. A tiny part of her had hoped she'd made even a tiny bit of progress, even if she had seen little to no evidence of it.

She wanted to know about the portrait she had seen, and what had happened to the people in it. But she knew there was no way she could ask him about it, now. There was no conceivable way she could possibly win back his trust. And she only had the blindness of her actions to blame.

The shameful truth of the matter was that she had believed she could slip into the room, snoop around, and creep out again without Sasuke noticing. She had thought she could outsmart a god! She felt wetness against her cheeks, and was overcome by an incredible surge of self-loathing. That was all she was good at – crying! Crying and making a fool of herself in front of the very person to whom she needed to prove herself most. If she could have proven herself enough, perhaps Sasuke would have gradually started to become kinder to her. Maybe, eventually, he would have allowed her to return back to her home.

 _How dense are you…?_ The same condescending voice whispered snidely in her head. _You think you could have actually changed a god like Sasuke's mind?_

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, her shoulders hunching further. She wanted more than ever to escape, to forget that her abduction had ever happened, even when she knew there was no way she could ever forget the Underworld's King. But she had likely squandered all chances of obtaining Sasuke's Kusanagi, too. She could not hope to pull off Suigetsu's plan now. She had ruined everything by going behind the Death God's back, and poking her nose where it didn't belong.

A soft knock drew her attention to the door. Her heart leapt, as the thought of it being Sasuke crossed her mind – but the fleeting hope deflated when her attendants stepped in, curtsying politely in greeting.

She was initially confused when Ume and Chizu were silent and seemed to avoid making eye-contact. Then it suddenly struck her why, and she leapt out of her seat. Her pulse quickened as she recalled that Sasuke had retrieved the key – and likely interrogated the maids about it, believing them to be responsible for it landing in her possession.

Horrified that they had gotten into trouble because of her lies, Sakura began, "Have you seen Sasuke-?"

"The Master does not wish to be disturbed," Chizu said stiffly. Her formal tone stung Sakura and confirmed her suspicions. Sasuke _had_ confronted them; she could tell from the awful expression on Ume's face. The poor girl looked like she was on the verge of weeping – and so, again, was Sakura.

 _I have to do something_ , she thought anxiously. She needed to apologise, somehow, to explain; to make them understand why she had done it.

"I lied," she blurted, feeling utterly ashamed. "I'm so sorry-"

Ume's lower lip trembled. The sight triggered an unpleasant wrenching sensation in Sakura's gut, and she was overwhelmed by stifling guilt and dread.

"Ume," she began in alarm. "Did he hurt you? If he did, I…"

If he had, she would never forgive herself.

"If there is nothing you require of us, Mistress, we will replace the linens and leave you to your rest," Chizu informed her.

Sakura stared at her, aghast. "Please," she implored. "Please listen. Just let me explain-"

Ume burst into tears, and Sakura felt even more wretched. Chizu quickly deposited her basket and wrapped a comforting, protective arm around the girl.

Sakura swallowed thickly. "I'm sorry," she began despondently, wringing her hands in agitation. "I didn't mean to cause trouble. I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have lied to you. I never lie. I don't know what's _happening_ to me..."

The sniffling sounds of Ume's sobs filled the brief, silent interlude.

"I just…" Sakura faltered. All the feelings she had repressed for so long, the fears and negative, frustrated emotions that she had been unable to voice, were on the tip of her tongue, on the brink of being unleashed. She desperately needed to _talk_ to somebody. And since Sasuke was out of the question, she was left with no other alternatives than the attendants who stood before her.

"He scares me," she confided. Once she had gotten the first confession out, the remainder of the words followed, tumbling in a trembling rush, without restraint or thought. "I don't know why he chose to kidnap me; I'm stupid, and clumsy, and I always do the wrong thing. I just wanted to try to understand him. That's why I asked for the key. I thought I could find out something about him, because he never tells me anything. He just watches me, and it's driving me a little _crazy_ , when I don't even know what he _wants_ me to do. I tell myself it has to be a test, because that's what gods do, they test humans. But I'm messing it up. I just keep messing up." She covered her face with her hands, to hide the fresh tears that had welled up in her eyes.

This time, the only sobs she heard were her own. "I can't," she managed, "I can't deal with this. I'm just a normal college girl. I can't do it." She sucked in a shuddering breath before finishing in a whisper, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for lying to you…"

Ume had fallen silent. She exchanged an upset look with Chizu, whose features had softened considerably. She regarded their mistress with a look of compassion and pity. The younger maid wiped at her eyes, and stepped forward, hesitantly reaching out to touch Sakura's arms.

"Please do not weep, Mistress," she said tentatively. "The Master was most displeased, but he did not hurt me. I… I told him the truth. That you had asked me for the key…"

Her words only made Sakura cry harder, as she came to terms with the fact that Sasuke now definitely considered her a liar, and would be even more distrusting of her. Chizu clucked her tongue sympathetically and moved to the girl, wrapping a consoling arm around her slender shoulders.

"There, there, Mistress," she said gently. "Forgive us for having upset you. You need not cry."

"He…" Sakura sobbed, "He's so mad at me…"

"All will be well," Chizu soothed.

But Sakura wasn't so sure. They had not seen the way Sasuke had glared so hatefully at her. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her right hand, and said in a wobbly voice, "I have to see him. I need to apologise properly-"

Ume's eyes fell. "He has departed the palace, Mistress."

Something deep within Sakura's chest constricted. She thought that it might have been her heart in its distress, but refused to dwell on it.

"His anger will wane," Chizu reassured her. "It is best to give it time, Mistress."

Sakura sniffled, and nodded. She had two options; to remain as she was, and avoid Sasuke, or to try to put things right. The defiant part of her argued that none of this would have even happened were it not for Sasuke and his decision to kidnap her in the first place, but the more sensible voice of logic reminded her that she was dealing with an immortal deity, and it was in her best interests to try her best to somehow mend the damage she had done.

She did not know if Sasuke would listen. It terrified her that he would not. But she had to try. She couldn't just give up and submit to despair. Because losing her mind meant losing her most powerful ally, an ally that fear had already greatly hindered. She made a silent promise to do things right, as she ought to have done at the very start. She vowed to be more cautious, to carefully weigh every decision she made from that point onwards.

And maybe, just maybe, if she was able to show Sasuke how genuinely sorry she was, he would do the impossible, and eventually forgive her.

Small, warm fingers slipping around her hands drew Sakura's attention back to Ume, who offered her a watery smile. And the words she spoke next gave Sakura a little comfort.

"I understand, now, Mistress. I am no longer upset. And I feel… yes, I feel that the Master will surely pardon you, also."

* * *

Sai cast a watchful glance around him. Darkness had fallen, and the park, which had become something of a wordlessly-agreed designated meeting spot, was empty. He folded his arms tightly across his chest, keeping close to the body of the tree beneath which he had taken shelter. It was drizzling lightly, but the day's weather report had forecast a heavy shower later that night.

Apprehension was twisting unpleasant, steely knots in the deepest pits of his gut. It was the same feeling he experienced whenever he knew _him_ to be imminently approaching. The cool air temperature around him suddenly dropped several degrees, and the lamp lights that littered the park blinked out, heralding the arrival of the individual for whom Sai had been patiently waiting.

Sasuke's distinct chakra signature rolled out before him like an ominous thundercloud. It seemed even colder and more frightening than usual, and Sai felt the prickles on his skin in response to the invisible, static charge that crackled in the space between them. Thick mist enveloped both their forms, summoned at the death deity's command to cloak them from watching eyes.

His heart racing, Sai lowered his head in submissive greeting.

"Great God."

"Well?" Sasuke snapped at him, removing the helmet that had concealed his form from view. It was evident to Sai that he was in no mood to hold any manner of dialogue.

Wisely sensing that he had very little time to make the purpose of his request for a meeting known, Sai immediately cut to the chase. "They intend to use Inoichi's telepathic abilities to connect to Jiraiya-san's subjects' minds underwater. In doing so, Inoichi will be able to direct the search with his own eyes."

Sasuke glared in response to the unwelcome development. He had thought he would have a little more time, but clearly the surface fools were more intelligent than he had initially given them credit for; they were absolutely determined to locate Sakura.

And he was determined that they would not find her. Not yet, not before he'd had his way and finished with her.

 _Damn it_ , he internally vented, his hands closing to form angry fists. A brief rifle through his memory caused a faint face to surface at the forefront of his mind. Inoichi Yamanaka, he remembered, had long blond hair and keen pale blue eyes, features that were shared by Sakura's closest female friend, Ino; a young woman who had relinquished her previous form and taken that of a mortal.

Her guardian father posed an unforeseen problem. Sasuke had not expected the man to resort to using telepathy. As far as he understood, from the pact that had been made long ago between the one who resided in the sky and surface immortals, the earth-bound gods and goddesses were forbidden from using their powers. But they were clearly prepared to bend the rules in their desperate hunt for his captive.

His suspicions flared more strongly than before. That they would all be willing to push the limits for Sakura's sake... something clearly did not add up. He knew that questioning Sai about it would be useless; much of the wretched youth's mind had been erased by his previous, traumatic near-death experience, and his mortal recollections were scattered and hazy. He now retained but a mere fragment of his previous powers and thought-processes, which took the form of nocturnal dreams that occasionally resulted in prophetic sketches which harboured hidden messages.

Sai, the death deity was aware, had been saved by Tsunade before. It made sense that he would feel obligated to protect her adopted child. There was nothing Sasuke could find out from him that he did not already know.

Abruptly, he questioned the messenger who stood nervously before him, "When?"

"They are searching for Jiraiya as we speak."

Sasuke's jaw clenched. He could not risk confronting Jiraiya again. If the plan they had in mind was put into motion, they would soon discover that Suigetsu was missing from the oceans – and more importantly, that Sakura was not being held there. In order to maintain the cover he had fabricated for longer, he needed to eradicate the weakest link in the chain.

Inoichi was not a god. And Sasuke knew from experience that those who meddled far too much for their own good always met a swift and unpleasant end.

The Death God's lips curled back to form a faint, yet menacing sneer. Meeting Sai's alarmed gaze, he hissed, "I will handle Inoichi. _You_ stall the others."

* * *

Sakura sat on the steps overlooking the sprawling palace gardens, watching as the floating spheres of light trailed pretty paths in the air before her. After she had apologised to Ume and Chizu, they had accompanied her to the art gallery in an attempt to ease her mind's worries. But Sakura had been unable to focus on the paintings and sculptures contained within the impressive hall, her thoughts preoccupied by Sasuke and just how she was going to go about apologising to him. She had requested to visit the gardens, and her attendants, sensing that she needed time to reflect alone, had left her to do just that.

Clasped between her hands was a steaming mug of tea. Sakura raised it to her lips and took a long, soothing sip, enjoying the way the hot beverage warmed her throat and chest. Even tea in the Underworld tasted richer and fuller than it did on the surface. The silence of the gardens, which she had considered somewhat unsettling at first, was now a comfort. Her eyes never grew fully accustomed to the sheer beauty on display before her, always finding new and wonderful details to admire. In many ways, the gardens were where she strangely felt most at ease.

With a heavy sigh, she finished the rest of her drink, placed the mug on the top of the stairs, and rose to her feet, venturing deeper into the idyllic scenery around her. How did one go about seeking pardon from a death deity? She knew how humans usually asked for forgiveness; they clasped their hands together in prayer, or fell to their knees in remorseful submission. Would either of those methods work with Sasuke, who had openly taunted the value and effectiveness of prayer before?

A soft frown formed on Sakura's brow. She had to think of a way to get Sasuke to agree to see her first. He had been so furious; what if, when he returned, he was still angry, and refused to even look at her?

She ran her fingers agitatedly through her loose tresses. She did not know what to do! It wasn't like she had any experience in dealing with grouchy, displeased deities. What if she did the wrong thing? What if she only ended up irking Sasuke further?

Apprehension flapped through her stomach like a distressed bird beating its wings. She had to tread very carefully. She needed to find a way to show Sasuke that she _was_ sincerely sorry for what had happened, and to apologise for lying, also. She had to make him understand that she was going to do her best not to mess up from then on, and that she would never go anywhere again unless he accompanied her or granted her explicit permission to do so. She could not afford to slip up again.

As Sakura entered the second section of the garden, she drew to an abrupt stop, her gaze coming to rest upon the flower collection nestled in the hedge-line to her far right. She stared with wide eyes, her pulse quickening as an idea slowly whispered through her mind.

* * *

He stood beneath the pine tree, wearing darkness like second skin. The lights in the house beyond the Yamanaka residence's gates were illuminated, signalling that the inhabitants were at home. His calculating eyes noted that the building was probably impressive by human standards - but nothing when compared to a god's majestic palace.

He moved forward, and effortlessly passed through the solid barrier, moving as silently as a shadow along the neatly-kept path that led up to the front entrance doors. He peered through the windows, beyond the white nets that provided little privacy from prying gazes.

Inside the room was a familiar figure, pacing absent-mindedly about while conversing animatedly on a telephone. Ino, he recognised the girl instantly, his eyes trailing indifferently over her attractive form. She was nothing like Sakura; always exposed more skin than was necessary and flirted beyond excess with men. One corner of his lips curled back to form a faint, disgusted sneer. Why Sakura admired and followed such a self-centred airhead so much, he would never comprehend.

He ignored the blonde's existence as the figure he was searching for entered the room. The death deity's eyes narrowed as Inoichi handed his daughter a slip of paper, before reaching for his coat on the armchair behind her. He watched impassively as the young woman tiptoed to place a light kiss on her guardian's cheek, before turning her attention back to her conversation.

Sasuke stepped away from the window, his eyes moving expectantly to the front door. There was no need for him to hide; the helmet was already masking his presence. His mind raced as he mapped out possible courses of action. How he ultimately decided to deal with this unwanted interference was dependent on what Inoichi was intending to do and where it was he was heading.

In order to buy himself as much additional time with Sakura as possible, he needed to ensure that the others did not realise Inoichi was missing - which meant they could not find a body. On the other hand, if he chose to terminate the seraph's life, he was almost certain that Jiraiya would immediately point an accusatory finger at him, and gather the others to storm his kingdom.

Sasuke ground his teeth in frustration. He needed to make the fool he could sense approaching the front door disappear – but without actually killing him. His telepathic abilities were too much of a potential problem to allow anything else.

He felt rushed, pressured to act, and the emotion was one he was unaccustomed to experiencing. He did not like it. Time had always been something that had held no sway over him. However, he knew he could not afford to delay. If the others located Jiraiya, and if their plan was executed, his days with Sakura would surely be numbered.

He had absolutely no intention of surrendering her. He would end her life before he handed her back to that damned _mother_ of hers. Fuelled by fierce possessiveness, Sasuke lurked like a deadly predator in the darkness as his unsuspecting prey exited the residence and made his way over to the mechanical monstrosity that was parked in the designated space before the front lawn.

As quietly as air, Sasuke stalked after him.

* * *

Inoichi secured his seatbelt and switched on the ignition, staring grimly at the dashboard as it illuminated a familiar, electric blue. He tapped an address into the built-in navigator, and scowled when the system informed him that no such location existed.

Jiraiya had always been a wanderer, and a notoriously difficult one to track down, but he had certain places he liked to visit often. Inoichi had already searched three of the five areas he knew to be amongst Jiraiya's favourite hot spots, with no success. Making a silent vow that he would attach a tracking device to the carefree drifter, Inoichi tried to type in the address again, this time searching by landmark sites. His eyes lit up when a suggested place popped up on the screen.

He only required guidance on which major roads to take to reach the place; memory would serve him for the remainder of the way.

The night was a quiet one, and chillier than usual. The repercussions of Sakura's absence were starting to be felt, and Inoichi knew that weather forecasters had already picked up on the unexpected arrival of what they deemed to be 'low pressure', which had not shown up on weather systems beforehand. The plummet in temperatures was affecting plant life. Some flowers, which had been tentatively blooming, seemed to be dying away.

Inoichi shook his head as he pulled out of the Yamanaka residence's front gates, and took a left turn, following the long, lamp lit side-road until it branched off into a main one. He turned on the radio, which auto-tuned into the news station he often listened to while driving.

"… _very strange, isn't it? Global warming is really starting to take its toll on our planet. This freak weather system is proof of it. Temperatures are struggling to reach above 4 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, when we usually expect to see double that figure at this time of year…"_

Inoichi's lips twisted in response to the male speaker's words. Humans, with their scientific gadgets and technology, had become arrogant. They believed they now possessed the resources required to explain almost every natural phenomenon that existed. Yet some things could not be accounted for by machinery. Some things worked because they were tied to essences and intricate mechanisms beyond mortal understanding. But what humans could not explain caused them great unsettlement.

They worried when they could not find answers.

The disturbances in the oceans had also not escaped the notice of meteorologists and marine scientists; they were keeping a close eye on developments. Suspicions were rife that along with the altered weather system, a natural disaster of sorts was imminently looming. But no concrete evidence had yet been gained that warned of a calamity of any kind occurring.

It was odd, thought Inoichi to himself; that Suigetsu was choosing to deliberately unsettle the seas in an attempt to throw their progress off course, after offering his help to Tsunade. Wouldn't she have sensed if he had been hiding something? Or had he been such a brilliant actor, that not even she had picked up on his false act?

Inoichi's hands tightened their grip on the steering wheel. The water deity had made a mistake in underestimating them and had let himself in for a world of trouble once they eventually caught him. He wondered whether Suigetsu was even aware that they knew, when he had clearly not expected Sai to disclose his secret-

His mind whirred to a sudden stop, as a suspicion that had somehow eluded him before slowly surfaced.

If Suigetsu had warned Sai not to speak, had he gotten into contact with the youth again to make sure that he had not spoken anything to them?

Were they still communicating, even now?

Deep lines formed on his brow and he shook his head. How had he not thought to question Sai about that earlier? He supposed they all had a lot on their minds, which made little lapses in concentration all the more likely.

Placing his cell onto loudspeaker, he dialled Sai's number and waited. When there was no response, and the answerphone service automatically kicked in, Inoichi left his message.

"Sai. Call me as soon as you receive this. It's urgent."

He disconnected the call, his eyes returning briefly to the dashboard. The navigator directed him to take a right turn, leading onto a long, wide road flanked by silent fields on both sides. The lamps lining the route were few and far between, but Inoichi was glad for their presence. He had never liked the darkness. It reminded him too much of what had happened back then-

He blinked, his thoughts diverting as he spied an unexpected patch of mist looming overhead. His foot pressed down on the brake pedal, and the car drew to a gentle stop before the eerie-looking cloud. He rolled the window down and icy coldness assaulted his skin. As the window slid back up, Inoichi watched in confusion as the glass on the windscreen began to condense, before forming a thin film of ice.

What was happening? No mist was capable of doing such a thing, especially not in springtime in Konoha. He had only been driving for twenty minutes and was still at least another twenty from the outskirts of the village.

The fog was becoming denser, rapidly coiling out to engulf the body of his car. Cursing, Inoichi reversed. He could not risk passing through such a thick and perilous patch. He would have to find another route-

Abruptly, the windscreen cracked.

Inoichi's heart jumped, and his body tensed in its seat, as he watched the glass splinter as though it were made of nothing more than flimsy wood.

 _This is no ordinary mist!_ Inoichi thought to himself in alarm, his pulse thumping as he swerved hastily, performing a blind U-turn in the road. His foot slammed on the accelerator, and the car shot forward, racing speedily out of the dense mist cloud. But to his utter astonishment, another patch formed directly before him. A swift glance in the rear-view mirror revealed endless smog of freezing white behind him. He jerked the wheel to the right, leaving the road altogether, navigating onto grassland in a bid to escape the unnatural mist.

His right hand rose to speed-dial Kakashi's number, to inform his friend of what was happening – when an unseen forced slammed into the left side of his vehicle, sending it flying through the air. It landed with a terrible screeching crunch of metal, rolling over twice before teetering to a stop.

Inoichi blinked through his daze, disorientated. The car had flipped right over, and he could smell burning oil.

_Get out. Must… get out…_

But his hands were numb, and could not follow his mind's frantic commands. He could not feel them. His skull pounded, and warmth trickled down the right side of his face. Murky grey began to encroach into the corner of his vision. Something suddenly constricted deep within his chest, making him exhale sharply as his heart palpitated violently, as if it were on the verge of stopping entirely.

The last thing he saw and heard before blackness consumed his consciousness were two sandal-clad feet, crunching purposefully over shattered glass.

* * *

Sakura stepped back to evaluate her work. Her teeth gnawed worriedly into her lower lip as her eyes trailed over the arrangement she had created, a multitude of anxious questions rushing through her head. Did the colours work well? What if it was all too much? Would Sasuke approve? Would he bother reading the little note it had taken her numerous attempts to write? What if he rejected her offering, and threw it away? Or worse – killed the stems she had spent so long carefully selecting?

 _What am I doing?_ She thought to herself, lowering the secured bouquet sadly to the ground. Did she honestly believe that a petty flower collection would be an adequate enough apology? It was a human custom. But she was dealing with a god; a god who would probably burn them right before her eyes in contempt.

 _No_ , she forced back despair. _I have to try. I can't just wait for him to come back and do nothing. I have to start somewhere._

She nodded with conviction. Then, with renewed resolution, she plucked the bouquet up again and made her way back inside the palace grounds.

When she stepped into the entrance hall, she found Ume and Chizu exiting the banqueting room.

"Mistress," they both curtsied, before Ume exclaimed, "Oh! Such a wonderful arrangement! Truly you have a gift!"

Sakura perked up. "You really think so?" she asked shyly.

"Yes, indeed," Chizu admired. "Your selection of blooms and ribbons indicates great experience with flower arrangement, Mistress."

"It is a most lovely bouquet," Ume gushed, clapping her hands together in delight. Sakura's heart swelled within her. That Ume could be so forgiving and sweet to her, after what she had done… she vowed never to involve either of the innocent maids in her actions again.

"Umm," she began hesitantly, "I don't suppose either of you could deliver this to Sasuke?"

When both of her attendances gaped at her in response, Sakura felt a blush pool into her cheeks. Self-consciously, she continued to babble, "I mean- I know he isn't in, but maybe you could leave it in his room? I just- I want to say sorry and…" Embarrassed, she stopped, released a breath, and helplessly held out the bouquet. "Please?"

Ume and Chizu exchanged flabbergasted glances. Then, just when Sakura thought that she would burst from humiliation, Chizu smiled a small smile.

"Of course, Mistress. We are happy to assist you in any way we can. Please allow me to deliver these to the Master's quarters at once."

* * *

Sasuke stalked into the entrance hall, his thoughts fully preoccupied. He had disabled Inoichi and destroyed all incriminating evidence of an accident having occurred in the field – but his mind was no more at ease than it had been before committing the deed. The seraph had not been killed. Instead, the death deity had imprisoned him in a comatose state underground, in a location where nobody could find him. A location concealed from both mortal and immortal eyes by layer upon layer of illusionary spells.

Inoichi's life-force was tied to Sasuke's hands. He would maintain it, until he no longer had to keep Sakura's whereabouts a secret. And then, if he wished it, _perhaps_ he would free the meddling fool, and allow him to return home to his friends.

He had bought himself some more time – but for how long? How would the others react to Inoichi's mysterious disappearance?

His lips drew back in scorn as he crossed the courtyard and entered his quarters. It did not matter what they chose to do next, he told himself. He would always make sure he was three steps ahead.

Just like his brother had always cautioned him to be.

His mouth instantly relaxed to form a grim line at the recollection of his sibling, and his mood took an even fouler turn. He deposited onto the bed the helmet which he had removed upon returning to his realm, and unfastened his cloak, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply as he ran his fingers through his wind-dishevelled raven hair.

His eyes immediately opened again as a sweet, unfamiliar scent wafted to his nose. Usually his chamber smelt of the fragrant wood that burned in the hearth – but this smell was different. He turned his head, seeking its source – and found it in the form of a strikingly beautiful bouquet of flowers, wrapped in a dark sapphire, gauzy sheet and bound with a shimmering silver ribbon.

It sat perched innocently on top of the antique oak writing desk near the fireplace. The Death God stared incredulously at it for a moment, wondering when it had appeared in his room. Then, almost mistrustfully, he approached it, glowering down at the blooms with an intensity that could have caused even the heartiest of flora to wither.

Deep purple, midnight blue, and radiant white blossoms had been arranged in an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. He noticed a small piece of folded paper, slipped between two of the stems, and lifted it, his fingers parting the edges to reveal a note, scrawled in familiar, cheerful handwriting.

_I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied, or gone behind your back. I didn't mean to make you so mad. I know you'll think that these flowers are silly. I want to apologise properly, if you'll listen. I'll be in the training dome. Maybe if I can learn how to balance on those beams, I'll be a little less clumsy from now on._

_-Sakura._

The frown that had been marring Sasuke's brow smoothed over. Sceptical eyes, which had been hard and punishing only several minutes earlier, softened. Something stirred in his chest, a feeling that was so foreign to him that he flatly refused to acknowledge it. He read over the words again, before his gaze settled back onto the bouquet.

Sakura was correct. The flowers _were_ silly, and so was she for sending them to him. They did not undo the fact that she had lied and disregarded his words. But she had taken the time to arrange them and to write the message - and the simplicity of the gesture served its intended purpose. The fury he had harboured toward her waned, leaving behind only disgruntled irritation.

He reached out, touching the edge of one milky bloom lightly, caressing its silkiness between his fingertips. It was so delicate, so pure.

Just like Sakura.

He swallowed. She was just so- _so…_

…So very _annoying._

He released a low, exasperated sigh and turned his eyes up to the ornamental ceiling to clear the conflicting thoughts from his mind. Then, after replacing the piece of paper back between the flowers, he turned and left the room.

* * *

Sakura huffed, kicking the post in frustration. How many more times did she have to fall off before she learnt how to hold her chakra correctly? It was outrageously difficult to maintain the flow for long enough to jump beyond the first beam.

Or perhaps it was not. Perhaps the reason why she could not maintain the energy within her was because she was so damned distracted.

Sakura scowled as she climbed back onto the first post. After handing Chizu the bouquet of flowers, she had returned to her room with a chattering Ume to change into another sparring outfit, before descending to the training dome alone. She had no idea how long she had been in the colossal arena for, and anxiously found herself wondering every so often whether Sasuke had returned and seen her flowers. What would he make of her note? What if he did not even bother to read it?

 _Stop it,_ she scolded herself. _You'll know whether he's seen it if he shows up. If he doesn't, then deal with it. Now just stop thinking about him, and concentrate. If you want to be less of a loser, it'll do you good to toughen up._

Closing her eyes, she did her best to empty her thoughts and focused solely on the essence within her. She felt the familiar warmth of chakra as she summoned it from the depths of her cells and directed it toward her legs. Opening her eyes, she readied herself, counting down from three, before jumping to the next post. She landed precariously onto it, but quickly steadied herself, and closed her eyes again, once more channelling chakra to her feet. Inhaling deeply to compose herself, she counted down for a second time.

 _I can do it_ , she willed herself. _I can make the next jump. Just concentrate!_

On one, she hopped forward, and miraculously managed to land on the post. Its smaller diameter meant that her arms had to flail wildly in a desperate attempt to restore her balance – but she succeeded in anchoring herself in place, albeit less than gracefully.

 _Yes!_ She internally celebrated. Finally, after countless failed attempts, she had managed to jump to the second post! Practice really did make perfect-

Her thought abruptly derailed at the sound of three, slow, pointed claps echoing strongly through the air.

Her head twisted to glance behind her. And her heart fluttered.

Sasuke stood next to the circular arena, gazing up at her with piercing, unfathomable eyes.


	24. Chapter XXIII

**Chapter XXIII**

* * *

_And so she gave her word to Death,_

_No more false lies would she beget,_

_In earnest did she vow to obey,_

_Ne'er again to pry nor stray,_

_In silence, he heard, his mind concealed,_

_To words that cleft his armoured shield,_

_Though such a truth - he would not yield._

* * *

Obsidian eyes trailed unhurriedly over Sakura's form. She was clothed in an outfit that closely resembled the one she had donned for their first training session. Deep green sleeves moulded closely to her arms, reaching to just above her elbows. The pleated leather skirt was grey, and beneath it, darker grey knee-length tights modestly concealed the bare skin of her slender thighs. Her hair was pulled back into a long braid, stray wisps falling into her face. Sasuke watched as she quickly dismounted the post and joined him on level ground.

She was nervous. He could plainly see her inner anxiety from the way she unconsciously hunched her petite shoulders. She took a few, shuffling steps toward him and stopped when she deemed the distance between them to be adequate enough. Sasuke waited, curious and keen to discover what she intended to say and how she would choose to act.

Sakura's heart was galloping hard and fast. She had made grand plans to apologise properly, but a part of her had doubted that Sasuke would even read - much less acknowledge - her note. However, he evidently had, and she found the prospect of verbally acquiring his forgiveness a daunting one. She had devised a simple speech, which seemed to have flown right out of her head now that the death deity was standing before her.

The seconds dragged by, every single one that passed heightening the tense silence that had fallen between them.

 _Do it_ , Sakura fiercely scolded herself. _Just open your mouth and get it over with. Don't think about it – just say it!_

Fiddling fretfully with the tail of her braid, Sakura swallowed down her self-consciousness, forced her eyes back up to the stoic god's, and began earnestly, "I'm sorry, Sasuke."

His expression remained stony, and - Sakura agitatedly thought - completely unforgiving. But before she could lose her nerve, she ventured, "I should never have gone snooping around behind your back. And I-" Overcome with terrible guilt, she averted her gaze and conceded, "I should never have lied to Ume."

She paused, her anxiety only escalating when Sasuke remained quiet. She chanced a quick glance back at him, to find him regarding her coolly and indifferently, without the faintest semblance of any kind of emotion on his face.

Sakura lowered her head and shifted her weight from one sandal-clad foot to the other. "I…" she took a deep breath, and decided to take the plunge, reasoning that she had the best chance of being pardoned if she was as honest as possible. "I know it's not an excuse, but I just wanted to _understand._ That's why I did it. I want to understand this place better and I…"

 _Tell him!_ Her inner self practically screeched at her hesitation.

"…I want to understand what you are," Sakura near-whispered, distressed to feel unexpected heat flourishing to her cheeks. Hastily, she rephrased less personally, "I mean- I want to understand what you _do_."

Sasuke kept staring at her. He said nothing.

Squeezing her eyes briefly shut, Sakura confessed with difficulty, "It's been so hard for me. I'm trying, but I…" she chewed down on her lower lip, "I'm _human,_ Sasuke. I'm clumsy and stupid, and I make mistakes. But I didn't mean to knock the candles over. I just- that was an accident." She shook her head in puzzlement at what had overcome her at the sight of the portrait, but resisted the urge to refer to the painting. Mentioning it at such a critical moment, she was sure, would close Sasuke off even further, and that was the very last thing she wanted to do.

Clasping her hands behind her back, Sakura continued, "This place is so strange, so different to anything I've ever seen. But I keep messing up because I don't _know_ what's going on. I wish you could just explain it to me." When Sasuke's eyebrows drew together at that, she quickly tagged on, "But if you can't, or don't want to right now, I'll wait." She wet her lips and added with an awkward little laugh, "Maybe that's my test?" After another pause, in which Sasuke's expression remained unmoved, she finished solemnly, "I promise I'll be more careful from now on. I won't go snooping anywhere you don't want me to, and I won't leave the palace without telling you."

One dark eyebrow lifted marginally at that, and Sakura fleetingly wondered whether she would come to regret her words. It was a difficult promise to make; she knew what she was committing herself to, that she was relinquishing what little freedom of movement she had, but told herself that she had no choice. She had to lay all her cards on the table if she wanted any chance of repairing the damage she had done.

There was just one card that she would keep to herself. But it was one she would never permit herself to even consider in Sasuke's company.

The sound of footsteps slowly approaching her caused Sakura's pulse to quicken. Her lashes swept up to find Sasuke standing directly before her. His expression was aloof, but his eyes were as hard as anthracite searing intently through her. With great effort, Sakura maintained contact between their gazes. Her heart fluttered when he continued to stare deeply into her irises, as if seeking to mentally scour every inch of her mind for any further traces of dishonesty or deceit. She suddenly had the unnerving sensation that he was glaring right through her, into her very soul.

What did those unfathomable depths see when they looked at her?

Then, abruptly, Sasuke blinked, and reached out with his left hand, ghosting his fingers over the hair on the right side of her head. Sakura remained perfectly still, ignoring the overpowering need to move away from his electrifying presence as he stepped closer, so that he stood toe-to-toe with her.

The words he spoke in response caused her heart to leap into her throat.

"What else have you lied about, Sakura…?" he murmured.

Panic almost seized her as the transient thought of him _knowing_ about that which she had to keep secret flew through her mind, but she compelled herself to uphold eye-contact. She wasn't _lying_ about anything. Lying and withholding information were two separate things, weren't they? She was being honest when she told him that she would not pry anymore. She had no further intentions of exploring the Underworld alone. The only person who could enlighten her about the extraordinary realm was the enigma of a god who towered over her.

Her insides jittering, Sakura shook her head, and answered, "Nothing."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed mistrustfully. Did Sakura really expect him to believe that she would cease searching for an escape from his kingdom? He was no fool. He knew how much she longed to return to the surface, saw the sadness and yearning she was fighting to keep obscured from him. And although her desire to understand did not excuse the fact that she had entered through a door which had been deemed forbidden to her, Sasuke told himself on reflection that he ought to have expected and anticipated her curiosity. Wanting to learn more was, after all, an integral part of Sakura's inquisitive and scholarly nature.

That did not mean he would forget the occurrence – and neither would she. The death deity was wary of accepting her word, yet her promises were sincere. He did not detect fabrications in them. Her pupils were dilated and open to him, her beautiful doe-like eyes genuinely remorseful.

It was annoying, how expressive those green orbs were, how he felt the inexplicable craving to study them, the way they reflected emotions so vibrantly. He wondered how a pair of eyes could be so innocent and alluring at the same time, and was struck by a sudden, senseless urge to snake his right arm around her waist, and pull her close against him.

He wondered how Sakura would react if he did.

Instead, he tilted his head and leaned in closer, so that his lips hovered over her left ear.

"Lie again, Sakura…" Sasuke exhaled against her skin, his words trailing off as the remainder of the unspoken threat weighed ominously in the air. Sakura froze, paralysed in place by the tingling sensation in her ear which his warm breath had provoked, and the unmistakeable implications of his silent guarantee. If she was dishonest again, she would face the full consequences.

The very thought of what those consequences would entail instilled her with terror. She gulped, processing at that second that Sasuke was being unquestionably lenient. She was walking a very thin line, indeed.

"I won't," she assured him, as firmly as she could manage. "I promise."

The following seconds were almost unbearable for Sakura, as the Death God lingered in place. Then, to her great relief, his hovering fingers lowered and he stepped back, closing his eyes briefly.

"Hn," he dismissed. His eyelids lifted again and formed dangerous slits, as he added in warning. "You will be held to that vow."

Sakura released a breath. Did that mean she was forgiven, or at least on the road to being pardoned? She hardly dared to believe it, not when Sasuke still looked so displeased and guarded.

But a tiny ray of hope sparked to life within her, when the death deity abruptly turned away and ordered curtly, "Retrieve your blade."

* * *

Shikamaru cast a wary glance about his surroundings. The village they had wandered into was located on the outskirts of Konoha and not one they had visited often before. It was a quiet little town, quaint in appearance, but otherwise unremarkable. It had little to recommend itself to tourists - other than several bathing houses and its unusually large population of women.

It was precisely the kind of town Jiraiya enjoyed 'exploring'.

"All this travelling on the road is making me feel grimy," Naruto whined behind him. Shikamaru released a light sigh. He could already guess, from countless experience, where the conversation was likely heading. It was no coincidence that the male bathhouses were adjacent to the female ones. Naruto had much more in common with Jiraiya than he liked to admit.

He ignored his friend and kept his eyes focused firmly ahead. A pretty young brunette caught his eye and offered a coy smile. He quickly averted his gaze, unaffected by her attentions. He had seen, and knew, much more beautiful girls, anyway.

"Ah, c'mon Shikamaru; just a little rest? Can't we stop for five minutes and grab a drink?" Naruto pleaded, his arms folded casually behind his head, his eyes squinting the same way they always did when he was up to mischief.

Shikamaru turned his gaze up to the sky in exasperation as a particularly attractive red-haired girl beamed at Naruto as she passed him. _How troublesome_ , he thought to himself, as his friend's sunshine head twisted to follow after her. He ought to have known that bringing Naruto to this place was a bad idea. The loud-mouthed blond reminded him too much of their leader, sometimes.

"Don't lose focus," he scolded. "We're here for Jiraiya."

Naruto mumbled complaints beneath his breath, but trailed obediently after him. They stopped at shops and restaurants, asking the owners and locals whether they had seen a man who fit Jiraiya's description and photograph. None had, and they were almost ready to concede that Jiraiya was not around, when a dark-haired woman who had been listening in to their enquiries pulled a sour face at them.

"That old geezer! He got tossed out of the bathhouses! Trying to spy on naked women, he was!" She glared at them, and added before they could protest their innocence, "Are you friends of that pervert? Leave our village at once! We've no place for the likes of you!"

She grabbed her shopping bags and bustled off, leaving Naruto and Shikamaru to exchange helpless glances. Jiraiya was still finding time to pursue worldly pleasures, despite the urgency of Sakura's situation.

"Better not tell granny Tsunade about this," Naruto muttered, as they turned and began to make their way toward the bathhouses. Three minutes later, they found a familiar figure sitting unashamedly on a rock by the front entrance to the male springs. Jiraiya looked up as they approached, and cheerfully raised the bottle of wine in his hand up to them in greeting.

"Oho!" he exclaimed. "Very good! You've found me, Naruto!"

Naruto shook his fist at him. "You perverted old hermit! Sakura-chan's missing, and you're here spying on naked women?"

Shikamaru thought it was somewhat ironic that Naruto was lecturing his old teacher, when Naruto himself had been begging just minutes earlier to make a quick stop at one of the food bars.

"My dear boy," Jiraiya corrected him affectionately, "I am conducting _research_. A bathhouse contains a great wealth of information-"

The tinkling sounds of female laughter caused Naruto to flush deeply. Jiraiya straightened, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I wonder what information I can gather from that…" he began, but broke off when Shikamaru abruptly grabbed him by the collar of his long, sleeveless burgundy coat and yanked him up to his feet.

"You know, Tsunade's right about you," he sighed.

Jiraiya scowled at the mention of her name. "Shikamaru, don't be such a prude. You're young, and you aren't above such pleasures, no matter how hard you might try to convince yourself otherwise…" he stared thoughtfully at the youth before adding, "You mean to tell me that you have no desire to spy that minx Ino in a bathing suit?"

Naruto choked on a cough. Shikamaru felt heat blaze into his cheeks, and he muttered in irritation, "You've had _way_ too much to drink, old man."

"Or you," Jiraiya turned blithely on Naruto. "Little Hinata-chan would look fetching too, I'm sure."

"Wha-!" Naruto spluttered. "Shut up, pervert!"

They succeeded in dragging the lecherous Jiraiya out of the village, but not without a colourful verbal send-off from a wealth of affronted women of various ages. On the field outside the town, he settled down beneath a tree, and immediately sobered.

"Of course I'm not intoxicated," he stated moodily. "What lightweight do you youngsters take me for?"

Naruto glared at him. "What are you doing all the way out here? You're supposed to be looking for Sakura-chan!"

"Calm down, Naruto. I merely stopped by here an hour ago," Jiraiya waved a dismissive hand at him.

Shikamaru doubted that was all the time he had taken, given the mass of ladies he had managed to upset, but shook his head, eager not to waste any further time. "We've been trying to track you for several days, Jiraiya."

"Get a damned cell phone, already!" Naruto interjected, pointing in frustration at the white-haired man, who sighed heavily.

"I have no need of such materialistic items-"

"Jiraiya," Shikamaru quickly directed the conversation back to the subject at hand, before it could divert again. "We need your help, but we won't talk here. Come back with us, and we'll fill you in."

Jiraiya's eyes darted between the two youths who stood gazing expectantly down at him. Then he said with an impish smile, "Young rascals; so forceful these days. Well, then; shall we go?"

* * *

Sakura watched Sasuke's movements carefully, trying her utmost to mirror them as best she could. The death deity had begun their second training session with what he probably intended to be a 'warm-up' ring-catching activity – but Sakura had been out of breath and suffered a number of falls by the time he had terminated it. He had scarcely permitted her to regain her bearings before commencing onto the next task, which involved her mirroring the steps he took. They had started off basic enough – but of course, as Sakura had quickly realised, Sasuke was a punishing tutor who did not go lightly on her.

She took a side-step to her right, watching his feet and hands, grateful to have an excuse to _not_ look into that face, though she could feel the weight of his gaze, directed constantly at her. When Sasuke swiped his Kusanagi left, she did the same with her sword. When he performed eight-shaped loops in the air with his blade, she copied the motion – albeit with much less fluidity and grace.

Sasuke's movements became faster, and Sakura pushed herself to keep up. He feigned movement to his right, and she followed – before he abruptly switched directions, back-pedalling smoothly. She cycled backward and jogged left when he did, breaking into a sprint as he picked up further pace, but faltered when he changed course once again.

"Focus," he reprimanded sternly. Panting, she hurried right, forward, left, then around as he made to circle her, her eyes darting to his face for the briefest of seconds. Sasuke didn't even look like he was exerting himself. His breathing was regular and even. His eyes snagged hers, and the distraction cost her as she tripped up over her own feet and landed on her rear end on the sandy arena floor.

Sasuke scowled down at her. "Hn," he scoffed. "Inept."

She frowned in turn. Hadn't he called her that insulting term before? Gulping down air, she defended, "I'm trying my best-"

But Sasuke had no interest in hearing excuses. "Get up," he cut in mercilessly. Sakura lugged herself up to her feet, her lungs heaving for oxygen, wondering why he seemed so dissatisfied. What did he expect? She wasn't a godly, flawless being like he was. She had limits – very human ones. She had hardly exercised vigorously in her life, apart from during dance lessons, despite Ino's futile attempts to get her to regularly attend gym classes.

She watched, regulating her breathing once again, as with an elegant flourish Sasuke produced what looked to be a tennis-ball sized glass sphere in his right hand. It was oddly cloudy, as if it confined some manner of fog within – which she soon realised was precisely what the mysterious grey swirls contained inside the ball were.

"A veiling sphere," Sasuke informed her. "When struck against a solid surface, it fractures, releasing the mist within it." He held it out to her. Sakura accepted it, and cast an uncertain glance back up at him.

"What do I do with it?"

In response, Sasuke produced another three out of thin air and handed them all to her. She had to replace her sword in its casing in order to carry them all.

"They enhance stealth and detection skills," the Death God answered, before gesturing for her to step out of the circular area. He moved to the centre of the lowered ground, and indicated for her to stand by one of the columns that formed a ring around the dome.

"Strike the spheres to the ground, and try to complete a full circle around the pillars," Sasuke explained. "When the mist dissipates, you must remain hidden behind a column."

Sakura stared at him. "But you'll already know where I am," she commented, confused by the purpose of the activity.

He threw her a pointed look. "Remain concealed from your enemy's sight," he clarified.

She blinked and looked down at the spheres in her hands. It seemed like a straight-forward enough drill; she simply had to time her runs while the mist cloaked her form from Sasuke's direct line of view. Then she glanced back at Sasuke, who was waiting expectantly for her to hide behind the first column. As Sakura moved to do so, she peered back at him and asked nervously, "What happens if I don't hide in time?"

In response, Sasuke stabbed his sword into the ground and unclipped one of the weapons he had attached to his belt at the start of the training session. A sharp kunai glinted menacingly in the light, as the death deity warned, "I will not miss."

Sakura's eyes widened. The hidden message behind his words was unmistakeable. If she failed to hide herself, the weapon would be flung directly at her. Even if Sasuke did not aim to strike her, she certainly did _not_ want to be faced with a potentially dangerous incoming projectile.

"You'll make this fair, right?"

He sent her a haughty, condescending look. "Scared, Sakura…?" he taunted, flipping the kunai into the air before catching it in his palm again.

She bristled indignantly. Sasuke knew perfectly well that she wasn't comfortable with training with him. Why did he have to mock her about it?

 _Because he's even more of a jerk than Neji Hyuuga on his most ego-inflated of days?_ Her inner voice helpfully supplied. But she said nothing, choosing instead to compose herself behind the pillar. She was so desperate to succeed, to make it all the way around without misfortune slapping her in the face. She'd had too much bad luck lately. Surely she could accomplish such a simple activity? Sasuke clearly did not hold high expectations of her doing so and yet, how she longed to prove him wrong, to replace that contemptuous look with one of reluctant surprise!

 _I can do this_ , she thought determinedly to herself. _I just have to run as fast as I can, and keep my eyes open. I can do it!_

"I'm ready," she called out to him.

She swallowed as she heard the clink of metal. Sasuke had probably just armed himself with extra kunai – not that he needed them. The instant he glimpsed a clear opening, she had no doubt that he would not miss.

"Begin," his voice rang out authoritatively.

Sakura held back, reasoning that the longer she waited the more unpredictable her sudden movement would be. The death deity's position in the middle of the arena maximised his view of the circle of columns, but Sasuke had no way of knowing when she was about to toss the sphere – not unless he _did_ cheat, which would defeat the entire objective of the training exercise. She was aware that he could locate her immediately if he wished to, but trusted that he would give her a sporting chance at succeeding.

All she had to do was hurtle the globe in Sasuke's direction and make a mad dash for safety. It was almost like a game of baseball. There were twelve pillars in total, and she had been given four veiling spheres, which meant she had to complete three columns per sphere thrown.

It was easy enough – except that the distance between each pillar was quite a sprint in itself.

"Sakura," Sasuke prompted sharply, impatiently, after a full minute had passed.

"You never specified a time limit," she countered. Her fingers tightened their hold on the sphere as she waited for his response.

Sure enough, it came.

"Hn. Begin, or-"

She didn't give him a chance to finish. Midsentence, she threw the sphere right toward him. It struck the ground and shattered, instantly releasing a cloud of thick grey mist that quickly enveloped Sasuke's form and blanketed his view of her. Sakura marvelled at the sight for a transitory moment – before remembering she had a mission to accomplish. She bolted for the next pillar, keeping a close eye on the thickness of the mist.

She was caught by surprise at the speed at which it began to dissipate. She had thought it would last a little longer, but of course, Sasuke delighted in making her life more difficult. Racing past the first pillar, she pushed herself onwards towards the second, just as the fog began to thin dangerously – and yelped in alarm as the ominous whistling sound of a projectile cutting through air and hurtling her way made her dive desperately forward and skid behind the sanctuary of the second column – just as the slicing of metal indenting into stone reverberated in her ears.

She panted, her heart thumping wildly from exertion and adrenaline.

"That distraction won't work again," Sasuke's hard voice reached her in warning, referring to her verbal diversion. Sakura concentrated on catching her breath, and prepared the second sphere.

 _Great_ , she fumed silently in frustration. Now she had to complete _four_ pillars in one run. How was she going to manage that, when three alone were a stretch? And Sasuke had just given her a taster of how deadly accurate his throws were.

 _I'll just have to run faster – and worry about the pulled muscles later_ , Sakura mentally told herself. Taking a deep breath, she peered cautiously around the column to gauge Sasuke's position – and gasped when another kunai soared inches past her head. Quickly, she sought shelter again, her mind racing in an attempt to map out some form of strategy.

A sudden thought occurred to her. _If I throw a second one, just as the first is wearing off, I can buy myself more time, and I won't have to worry about looking for an opening to throw the spheres from behind the columns._

But that also meant that she absolutely had to complete as many runs as she could, and utilise every fraction of a second available to her, without relying on the safety net offered by the pillars.

"Do I get any extra spheres?" she questioned.

"No," was the curt response.

Sakura looked down at the three remaining spheres in her hands. It _had_ to be doable – otherwise Sasuke would not have limited the number to four. Unless he just wanted to make a total fool out of her – which was something that she wasn't quite ready to put beneath him.

Sasuke looped his index finger through the ring at the end of another kunai's handle, and spun it lazily in anticipation of her next movements.

 _What will you do now, Sakura…?_ He internally wondered.

Sakura braced herself. She would have to throw the first sphere blindly – and hope that it landed close enough to the Death God. Counting down from three in her head, she hurtled the glass globe as far and fast as she could, straining to hear it connect with the ground. When the distinctive sound of thin glass shattering reached her ears, she lunged forward, just as the mist began to flood up. Heart hammering, she prepared the second sphere as she tore past the third column, forcing her legs to surpass their accustomed limit.

 _Four!_ She thought frantically, as she raced by another pillar, just as the dense fog began to thin once again. She choked on a gasp as a metal projectile flew her way, and ducked unseeingly, throwing another sphere toward Sasuke's barely visible silhouette in the middle of the arena. It ruptured on the ground as she passed the fifth column, fully cloaked her as she rounded the sixth. But the untrained muscles in her legs were starting to burn, and she was near breathless. She could feel her momentum slowing as she passed the seventh, and by the time she approached the eighth, she knew she had to stop. The distance was too great, and she wasn't used to running such long distances.

A kunai suddenly indented in the ground right beside her left foot, throwing her unexpectedly off balance as she hopped to avoid it. Before she could regain her bearings, another kunai pierced the edge of her skirt, the incredible momentum with which it had been thrown succeeding in staggering her backwards. She cried out, meaning to throw the final sphere in her grasp, but another star-shaped metal weapon snagged the other side of her skirt, tearing straight through the edges.

Sakura spun thoughtlessly as a ruthless projectile whistled within inches of her right ear, slicing off thin, flying strands of pink hair along with it. The pillar, she realised in panic, was now behind her. She looked up, her eyes widening in terror as they witnessed three more kunai rushing straight toward her like honed, steel missiles. She leapt to the left, lost her balance as Sasuke directed another small, disc shaped weapon by her feet, and fell against the pillar, her back slamming into hard stone.

Stars briefly swam across her vision, and she felt something catch against both sides of her skirt. With alarming accuracy, another small disc snagged the left sleeve of her sparring outfit, and an additional one sliced into her trailing braid, tugging it painfully backward and holding it firmly in place against the column.

What had just happened? Sakura blinked, lungs heaving for oxygen, utterly stunned by the speed at which she had been effectively trapped against the pillar by weapons that had speared straight through the edges of her clothes. She flinched when a final kunai embedded into the hem between her legs, and looked up, her heart jumping as Sasuke slunk out of the rapidly clearing remnants of mist like a noiseless shadow, Kusanagi in his hand once again.

She tried in vain to wriggle free, but the weapons were holding securely onto her clothing, and the only way to break loose was to tear the fabric in various places. Her head was tilted uncomfortably back, fixed in position by the projectile that had been aimed at her hair. Deeply embarrassed by the awkwardness of her position, Sakura threw the glass sphere in her free right hand directly at Sasuke's head in indignation. The death deity caught it effortlessly, which only made her fume further at her failure and his arrogance - and was promptly rewarded for her reckless attempt by the tugging feel of another weapon indenting into the sleeve of right arm, rendering all her limbs useless.

"Going somewhere, Sakura…?" Sasuke mocked, one corner of his lips drawing back to form a faint, sinful smirk that she was certain rivalled the devil's himself.

She gulped, the heat in her cheeks increasing at the indisputably wicked sight. "You-" she spluttered accusingly, "You cheated! You didn't give me a chance!"

The smirk waned as swiftly as it had appeared. "No," Sasuke clipped, features cold once again. " _You_ lack speed."

Her earlier resolve all but withered away at being so bluntly put down. Once again, he had not even acknowledged the fact that she'd tried so hard "Please let me down," she requested quietly, miserably.

Sasuke regarded her intently. He could see the defeat in her expression and the way her shoulders hunched. Irritation spiked through him. Why was she so _weak?_ Why did she give up so easily, when it was still possible for her to free herself?

It was annoying.

Pointing the tip of Kusanagi at her throat, he instructed, "Break loose."

Her resigned gaze darted sullenly to his. Feeling humiliated, she conceded, "I can't move."

His eyes narrowed disapprovingly at that. He had watched Sakura long enough to deduce that she never acted or pushed herself beyond her personal zones of comfort _unless_ she was cornered or forced into doing so. And so he devised a simple method to compel her to move.

He targeted her emotions – which were both her weaknesses, and a source from which she could draw strength. It was something she had yet to realise. She needed to become stronger, and Sasuke intended to make her stronger – the hard way.

Slipping the edge of his blade beneath the delicate chain around her neck, Sasuke tugged lightly, causing it to sever and fall. Catching it with his free hand, he held it up before her dismayed face, and repeated, "Break loose."

Sakura shook her head and said again, "I _told_ you, I can't-"

"Then I will destroy it," the Death God interrupted icily.

Sakura gaped at him in open shock. Was he serious, or bluffing? She could not tell. Distressed, she pleaded, "Please, my mother gave that to me-"

Watching her closely, he lowered his sword. "Four paces. If you do not break free, I will crush this."

Her heart pounded as he took a step backward.

 _He's really serious_ , she suddenly realised, horrified. Sasuke's eyes were cold and merciless. There was no doubt that he would shatter the necklace. Desperation swelled within Sakura as he took a second step back, and she felt a surge of resentment at her human feebleness and his inhuman heartlessness rush up like a riptide inside her, leaving her breathless. It was the resentment that finally kicked her into acting.

She despised the way he was so clearly provoking her into acting. But her only thoughts were of retrieving her mother's precious charm. If she could just break one arm free… her right one was in a less awkward position. With as much force as she could muster, she tugged on the limb. Nothing happened, and she jerked more aggressively. The sound of tearing fabric and the instant relief of pressure on her muscles informed her that she had successfully managed to release her arm.

Sasuke took a third step back, watching with great interest as Sakura moved at last. The kunai and shuriken were embedded too deeply in stone for her to remove by hand – and so she was resorting to tearing clothing to break loose. She had disengaged herself from the hold of all the weapons – save for the one that was implanted in the fabric between her legs. With an angry wrench that left a long tear in her skirt, she was free – just as he took the fourth step back. With a burst of admirable speed that mildly surprised the death deity, Sakura lunged forward, her hands grabbing for the chain in his possession.

Swiftly, Sasuke side-stepped away, his eyes glinting with anticipation at the spark of fire he saw in her emerald irises. She was flustered, her hair dishevelled and falling out of its braid – but she had never looked so beautiful and becoming. His pulse quickened. He wanted to aggravate her further, to see what she would do, how far she dared to push herself to regain ownership of that which was precious to her.

"Too slow, Sakura," he goaded, snatching his arm fluidly back as she tried futilely to retrieve her chain again.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed, irked at the cat and mouse game she had somehow found herself playing. Was he doing it deliberately? Sasuke had never struck her as the sort to initiate such an interaction, but she supposed it was further proof of how little she knew about him and how unpredictable his nature was. She dove at the necklace again, but once more Sasuke evaded her. He stepped back, standing by the edge of the steps that led down to the lowered circular arena. He dangled the chain, his blazing eyes positively _daring_ her to close the distance between them and try again.

Sakura stiffened and folded her arms unhappily across her chest. She made to turn away - and glimpsed Sasuke lower his arm fractionally from the corner of her vision. In a second, she had whirled back and darted forward, snatching at the chain. But she only ended up colliding into him and knocking them both off balance. They rolled down the steps, and when Sakura regained her bearings, she realised, with abject mortification, that she had landed on Sasuke, her hands pressed against the front of his chest. Immediately, furious crimson stained across her cheeks. She could feel the steely hardness of his muscles beneath his tunic top, and made the mistake of looking up into his face.

Intense obsidian smouldered into her as Sasuke gazed up at her beneath sooty lashes. Catching a gasp in her throat, Sakura pushed herself off him, as if scalded by the flame radiating from his eyes. She froze when, before she could completely draw away, Sasuke reached up with both hands, and she felt them slip around the back of her neck, sending tingles of instant electricity spiking through her skin at the contact. Something cool rested against her skin, and she looked down in confusion, to see that he had secured the chain safely back in place. She swallowed when his right hand lingered transiently by her throat, and drew away from him. Her heart hammered within her ribcage as Sasuke sat up in turn, his unruly hair even more wildly dishevelled and covered with a light dusting of sand.

She didn't know why she felt a brief, inexplicable urge to reach out and free the grains of sand from those silky raven locks.

A tense silence hung in the air between them. It was only broken when Sakura asked quietly, "Why did you do that?"

Sasuke, who had been sitting with his elbows resting on his kneecaps, regarded her for another long moment, before rising nonchalantly to his feet.

"I did nothing," he replied flatly. Sakura twisted her head, following his movements to stare at him in astonishment. He knew exactly what she was referring to; why, then, was he choosing to disregard it?

 _No,_ a little voice whispered inside her head, as realisation dawned upon her. _He isn't ignoring it. You told him you couldn't move. But you did. You broke free, when you thought you couldn't._

She swallowed. Had Sasuke meant to make a point to her? If he had, he had chosen a horrible way to do it by manipulating her emotions.

 _Does it matter?_ Her inner voice demanded. _You've got the necklace back. Let's not dwell on the subject, unless you just want to think about how rock hard those pectorals were-_

She furiously stomped the remainder of the words down, turning her face away to hide the deeper flush of heat that assaulted her cheeks.

Sasuke poured two goblets of ambrosia, and noted the agitation in Sakura's body-language. Concealing a faint knowing smirk as he guessed the course his captive's thoughts had taken, he deadpanned, "Sakura."

She bolted upright at the sound of her name falling from his lips, and turned her head slightly, giving him a glimpse of her pink-dusted cheeks.

"Yes?" she managed tautly.

"Sit," he gestured to the unoccupied seat on the other side of the low rectangular table that was laden with a variety of dishes.

Feeling terribly self-conscious of her flustered visage and the ruined state of her dress, Sakura threw all vanity out the window and reminded herself that she had to work to get back into Sasuke's good books – if he had any – and obediently got to her feet, joining him at the table. She only realised she felt hungry when her stomach began to growl at the sight of the mouth-watering food on display before her.

Thankfully, Sasuke's eyes were not on her, and she took the opportunity to compose herself again as she accepted the goblet from his hand and swallowed down the woefully small serving of ambrosia he had poured her. Almost instantly she felt calmer, and the aches and pulled muscles in her body quickly faded away. Her eyes roved eagerly over the dishes; succulent king prawns on slender wooden sticks, with the greenest of avocados and a delicious looking garnish sauce, slices of what appeared to be marinated duck meat served with a beautifully presented salad, and a platter of fresh fruit that included figs, red grapes and blueberries. Nuts and an assortment of other light snacks also dotted the table. Sakura loaded her plate with a little of everything and for the first few minutes, they ate in silence.

 _Talk to him_ , she willed herself to make the effort. _There's so much you can ask a god. Think of something general, something that isn't personal…_

Frantically, Sakura sifted through her mind for a topic of conversation. Then she had it. Perking up, she looked up to find that Sasuke had already finished his meal, and was sitting back in his chair, sipping leisurely on his drink. Swallowing down a mouthful of prawn and avocado with the water she had poured herself, Sakura began, as casually as she could, "Sasuke?"

His dark eyes flicked back onto her.

Fighting the urge to fidget with the napkin in her hand, Sakura ventured, "Are there lots of gods?"

Sasuke had lifted his goblet to his lips. Her query made him pause. Sakura held her breath, half expecting him to answer with what seemed to be his characteristic silence, but to her relief, he answered.

"Yes."

She watched as he drank from his cup and then berated herself for staring so impolitely. Guiltily, she stared down at her plate. It was like she had never seen someone take refreshment before.

"But many faiths preach the existence of just one," Sakura followed perplexedly after another moment, her gaze darting back to him. She had no idea how he would react to her attempt at conversation. She hoped he would not mind it.

He released a sound that resembled a contemptuous snort at that, but said nothing more as he raised the goblet to his lips again.

Sasuke wasn't much of a talker; that much she had gathered very early on. Which meant it was up to her to keep throwing different conversational openers at him, in order to find out what he was and was not willing to talk about.

"How were humans created?" Sakura asked next.

"From clay," Sasuke answered.

Sakura's eyes widened with amazement. "That's really true?"

The death deity's silence confirmed it.

"Who made them?" Sakura continued. "Was it just one god?"

He shook his head.

"And they're still around? People still pray to them?"

She thought she detected something like reluctance flicker across Sasuke eyes, as he slowly replied, "They passed."

Sakura was stunned. "Gods can die, too?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Then what do you mean?"

The Death God paused, regarding her intently for a moment. Her eyes were bright and eager for information. He opened his mouth to silence her incessant questioning – but then decided, on a whim, that he wanted to listen to her pleasant voice further, and so indulged her curiosity, being careful with what he revealed to her.

"A god whose purpose has been spent, who is not remembered in mortal prayers, passes," he stated.

Fascination was making Sakura relax into the conversation. She couldn't keep her eyes off Sasuke as he spoke. She silently marvelled at how much knowledge he had to possess – knowledge of the entire universe, and its secrets – the secrets of creation; secrets that the hopelessly inquisitive part of her yearned to uncover.

"Passes where?"

"To a place where time suspends; the source of all creation and matter."

Sakura pondered this as she munched on a fig. "You mean… like space?"

Sasuke shook his head, closed his eyes briefly, but said no more.

Taking his silence to mean that he did not wish to discuss the confusing subject further, Sakura swiftly changed the topic.

"Where do the black and white boats on the shore lead?"

Sasuke's gaze returned steadily to her.

"To the realms of the damned and the righteous," he answered.

"Like heaven and hell?"

The Death God nodded. Sakura exhaled. It was just like she had guessed, except having it confirmed by a deity made it seem all the more real. "Heaven is here?" she whispered. "All this time, I thought it was up in the sky..."

"Hn," Sasuke uttered dismissively. It was just one of many mortal misconceptions.

A sudden nagging curiosity entered Sakura's mind, and she glanced nervously at Sasuke. How would he respond if she spoke what was in her thoughts? She supposed she would never know unless she asked.

"Sasuke…? I'd really like to see more of the Underworld. I mean," she added anxiously, when he lifted a dark eyebrow at her words, "If that's alright with you – if you wouldn't mind showing me."

When he remained quiet and simply stared at her in response, Sakura took it to mean that showing her around was not on his personal agenda list. Disappointment made it difficult to find other things to talk about. The Underworld's monarch clearly did not trust her anywhere near enough to provide her with an extensive tour beyond his palace. She had allowed herself to be carried away. Swallowing back the bitterness in her throat and quickly masking any feelings of deflation, she got up from her seat, informing him, "I'd like to practice running around the columns a little more."

She expected Sasuke to remain in place. But the haze of dejection that had fallen upon her at having her request all but snubbed lifted slightly when the Death God rose and wordlessly followed her to the central area.

* * *

Ino wrinkled her nose as the automated voicemail service began to play in her ear again. She abruptly severed the connection, pacing impatiently around her room. Why wasn't her dad answering? She had already tried calling him three times.

 _Maybe he's got no signal_ , she assured herself. Patience had never been one of her strongest virtues. He would call her back as soon as he was able.

Sighing heavily, she flopped onto her bed, staring up at the gauzy, baby blue canopy of her bed. Her thoughts almost immediately turned to Sakura. Where was she, now? A week more and Ino's best friend would have been missing for an entire month. Her eyes began to prickle with an all too familiar sensation. Before that week was up, Sakura would turn nineteen. But she wasn't around to celebrate it. Instead, what was meant to be a joyous occasion would be marked by subdued silence.

Ino's vision blurred. She didn't bother lifting a hand to wipe at the tears.

* * *

Sakura collapsed onto her bed, thoroughly exhausted. She had spent the remainder of the training session trying to run full circle around the columns, but had once again failed at the eighth pillar. Thankfully, a scowling Sasuke had _not_ skewered her clothing into a column again, choosing instead to terminate the session and dismiss her. She had left the training arena alone, and by the time she had reached her bedroom, hardly had the energy to keep her eyes open.

 _I need to have a bath_ , she distractedly told herself, but her limbs felt strangely heavy, and her thoughts trailed off on a tangent. She would have to try and train alone again until she could run all the way around the pillars… it would be more comfortable than training with Sasuke watching her every move, just waiting for her to slip up at any second.

Her eyelids lowered, the image of Sasuke's disapproving face the last thing she saw before she fell into deep sleep.

* * *

_Apollo released a triumphant crow as his golden chariot tore through the field._

" _I'll definitely win this time!" he declared, as he steered his horses to the right, smoothly around a gently slope in the grass._

_Kore threw an anxious look back over her shoulder, raising her left hand to keep her long hair from whipping into her face and obscuring her vision. Hades's chariot was thundering closely behind them. He had started ahead, but Apollo's steeds were fast, and had quickly caught up to the midnight horses. She found herself wondering how much of a contrast the dark young god was to bright Apollo, how the two shared a bond that was strong enough for Apollo to consider Hades a brother, the same way he considered her a sister._

" _Hades!" the Sun God yelled over the howling of the wind that rushed passed their hurtling carriages. "How does it feel to be losing?"_

_In his chariot, Hades smirked confidently. The fool believed he was winning, when the truth of the matter was that Hades was deliberately holding back, biding his time until he could take the lead. And by then, it would be far too late for Apollo to salvage victory from him._

_He had absolutely no intention of losing. Because this time, there was something more at stake than merely winning and expanding his total score count over the Sun God. The girl that rode with Apollo was the very same maiden he had spied at the festival held in the Spring Goddess's honour – the strange maiden who had fled with Aphrodite the second his eyes had fallen on her. The light that radiated from her form made it apparent that she was a goddess, but he knew little of her otherwise. When the race was over, he intended to learn more. Her colourings were nothing like the other goddesses he had seen. What relationship did she share with Apollo? How did his friend know her, and who were her mother and father? Why had he never seen her around before?_

_He was mildly curious, though he would never admit it. Hades scoffed to himself that the only real reason why he had bargained the girl into the deal was to irk Apollo and deliver him the humiliation of losing, with a pretty spectator for a witness._

_The forest was swiftly approaching ahead. He cast a quick glance to his right, to find Apollo cutting in front of him. A predictable strategy that Hades had expected. In response, he guided his steeds further left. They had raced through the forest countless times, and Apollo was taking the route that Hades himself usually took. Clearly the idiot was not as air-headed as he appeared, and was looking to avoid his previous mistakes – and trying to show off in front of the girl._

_Two could play at that game, Hades decided, determined not to be outdone._

_Kore gripped onto the front of the chariot as Apollo's horses picked up further pace. She wasn't sure how it was possible that they could gallop any faster. They were almost at the forest, and she debated whether she ought to assist her friend to a comfortable victory – or to leave it to skill and fate to determine the winner._

_Something in her stomach fluttered at the thought of losing, and what it would entail. Apollo had given his word to Hades. If he lost the race, Hades would claim her on the very same chariot and take her… where? She did not know. The uncertainty made her heart pound._

" _Kore!" Apollo's voice spoke loudly over the biting air in her ear. "What do you say we cause trouble for that bastard, Hades?"_

" _Shame on you, Apollo!" she scolded. "Mother says that a victory attained through dishonest means is a false one!"_

" _Bah!" Apollo dismissed scornfully. "That old bag doesn't know how to have any fun. Why do you think my father is always avoiding her? Come on! Imagine how satisfying it would be to make Hades land face-first in the dirt."_

_Kore couldn't help but release a giggle at that, imagining that handsome face marred with earth and wearing an even deeper scowl than usual. Her amusement prompted Apollo to cackle gleefully. "Let's do it, Kore! Let's teach him a lesson!"_

_Kore hesitated for a brief moment. She wanted Apollo to win! Didn't she? The fact that she was even debating it confused her. She knew nothing about Hades, even if the Sun God vouched for him! Making up her mind, she exclaimed, "Oh, alright! But you're to bring me gifts every day and drive me around in your chariot whenever I want, from now until my next birthday!"_

_Apollo grinned over her head. "I always spoil you," he teased._

" _You will have to spoil me more, now!"_

" _Could I ever refuse you, Kore?"_

_Beaming from ear to ear, Kore playfully nudged him in the ribs, and then turned her attention to the forest as Apollo's horses surged into it. At her command, the flora parted, leaving the way clear for the chariot to pass without hindrance. Apollo hooted with joy, was ready to celebrate what he deemed to be a certain victory – when a sudden jolt at his wheels caused the carriage to lurch unsteadily to the right. Kore screamed in surprise, almost flew over the edge from the force of the shake, but Apollo's right arm caught her fast, pulling her securely back against him._

" _You lunatic!" she gasped. "Steer properly!"_

" _It wasn't me!" Apollo defended. "I thought you removed everything from our course!"_

" _I did," Kore frowned, perplexed, as further vines and bushes parted for them at her will._

" _Then what- argh!" Apollo sharply steered his horses to the right as a black chariot suddenly cut in front of them, missing a collision by inches. Hades shot them both a look over his shoulder, his eyes blazing with challenge._

" _What the- you bastard, you're cheating!" Apollo accused him, instantly realising that Hades had likely caused the ground to split beneath his chariot's wheels_

_Hades merely smirked wickedly, and deliberately kept his carriage directly in front of them, preventing Apollo's from overtaking. Their attempts at changing direction were hindered as Hades's chariot mirrored their every movement._

" _Do something!" Apollo urged Kore, who helplessly shook her head._

" _I can't! He is too close, if I obstruct him, we will collide-"_

" _Damn it!" Apollo clenched his teeth. They were beyond halfway through the forest, and the vale would soon be within sight. Desperation caused him to execute a hastily formed plan. He couldn't lose! He had strung Kore into the deal, and if her mother somehow did find out, he would be skinned alive, and there was nothing Zeus and Hera could do to protect him. If he could just knock Hades off balance for long enough to put more than a few seconds between them…_

_Apollo abruptly jerked his horses to the right. They jumped forward with laboured neighs and Kore cried out as she felt the back wheel of her friend's chariot crash into Hades's. The raven-haired deity glared at Apollo, and hissed the very thought that was echoing riotously in Kore's mind._

" _What are you doing, idiot?"_

" _Making sure I win, bastard!" Apollo grinned viciously back._

_Kore glanced frantically from one to the other in dismay. The sudden animosity between them was frightening. They were too competitive, were taking the race far too seriously. When Apollo slammed his chariot into Hades's again, she screamed, "Stop it! Apollo, we'll be hurt-"_

" _What's wrong?" Hades taunted over her. "Too dead-last to win honestly?"_

" _Hah!" Apollo retorted. "You're one to talk about honesty! You're the biggest cheater I know!"_

" _I am better than you'll ever be, admit it!"_

" _Over my dead body!"_

" _Maybe that can be arranged!"_

_Kore was horrified. They were bickering like immature children, completely ignoring her pleas to slow down and disregarding the danger they were putting themselves into by driving their carriages so recklessly._

" _Will you both stop-" she tried again, but once more went unheard by the young deities who were glaring furiously at one another._

" _I'm not scared of your family, Hades!"_

" _You should be!"_

" _My father is ZEUS!"_

_Anger spiked within her. They left her no other choice. Focusing intently, Kore sent a command to the tree roots beneath the ground, and gripped tightly onto the chariot's edge. A second later, both carriages collided into an unseen force, sending all of them flying into the air. Apollo landed safely in a tangled bush. Kore cushioned her fall on a bed of leaves, and her eyes widened when Hades landed right beside her. Winded, he lay for a moment on the grass, staring dazedly up into the canopy of trees above them. His eyes, Kore noticed at closer proximity, were not pure black as she had previously thought. They were a deep, dark shade of grey, a beautiful, stormy colour that captured her attention and held it fast._

" _Are you alright?" she asked him uncertainly, her heart racing within her as she acknowledged that she was directly addressing Hades for the first time._

_When he did not respond, she leant tentatively over him. "H-Hades?"_

_Before she had time to think, before she could even blink, Hades reached out and grabbed her by her arms, reversing their positions so that she was pinned beneath him. Kore's pulse thundered in fear – and another untold emotion she could not comprehend as she struggled to wriggle out from beneath him. It was no use. He was too strong. Glaring down at her, Hades hissed, "The trees answer to your call. Who are you, goddess?"_

_Who was she? Kore's throat suddenly felt parched. The power of his gaze was frightening, the magnetic aura encompassing him electrifying. She opened her mouth to ask him to release her – when a hand suddenly clamped onto his shoulder and hauled him off her._

" _Bastard! Don't touch her!" Apollo shoved Hades away and knelt beside a shaken Kore. He gently touched her flushed cheek, removed a green leaf from her hair as he questioned, "Are you alright?"_

_Before she could answer him, Apollo turned livid blue eyes to Hades, who had gotten to his feet and stood watching them aloofly down the barrel of his aristocratic nose._

" _Forget our deal. You're not taking her anywhere! I've got to get her home before her mother-"_

_He broke off, blanching, and Kore froze in fright, as a familiar voice suddenly called distantly, "Persephone!"_

* * *

Sakura slowly came around, feeling light headed as the dream faded away to black. She anxiously grasped at its rapidly retreating remnants, trying to recall details, any at all. The last word… what had it been?

 _Pers_ \- _Per…_ the memory was gone. She swallowed, staring at the golden weaved canopy above her in frustration, before sitting up. There was no point in straining her brain over a recollection that she knew would not come to her. But why was she seeing things that she could never remember when waking? Would asking Sasuke help to clear the baffling mystery?

 _What are you going to ask him, exactly?_ Her inner voice demanded. _Oh, hey, Sasuke? I see things when I sleep, but I can't tell you what they are, because I don't remember them. Great, as if he doesn't think you're 'inept' enough._

Sighing, she slipped off the bed, picked out a fresh change of clothes from the wardrobe, and disappeared quietly into the bathroom.


	25. Chapter XXIV

**Chapter XXIV**

* * *

_Within the shades lie treasures untold,_

_Slumbering deep in the Underworld's hold,_

_Jewels that glisten as crystal rain,_

_They seek to enchant her eyes again,_

_Beguiled, enticed, she begins to yearn,_

_For that which she has yet to learn._

* * *

Sasuke disregarded the desperate pleas of the mournful souls that littered the far side of Acheron's banks. They called to him, wailing and begging for his pardon, for permission to board the ferryman's vessel. But there was no hope for those who could not procure payment for transportation across the river. They were bound to wander the shore for one hundred years; there were no exceptions, apart from young children on the few occasions when the death deity was in an uncharacteristically lenient mood. At that moment, however, he was decidedly not. His mind was fully engaged by Sakura, and the wish she had expressed to view more of the Underworld.

His initial reaction had been one of guarded mistrust, but had quickly given way to uncertainty when he had seen that her desire to know more of his realm had appeared to be genuine.

Sasuke patrolled along the river Styx's northern borders, his eyes carefully keeping sentry that everything was in order as his thoughts continued to unwind. He had always intended to show Sakura the beauty of his kingdom. But he had prepared himself for further resistance and rejection on her part first. Her request had admittedly caught him by surprise. And yet… a part of him was eager to show her more, to watch her every reaction. He wondered whether her opinion of his realm, of being trapped in it, would change if she understood more of it.

But hesitancy plagued him. How much did he really _want_ her to understand? How much did he want to reveal to her, explain to her, how much was she ready and worthy to see? The more she glimpsed, the more she would inevitably come to comprehend about who _he_ was in turn. He swallowed. He needed to be careful. There were places he would not permit her to visit – not yet, not until he was certain that he truly wanted her to see all the secret and sacred locations in the Underworld. She wasn't ready until he looked into her eyes and saw no more remnants of yearning to return to the surface she had left behind. When she looked at him like that… _if_ she did, _then_ , Sasuke silently reasoned, she would be prepared for everything his kingdom – and its ruler - had to offer.

That would require time, more than he likely had left – unless he could entice Sakura to accept the food of the dead from his hand, thus making it impossible for her mother and friends to retrieve her from him. And to do that, at least some small semblance of rapport _had_ to be established between them – he had to grant her _something,_ to encourage her to lower her guard in his presence. He clenched his jaw, unhappy with the need to compromise, but his decision made nonetheless. He would grant his prisoner her wish – but he would be selective with how much he showed to her and what he told her. She would have no map, no knowledge of how to exit his domain. He would show her places in isolation, so that she struggled to connect one location to the other.

One corner of the Death God's lips twitched to form the ghost of a smirk. He already had a few locations in mind that he knew would hopelessly entrance Sakura. She was convinced that the Underworld contained only death – but she would soon realise that it also housed many different forms of life.

His expression walled off completely as he followed the path he had taken and came to a stop before a familiar rock-face.

"Here for a friendly chat?" Suigetsu intoned acidly from his position, sitting crossed legged on the dusty floor of his cell. "You're such a thoughtful god, Sasuke."

Sasuke stared aloofly down at him, but did not deign to respond.

When the silence dragged on, Suigetsu glowered. "Excuse the pun, but what the _hell_ do you want? If you're just gonna stand there with a stick up your ass, you can piss right off."

"Why do they shelter her?"

The Ocean God blinked, surprised by the bluntness of the question. " _Huh?_ "

"Sakura," Sasuke prompted pointedly.

Suigetsu folded his arms and tilted his head back, his scowl morphing into a mocking smirk. "Why don't you ask Tsunade about that? I'm sure she'd love to indulge you with answers – right after she breaks every bone in your body."

Sasuke glared coldly at him. "You underestimate me."

Suigetsu's lavender eyes glinted at that. " _You_ overestimate yourself; you're still as cocky as ever. Don't think for a second that just because I'm cooped up in here, you have the advantage. Have you seen the state of the oceans lately? I bet they're drawing a lot of attention, don't you?"

When the death deity did not respond, Suigetsu sneered, "How do you plan to clear up that little problem, huh? They've definitely noticed it. You think they aren't asking questions about my absence? If you have any functioning brain cells in that big head of yours, you'd let me out right now."

Once again he was caught off guard as a haughty smirk plastered itself on Sasuke's face. Suigetsu wanted nothing more than to erase it – permanently.

"They've noticed," the Death God answered cryptically. Suigetsu stared back at him in confusion – before understanding slowly dawned on him.

"You- what kind of shit are you stirring up on the surface?"

Sasuke disregarded his question and pressed for an answer to his own. "Why do they shield a mortal?"

"How the hell do I know?" the Ocean God snapped back, scowling in frustration. "Why are you so hell bent on keeping a human here? What do you plan to do with this Sakura, huh?"

Sasuke stepped back, his attention already shifting as he came to realise that Suigetsu did not possess any additional facts than he did with regards to why Tsunade guarded Sakura so fiercely.

The water deity was on his feet in an instant. "You wouldn't go through all this trouble to keep her if you were just after a fuck or two. Since when have you ever looked twice at a woman, anyway? What's the deal here, Sasuke?"

His words were left hanging in the air as the Death God responded by flickering silently out of sight.

* * *

Ino bit absent-mindedly into a luxury white chocolate bar as she stared anxiously out of her bedroom window. She was certain that she had piled on the pounds since Sakura's disappearance. All fad diets had been forgotten and replaced by serious comfort eating. She told herself that she couldn't possibly worry about her figure when her best friend was missing.

It was not a commonly known fact that Ino's vanity came second only to those she held dearest in her heart.

The powerful, thrumming sound of a sport car's engine rolling up to the Yamanaka residence's front gates caused her to bolt out of her bedroom, skid along the polished wooden hallway, and down the sprawling staircase. She raced to the front door and threw it open, just as Naruto parked up in the front driveway.

"That's it!" Ino exclaimed crossly. "That's the last time you go off without me! Do you even _know_ what all this waiting around is doing to my heart?"

"No worse than what you've done to other poor hearts in the past, I'm sure," Jiraiya assured her blithely in greeting, patting the young woman's head lightly as he invited himself into her house. She pouted sulkily at him in response, before turning her attention to Naruto and Shikamaru as they followed him inside.

"Did you guys get hold of my dad? I've been trying to call him all morning."

Shikamaru shook his head as she closed the front door after him. "I've left several voice messages. You haven't heard anything?"

"No," Ino led them to the bright and airy second reception room. "Isn't that totally weird? It's not like him not to answer!"

"Where did you say he was headed?" Jiraiya queried, as he took a seat in a cream-coloured leather settee.

"To the mountain ranges; that's one of the places he thought you'd be," Ino answered.

Naruto snorted at that. "Yeah right," he muttered. "You know we found this old pervert right in front of-"

"There might be some interference in that region," Shikamaru interjected. "What time did you say Inoichi set out last night?"

"Late," Ino said. "Just after ten- Naruto!" she exclaimed as the blond reached out automatically for a delectable cream scone sitting prettily on the coffee table. "At least get a napkin; you'll get icing everywhere!"

Naruto simply shrugged and popped the scone in his mouth, leaving Ino gawking at how he managed to fit it all in at once.

"Mmm- s'real good," Naruto complimented. Ino wrinkled her nose in genteel disgust at his lack of table manners, before turning her attention back to the others.

"It's been over twelve hours," Shikamaru frowned. "He definitely would have reached the area by now, and he should have called back. Unless his battery's flat…"

"Inoichi always takes appropriate precautions," Jiraiya stated pointedly, and inspired by Naruto, helped himself to a scone in turn.

"You know," Naruto swallowed down his treat, "this wouldn't have even happened if you'd just gotten a damn cell phone."

Jiraiya waved a hand dismissively at that. But Ino was oblivious to their exchange. She met Shikamaru's gaze worriedly, the knot of dread that had been forming progressively in her stomach tightening.

"Shikamaru…"

He read her unspoken concern and flipped his cell up to his ear in response. "Let's check with Kakashi and the others."

* * *

The smell of damp rock pervaded through the cool air. Sasuke inhaled, picking up the unmistakable essence of brewing herbs – fused with the scent of something else wholly mystical. It was a potent smell that had the power to make mortals light-headed at the slightest sniff. Only those who could withstand the intoxicating aroma were worthy of an audience with the entity that resided inside the cave Sasuke was traversing.

The roof of the winding, narrow path he was treading was littered with jagged stalactites. They glowed with an eerie, luminous light that shifted hypnotically from red to pink, then purple to blue. At the entity's command they could fracture and impale any foolish enough to trespass uninvited.

As he walked deeper into the cave, the smell of fermenting herbs became stronger, more overpowering. Immune to its effects, Sasuke followed the right turn that led him to the entrance of the structure's heart, hidden from his gaze by a curtain of unnaturally-sustained willow leaves. Sasuke pushed the heavy barrier aside and stepped into the small area, his eyes taking in the warmth of the fire that flickered steadily in an open, stone hearth. Over it was suspended a grey cauldron, steaming with bubbling, brewing liquid. Another smaller fireplace burned to his far right, fuelled by sticks of splintering wood.

Wooden bowls, glass bottles, and jars of peculiar shapes and varying sizes littered the space, stacked messily atop each other against a section of the circular, rocky wall. Next to them was a pile of dusty, ancient, leather-bound books that looked like they had not been open in centuries. One of the rock faces leaked fresh water, which trickled to form a small pool to Sasuke's left. It was an unexpected sight – but it was one of the limited places in the Underworld that contained pure, drinking water.

A large, open birdcage housing a grown, tawny owl hung from a chain attached to the low ceiling. Odd charms and trinkets were also suspended from the roof by pieces of string. A low, cracked stone fountain that ran dry held a large, black spherical orb in its shallow bowl. Several wooden, hand carved puppets were strewn on the dusty ground, close to a straw mattress with a worn blanket laid by the wall, upon which slept a long limbed, scrawny grey dog. Beside it was a small clay pot with a dead flower. Sasuke found his eyes lingering on it.

"My, my," a hoarse, croaky voice spoke out from Sasuke's right. "It has been a while since I've been visited by such a handsome young god…"

The death deity turned his head to regard the heavily cloaked figure hunched in a low wooden seat by the smaller fire. The light from the flickering, twin torches attached to the rocky walls directly above her plunged her lowered features into shadow. In her right hand she held a long, knobbly stick, to the top of which were attached a ring of rusted keys and three small, faded wooden masks.

"But I know the reason for your coming," the voice continued. After a brief pause, she stated, "The girl does not belong amongst the dead. It is forbidden to keep her here."

Sasuke tensed. Of course she knew about everything that came to pass in his realm. She possessed powers that were more ancient than his, powers that allowed her a great measure of influence over earth, sea and sky. She was Chiyo, the goddess of the Crossroads, and nothing stirred or breathed without her knowledge.

"Stay out of my affairs, old crone," he warned icily.

After another tense pause, Chiyo's head slowly lifted, revealing an aged, fatigued face worn with heavy lines, each crease whispering its own story. They crinkled deeply as the old woman offered the Death God a smile that did not quite reach her dark eyes.

"Ah…" her tone was raspy, unhurried. "But you are mistaken, young Sasuke, for this is also my concern. You see, Lady Tsunade has been entreating quite persistently for my aid…"

Immediately, Sasuke's gaze flashed to ominous crimson. "Do not test me, hag."

Chiyo cackled in amusement, a dry, hacking sound that rattled her lungs. "Ohohohoho! Your secret is safe because I choose not to disclose it – not because of your impertinent threats! I do not fear you, little King. It is you who is afraid of your secret being known."

Sasuke's hands curled to form tight, angry fists. "I fear _nothing_ ," he snapped.

"Except," the crone continued thoughtfully, "losing the girl, perhaps...?" Before Sasuke could deny it and snarl at her to be silent, she continued to muse, "Sakura… such a pretty, ripe flower. How heartless of you, to pluck her from her mother and her friends, to steal her away to the shades of the Underworld. And her sweetheart; I wonder what has become of the poor fellow in his despair…?"

The very thought of another man, mortal or otherwise, touching Sakura and whispering sweet, false nothings into her ears was enough to simmer the blood in the death deity's veins.

"Hn," Sasuke averted his gaze dismissively. "There is no other," he stated frostily, the sharp, contemptuous edge to his words betraying more than he realised.

"Such a beauty, without a champion?" Chiyo echoed thoughtfully, her voice laced with mild surprised. "Or perhaps, it is that you will not allow there to be one? Perhaps in this regard, you are not much different from her mother?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in response. He remained silent.

The old woman rose slowly to her feet and hobbled forward until she reached the boiling cauldron. "The noose is tightening; they come ever closer to her discovery. It is still not too late to erase her memory of you, and return her safely to the surface-"

"No," Sasuke cut in. His answer was flat, resolute, leaving absolutely no room for negotiations of any kind.

The old woman sighed heavily. "Your desire for this girl clouds your vision, young King. You must consider, carefully, the outcome you intend for her. But be warned; an untimely death for this child will beget consequences beyond your foresight."

There it was again – the insinuation that there was more to Sakura than what was apparent. Uncertainty whispered through Sasuke's mind, a feeling that he wholly resented. Doubts were weaknesses – he could _not_ allow them to fester inside his head.

"You know of her." His pulse had picked up pace at the realisation. He wanted, more than anything, to scour the old crone's mind until he obtained every last droplet of information pertaining to his captive – even when he knew he could not do so. Even trying such a thing would be a grave and foolish mistake.

"Many mysteries exist in this world, Sasuke," Chiyo replied cryptically. "Sometimes, as immortals, it is our duty to safeguard them."

The Death God stared at her. Was she implying that Sakura was a mystery that needed protection? But _why?_ Her blood was mortal – there was nothing extraordinary about her, asides from the purity of her soul.

Frustrated, he hissed, "You test me. Tell me what you know."

The crone chuckled at that. "Ever so impatient. It is not the knowledge that I possess that will influence the threads of the Fates. It is what _you_ perceive and understand – and how willing you are to listen."

 _Listen?_ Listen to whom, or what? Sasuke's irritation spiked at her nonsensical riddles, but before he could say any more, Chiyo produced three spheres in her left hand with an effortless flourish of her wrist.

As he accepted them, Sasuke found himself staring down at crystal orbs that housed what appeared to be peaceful, jewel blue oceans.

The death deity's eyes widened in recognition. "These are…" he began.

"These spheres will calm the tempestuous seas – for a time," croaked Chiyo.

Sasuke regarded her suspiciously. Hadn't she just told him that Sakura did not belong in his realm? That keeping her was forbidden? Why was she gifting him items that would buy him even more time with the girl?

"Why are you helping me?" he demanded.

"Eheeheeheehee!" The old woman cackled. "Do not misconstrue me, little King! I do not do this for you! Imprisoning another god is a sign of your arrogance. You will come to regret it, if you do not tread carefully."

Was it a trap? Sasuke could not fathom being given the spheres, when he knew that Suigetsu and Chiyo were friends, and had often journeyed through the seas together in the past. He had come to her to seek a solution to the unrest that plagued the surface's oceans – and had come expecting to pay a price. He had _not_ expected such instant cooperation, and the fact he had received it made him all the more mistrustful. There surely _had_ to be a catch.

Reading his thoughts, the old woman cooed patronisingly, "If I wanted to trick you, Sasuke, I would not have invited you here to do so!"

There was a strange brightness in her keen eyes that was almost enough to make Sasuke hesitate, and fling the orbs into the cauldron. Almost. But although it displeased him that the crone had effortlessly read the reasons behind his decision to pay her a visit, Sasuke was also unsurprised. Chiyo always saw more than other gods and goddesses. He wondered just how far ahead into the future she had looked – and whether that had influenced her decision to hand him the spheres.

"The crossroads have never shown me such paths," Chiyo added, smiling crooked teeth at him. "This should be most amusing to watch, oh yes. Eheeheeheehee!"

Sasuke stared stonily at her for a long moment, before stepping back, giving her a perfunctory nod and exiting the cavern. The sound of her following laughter reverberated in his head, and his thoughts were even more troubled than they had been when he had first arrived. He decided to dwell on the finer details of his interaction with the old hag later. He could not afford to waste any further time.

When he next alighted, he was standing on a white cliff top, overlooking a large stretch of sea. The smell of salty water assaulted his nose, and he scowled down at the stormy waves that crashed angrily into the rock face beneath him, at a much higher level than was normal. Such was their force that they created strong gusts of air, tossing raven strands of hair into Sasuke's face.

He was no fool. He knew that he could not afford to keep Suigetsu prisoner indefinitely. The oceans called for their ruler, the same way the shades of the dead called to him. He glanced down at the sphere in his grasp. It was a stability orb, one that contained traces of the sea deity's essence, and had the power to calm the seas when dissolved in water – for a limited time, at least. For precisely how long, Sasuke could not tell. He supposed he would soon find out.

Without sparing another thought, the Death God tossed the sphere into the tempestuous ocean.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she stepped out of the bathtub, feeling thoroughly invigorated. She padded over to the compartments containing neatly folded, fluffy white towels and drew a large one out, wrapping it around her naked form. Then she picked up a fine hair comb, stood before the opulent central mirror and began absent-mindedly untangling her damp tresses. When had she finished, she rubbed herself dry and massaged generous dollops of body oil into her skin. Her beauty ritual complete, Sakura slipped into her golden-hued, black laced underwear, tossed the towel into the straw laundry basket by the foot of the door, and threw a delicate silk robe over her body, not bothering to secure the belt as she stepped out of the bathroom. She'd just put on whichever dress her eyes first happened to fall upon, and then she would go and find-

Her heart jumped into her throat and heat seared through her cheeks as her eyes found an unexpected figure standing by the fireplace in her bedroom. She froze stupidly, momentarily shocked, inappropriately noting that he had changed clothes again and was clad in flattering grey hues – and only snapped out of her motionless state when Sasuke's wide dark eyes trailed down, promptly reminding her that her robe was open, and her lacy undergarments visible to him. Releasing a horrified gasp, Sakura yanked the robe to swiftly conceal her assets, and took refuge behind one of her bed's four posts, feeling as if she could die of mortification.

A part of her really wished she would at that moment.

Her face ablaze with a ferocious blush, she sputtered, "S-Sasuke! You- you can't just-! You should have knocked!"

Her distress only escalated when Sasuke did not immediately respond. He was momentarily hindered by the inability to remove the image of her slender, alluring body from his mind – and rendered speechless by the intensity of his own body's reaction to the sight. The immediacy in which his pulse had quickened both disconcerted and angered him. His fingers closed to form tight fists as he battled back the storm of long-brewing lust that had broken over him the moment he had laid eyes on Sakura.

"Hn," he finally managed to dismiss contemptuously. Knocking to herald arrival was a mortal custom – he had no need to announce his presence in his own palace, and he certainly did _not_ need to be taught any manner of etiquette from a human. Feeling the urgent need to depart the room before he did something they would likely both regret, the Death God uttered stiffly, "Dress. Then meet me by the stables."

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of the doors opening and closing signalled his hasty exit. She remained in place for a long time, clutching onto the wooden post, trying desperately to regulate the chaotic galloping of her heartbeat.

* * *

Alastor snorted, lowering his great head to his master's open palm. Sasuke smirked as Aethon clamoured for his attention in turn, jostling Alastor's head aside and eagerly extending his own. Behind the two horses, Nyctaeus and Orphnaeus stood stationary and silent, deeming themselves too proud to revel in their owner's rare display of affection.

The death deity's gaze travelled slowly over his loyal steeds as he awaited Sakura's arrival. They were magnificent creatures, as black as the night and as swift as the wind. They were prized possessions borne of darkness itself.

The sound of light footsteps approached behind him, and he lightly exhaled as Sakura's bright, warm aura flooded the immediate area around him. The memory of glimpsing her undergarments beneath an open robe flashed through his mind, briefly taunting him and unpleasantly accelerating his pulse rate – but he promptly crushed it out of his immediate thoughts and turned, telepathically commanding the front two horses to behave. They instantly complied, standing at majestic and solemn attention.

Sakura was glad that the nearby flames from the torchlights were helping to disguise the pink stain that assailed her cheeks. She heatedly told herself that their unfortunate encounter in her room was _not_ a big deal. Her robe had only been open for a split-second, and Sasuke had clearly already forgotten all about it. Sasuke was a god. It didn't mean anything. Then she was diverted from her embarrassing recollections when she noticed the chariot.

Sasuke read the immediate recognition in her eyes and the fleeting flash of sadness which she was quick to mask. She remembered the horses and the gold adorned black chariot, was doubtlessly thrown back to the last time she had looked upon them – the evening of her abduction. He could tell she was uncomfortable from the way she briefly refused to meet his gaze – and the way she folded her arms defensively across her chest.

He took the chance to look her over. She was dressed in a flowing, gold stitched, pale green gown that matched her eyes, over which she had wisely donned a deeper green cloak. Two thin sections of her hair had been braided at the side, secured at the back of her head by a golden clasp. She smelled of flowers and sweetness. Sasuke was keen to take her onto his chariot and close his arms around her.

"Those horses are really something," she complimented awkwardly, unfolding her arms and proceeding to fidget nervously with the slender, pleated gold belt that was wound around her midriff. She kept darting anxious looks at the crimson eyed steeds, as if expecting them to lunge at her at any moment.

"Alastor, Aethon, Nyctaeus, Orphnaeus," Sasuke introduced, indicating each beast. "The dread steeds of the Underworld."

"How can you tell them apart?" Sakura questioned, deciding to keep her distance. Their names were quite a mouthful, and they looked almost identical.

"They are not the same," the Death God replied. Then, glancing pointedly at where Sakura hung back, he stated, "They will not harm you."

She swallowed uncertainly. She loved animals, and horses were amongst her favourites. But the memory of blazing red eyes and rumbling hooves simply refused to budge from her head. These were the very same horses that had carried her away from her home, her friends, and her mother. Sakura internally argued that she had every reason to feel apprehensive around them.

But experience had begun to teach her that there was only one way to conquer fear – and that was by not rejecting and running away from it. So she stepped tentatively forward, keeping close to Sasuke, just in case. Hesitantly, she reached out to one of the two front horses – had Sasuke said his name was Aethon? She was rewarded for her bravery by a snort of warm smoke as the horse jutted his head abruptly forward. She yelped and leapt away, seeking sanctuary behind Sasuke's back.

"Alastor," Sasuke reprimanded quietly, stroking down the horse's brow. Sakura watched, astonished by the unexpected tenderness of the action, and how the steed leant into Sasuke's touch. Before she could dwell on the fact that Sasuke seemed to possess positive emotions - with pets, at least - the Death God gestured, "Come."

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously, keeping a close eye on the glaring horses as she followed Sasuke to the chariot's mounting step. She climbed into the carriage, marvelling at how spacious it was, how rich in sheen the solid gold swirls that decorated its body were. Sasuke stepped in after her, his arms closing around her sides as he took the thick black and gold reins in his hands. He was close, close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath stirring the hair on top of her head. She stiffened and suddenly thought it had been a bad idea to get in, when he suddenly inclined even closer.

"Patience," Sasuke murmured into her left ear, tugging once on the reins – and that was the only warning she got before the horses bolted forward, with speed and power that caused the next breath to arrest in Sakura's lungs. The force of their motion knocked her back against Sasuke. She ground her teeth as the air whistled past them. The dark landscape around them was disappearing in a shadowy blur, far too fast for her eyes to even hope to follow. She gripped tightly onto the front of the carriage, wondered how the horses were able to draw such a heavy looking metal chariot as if it weighed little more than a feather.

Sasuke steered right, and the horses smoothly followed his command. But the sheer pace and momentum at which they were moving made Sakura's eyes water and caused nausea to prance all over her stomach.

"Sasuke!" she gasped over the howling of the air and the pounding of iron hooves. "You're going way too fa-aaahhh!" she screamed as the chariot jerked upward and seemed to take off from the ground completely. Which, of course, was utterly impossible - or so she thought - until she dared to stick her neck out over the edge of the carriage to discover that the horses' hooves were, quite literally, on _fire_ , and they were, indeed, levitating a little above the ground.

 _I'm going to be sick_ , Sakura told herself, holding on for dear life, which she thought was somewhat ironic and a little pointless, given that Death's arms encircled her _. Mother! I'm going to be sick!_

Sasuke smirked at her reaction. She had frozen in terror, which was to be expected. His steeds reached speeds that were unsurpassed in the mortal realm, and even in the league of deities, they were amongst the fastest in creation. They were also imbued with the divine ability to soar above ground in the Underworld.

Taking advantage of their proximity, and the fact that Sakura had nowhere else to move to avoid him, he leaned in close, and breathed again into her ear, "Enjoying this, Sakura?"

"N-no!" she wailed back, squeezing her eyes shut. "Please slow down! I feel sick! Sasuke!" But her stomach turned in on itself when Sasuke, with a short, deviously amused chuckle, guided the horses left, throwing her back against him again. Her eyes flew open and her fitfully racing heart leapt. Had the death deity just _laughed?_ Surely she had just imagined it? There was no conceivable way that Sasuke could actually do such a thing, no way was he physically capable of it.

Wasn't he?

Shapeless colours streaked through the darkness, but it was impossible to make out what they were. She thought she heard the flapping of wings, but it was difficult to discern any noise clearly above the thunderous galloping of horse hooves. The air seemed cooler, more fragrant, but again, Sakura wasn't certain whether or not she was imagining any changes around her. She swallowed, closing her eyes once more as she willed the journey to be over. With her eyes closed, she was more attuned to the sensation of movement, how it felt to ride in the King of the Underworld's chariot…

Something flashed across her mind's eye. A fleeting, golden vision that was gone before she could tangibly grasp it. She opened her eyes again, thrown momentarily by an odd and inexplicable feeling of déjà vu, which rapidly diminished as Sasuke's steeds descended smoothly and came to a rolling stop before a large cluster of trees, the fire in their hooves extinguishing.

Sakura exhaled, relieved that she had landed in one piece. She was too disorientated to resist when Sasuke's hands slid down to her hips and lifted her off the chariot, setting her safely on the ground. When his hands lingered snugly in place as if they belonged there, she felt heat creep into her face. Quickly, she stepped away, drawing in deep gulps of air. Slowly, the nausea began to subside.

"That was…" she managed, at a loss to find the correct word that could accurately describe the unworldly experience of riding in a hellish chariot with horses whose hooves erupted flame. "That was _crazy._ You've got some real road rage."

Her attempt to half-heartedly joke sailed cleanly over Sasuke's head. He simply stared blankly back at her, as if the expression did not exist in his vocabulary - which Sakura quickly realised it didn't. Clearing her throat, she turned to regard the trees. Sasuke had brought them to the edge of a dark forest. A thin blanket of mist hung beyond the opening through the entanglement of boughs just ahead of them. Sakura felt a flutter of uncertainty. Did she really want to go in there – and with Sasuke, no less?

 _You asked him to show you around_ , she told herself. _That's what he's doing. He didn't have to bother, but he is. Doesn't that mean something? Maybe you should try trusting him just a tiny bit more._

That was easier said than done, but she followed the death deity into the forest regardless. He lifted his right hand, and Sakura watched in amazement as a small ball of fire blazed into existence in his palm, providing enough illumination for her to just about discern the path they were treading.

"What is this place?" she asked, feeling an instinctive need to be as quiet as possible as she strained to peer over Sasuke's broad shoulders. The vapour clinging to the air around them was moist and cool, and the atmosphere smelled fragrantly of flowers that Sakura could not see.

"Keep up," the Death God ordered. It was difficult for Sakura to do so – she wasn't familiar with the route they were taking, but did her best to keep to his footsteps.

Suddenly, he drew to a stop, and the fire in his palm snuffed out, plunging them into complete darkness and mist. For an instant, panic began to bubble within Sakura, but her fears were quickly alleviated when something wondrous happened before her very eyes.

Slender veins of soft blue began to materialise around them, like luminous liquid paint that slowly gave creation to a breath-taking, vivid canvas. They chased the dewy mist away, leaving behind vibrant clarity. Flowers that were touched by the thin trickles of light began to glow, uncurling their delicate petals and straightening as if fed by the kiss of rain. The densely packed trees awoke, their slender branches rustling with glimmering leaves, and tiny orbs of shimmering light began to float around them like fireflies. The entire forest suddenly seemed to thrum with a life-force of its own – and Sakura was entranced by it. Even the soil beneath her feet somehow appeared to be breathing.

"This forest…" she dared to speak. "It's alive."

"Yes," Sasuke, who had been watching her reaction closely, murmured directly behind her. "This is one of several forests that are fed by the spirits of nymphs."

"It's so beautiful," she whispered, walking toward a fragrant blossom with peculiar petals that were shaped like hearts, unique amongst a cluster of radiant white lilies. She reached out to touch the flower gently with her fingertips – when the petals abruptly dispersed, taking flight before her very eyes. Sakura released a delighted gasp as she realised the petals were actually glowing butterflies with semi-transparent wings. They circled around her briefly before flittering gracefully away.

She turned, her gaze moving upwards to admire the luminous, hanging vines strewn between the trees. To her amazement, a magnificent bird with a slender beak sat perched on one of the boughs. Its plumage consisted of cobalt and gold hues, and reminded Sakura of an exotic bird of paradise.

Once her eyes had found one animal, they seemed to spot others, too. Tiny glowing insects with pretty, barely-there wings littered the place, and other varieties of birds fluttered between the trees, singing melodies so sweetly harmonious that Sakura felt a stirring in the base of her throat. She was stumped with confusion. The Underworld was a place of death, wasn't it? At least, the gloomy caverns that lay beyond the Death God's palace had suggested as much. Yet Sasuke had brought her to a place that throbbed with an array of different life forms.

It suddenly struck her that she had completely misunderstood and misjudged the realm into which she had been stolen. Even the expanses beyond Sasuke's dwelling house contained beauty and magic. The plains of the Underworld were clearly not as hostile and bleak as she had allowed herself too eagerly to believe.

As they walked deeper into the forest, Sakura felt spellbound by the magical sights and sounds surrounding her.

"It's like they're breathing," she said, resting the palm of her left hand against the trunk of one of the trees. The bark pulsated with energy. It travelled straight up her arm, and seeped into her chest, filling her with pleasant warmth. She glanced back at Sasuke questioningly.

He read her unspoken query. "Nymphs both nurture and are nurtured by nature," he stated, as an even more majestic crimson and gold bird landed on his raised left arm and lowered its head in reverence to the death deity. Sakura's lips parted as she watched Sasuke gently caress the underside of the feathery creature's beak with an index finger, causing it to croon contentedly. "In a place as unspoilt as this, their life-force is strong enough to be felt by those attuned to nature."

It made sense, Sakura thought to herself, given that she had always loved flowers and animals. It was ridiculous, but she had often almost felt a physical form of attachment to nature, and was greatly pained and affected whenever she witnessed it being damaged. Once, when she had been fifteen, she had seen two delinquent teenagers plucking freshly bloomed flowers in a park and trampling on them for 'fun' – and had chased them angrily down with Ino and Naruto until they had sworn they were sorry. She opened her mouth to share her affinity with nature with Sasuke – but hesitated at the final moment. Maybe it was the uncertainty of how he would respond to her sharing information about herself – or maybe it was the fact that he had moved over to her, and lightly taken her left wrist, drawing her to follow him further into the forest. Sakura did her best to ignore the little tingles that trailed up her arm from the skin-on-skin contact.

Giant, exotic leaves and knotted shrubbery parted for the death deity, allowing unhindered access forward. Sakura lifted her gaze up to the canopy of trees, her eyes widening as she caught sight of a delicate, silvery net shimmering high in the branches above them.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing with her free hand.

Sasuke glanced up in turn, but continued to lead her through a winding path. "A spider's web."

Sakura gaped. "A spider did that by itself?" It looked more like a jewelled, spindle-woven ornament than a humble spider's home.

"Creatures here differ to those on the surface," the death deity reminded her.

She shook her head incredulously. Finally, Sasuke came to a stop in a clearing, in which was set a pretty little brook, surrounded by stones. He released her arm, and gestured to the crystal clear, rippling water.

Curiously, Sakura edged forward, and looked down – before releasing another astounded gasp. Luminous little fish swam in the shallow depths, each one possessing elaborate fins and shining, hypnotic scales.

"How do they glow like that?"

"The essences of nymphs touch all living things in this forest," Sasuke explained.

Sakura knelt down by the stream, reached out to dip her fingers in it, but the god's voice halted her.

"Do not disturb them."

She bit her lower lip and obediently lowered her hand, resorting instead to watch the fish as they swam contentedly. The water was so brilliantly pure. It smelled wonderfully clean and fresh. She found herself wondering where its source was located.

"Sakura," Sasuke's low murmur drew her out of her absent-minded reverie. "Come."

She followed him in distracted silence, until Sasuke led them back to the entrance of the forest. They stepped out and approached the chariot and its patiently waiting horses. Sakura recalled her earlier nausea, and pulled a face at the snorting steeds, before turning imploring, apple-green eyes to Sasuke.

"Can you go slower this time?"

"Hn," Sasuke tossed her a disdainful look that suggested he simply did not _do_ slow, and gestured for her to step into the carriage. Sakura mounted, and held her breath as he took his place behind her and drew the reins – only to lose it all over again as the chariot lunged forward at full speed. Thankfully this time, the horses remained grounded, although that fact was rendered near obsolete by the sparks of fire and trails of smoke that were flying off the chariot's wheels. Sakura clenched her teeth and hung onto the front of the cart so tightly that her nails hurt. The ride was blinding, hair-whipping, terrifying – yet exhilarating in its hurtling velocity. She found that the less she focused on the unpleasant churning in her stomach, the more she began to actually enjoy the experience – that was, the moments that did not involve Sasuke steering sharply and causing her to collide bodily into him.

Sakura was just starting to ease into the ride at last – when she realised with a rapidly accelerating sense of alarm that the death deity was driving straight toward what seemed to be the edge of a rocky incline.

"Sasuke?" she began fearfully, knowing the god's ears could hear her despite the deafening roar of the steeds' pounding hooves coupled with the ferocious crunching of wheels over gravel.

"Brace yourself," the instruction was spoken silkily into her right ear, and Sakura stiffened when a steely arm slipped around her midriff, tugging her firmly back against a solid chest. She released a trembling breath, her sense of panic reaching bursting point as she frantically wondered what in the world Sasuke was planning on doing – when, with a mighty neigh from the horses, the dark chariot reached the precipice and plunged straight down into the mouth of a yawning black chasm, sending Sakura's heart careering violently into her throat and her stomach into cartwheels. Her scream was captured and lost in the biting of the cold air, the speed of the descent tossing her hair back and causing tears to blur her vision.

She squeezed her eyes shut, panting to fill her breathless lungs with oxygen – when the wheels abruptly slammed onto solid ground, the force of the landing almost enough to throw her out the cart – but Sasuke's arm held fast, keeping her pressed tightly against him. The steeds – whom Sakura was now genuinely convinced were as utterly insane as their owner – blessedly slowed to a gentle canter. When Sakura dared to open her eyes again, she found that they were in what appeared to be a lower tier in the Underworld. She pressed a hand over her racing heart, half-surprised that she had not fallen into cardiac arrest following such a reckless and frightening plummet.

"I hate heights," she managed to wheeze. "Don't- don't do that to me again!"

She had no way of detecting the death god's half-smirk at those words as he made plans to repeat the experience again – and soon. Sakura's head was spinning in a dizzying mixture of adrenaline and nausea. As if sensing her distress, Sasuke's right arm slid away from her waist, and he lifted a hand to brush fingertips fleetingly against her forehead. Immediately the feeling of queasiness and displacement waned, before diminishing entirely. It allowed Sakura to look around clearly, and to notice that the gravelly strip of land they had alighted upon was flanked to their right by black, cave-like structures. Blue-fire torches scattered about the bank were a comforting source of light. To their left rolled a river of mist, blanketing the base of the massive, stretching cliff from which the chariot had so dare-devilishly leapt. Sakura looked up, but saw nothing except darkness in the endless heights above them.

The horses drew to an eventual stop before one opening in the rock-face. Sakura's legs, still fuelled with the fight-or-flight instinct, felt a little shaky as she stepped off the chariot. Willing her jangled nerves to calm again, she watched as Sasuke picked up one of the blue torches and held it like a beacon before them. The blue light enhanced the chiselled sharpness of his features, caught the grey in his irises, making them appear an almost pale, wintry blue. For a second, Sakura could not avert her gaze from the Death God as he directed a piercing look back at her.

Their eyes locked, and the moment could have lasted for a fraction of a second – or an entire hour. Sakura wasn't quite sure, and found she could not think coherently, could only contemplate how the shadows danced so hypnotically across that face. Then, Sasuke abruptly severed the connection, and ordered her to follow him.

They walked into the mouth of the cave. It was narrow, and the wall was jagged. Sakura nervously recalled the last time she had so foolishly ventured into a cave alone, when she had waltzed straight into the heart of a harpy nest and very nearly been torn to shreds. This time was different – the Underworld's King was accompanying her. Knowledge of the fact that she was safe and protected from other inhuman threats provided her with a little veil of security.

She trailed after him, taking every turn he took, but stumbled when he suddenly descended three, uneven steps. Her hands instinctively shot out, grasping at his silver-stitched black cloak to restore balance. He stopped and glared back at her over his shoulder. Muttering an embarrassed apology and telling herself that Sasuke was probably labelling her _'inept'_ in his mind again, Sakura shuffled after him, and was nearly ready to tear her hair out at the stifling silence that hung like a tonne of bricks over them, when Sasuke stepped into the colossal heart of the cave. The light from the strongly burning torch was outnumbered by the warmth of regular fire torches stationed around the space.

When Sakura entered after him, she forgot to breathe. She forgot to think. She could do nothing but stare in bug-eyed fascination.

The circular area had four levels, separated by unevenly formed, rocky ledges. It stretched up to a naturally dome-shaped ceiling, but it wasn't the structure itself that made Sakura gape in disbelief. It was what the structure contained – more specifically, what glinted, in the firelight, off the walls.

Amber. Purple. Red. Deep blue. Dark green. White. Pink. The cave glistened with shimmering rocks. Sakura was a woman, and all women recognised precious gemstones when they saw them. In a trance, she ventured further inside, her eyes darting from stone to stone, from level to level, in dazzled amazement.

"This is…" she began breathlessly, but her words evaporated into the air, were lost forever as a suitable description of the splendour around her evaded her tongue. The stones were deeply set in the rocky walls, varied in shapes and sizes, but all glinted with the unmistakeable hint of incredible clarity. Sakura realised with bubbling excitement that this was a mine brim-full with genuine jewels. Her gaze lowered, and she spotted iron carts stationed beside the walls, overflowing with piles upon piles of glimmering stones. Mining axes, ropes and other sharp digging equipment rested beside the carts, which indicated that a team of people – or more likely, supernatural creatures – were responsible for extracting the rich spoils surrounding them.

Sasuke had enough gems in the cave alone to supply an entire continent with riches. Sakura was staggered at such wealth, and hopelessly captivated by the jewels on proud display before her. What did he do with them? How did he have so many? She was certain that her eyes were glistening with stars as she turned to look dazedly at the Death God who stood silently behind her. He truly was a King, down to the last chip of treasure.

"This is all yours?" The question was stupid, senseless, because who else's could it all have been - but Sakura could not help herself from asking all the same. Her brain felt fuzzy, the same way she imagined many females would feel in her situation. She fleetingly thought that most would kill to be in her place – in a literal cave of wonders, littered with rubies, garnets, sapphires, emeralds, topaz, amber, and much more – with a devastatingly handsome and darkly seductive tour guide by their side.

Sasuke tilted his head back in haughty acknowledgement. "I own all riches contained beneath the surface's crust."

Her jaw dropped. Sasuke was a Death God – but also a God of Jewels? It was an unexpected and thoroughly bizarre combination, and one that caused an inadvertent giggle to escape her lips. Sasuke, who had clearly expected quite a different reaction, stared at her in puzzlement.

Sakura coughed, artfully disguising the remainder of her chuckle. "This is really impressive. I've never seen so many gems." She turned away and turned full circle in the middle of the gigantic room. "Are there more caves like this?"

"Twelve," Sasuke answered nonchalantly, as if it was not a big deal at all. But of course it was. Sakura gawped speechlessly at him.

" _Twelve?"_ she echoed. If there were this many treasures in one, just how outrageously rich _was_ he?

"This is the smallest," the deity added. "Others contain gold and precious metals."

"Wow," Sakura exhaled, and walked over to one of the walls, trailing her fingertips over an embedded, precious lump of rock. Garnet or ruby, she could not tell in the firelight's glow. The gem was hard, its edges raw and uncut. She followed an invisible path in the wall with her hand, brushing other implanted stones.

 _If I had just a small box of these jewels…_ she found herself thinking, and was internally unsettled by the unexpected pang of longing that suddenly tugged at her heart. While she had naturally always admired sparkling jewellery, she had never been particularly materialistic – that was more Ino's forte. And so she was at a loss to explain her subconscious reaction.

The mined jewels in the carts solicited her attention, and she could not help herself from reaching out to grasp a handful of assorted gems from the top of the staggering pile. They were cold to the touch, and glinted authentically. She shook her head, smiling in disbelief as she took another handful, before allowing all the stones to slip between her fingers and back onto the pile.

 _What would Ino say if she saw this?_ Sakura wondered. She turned to find Sasuke watching her intently, his eyes gleaming like black onyx gems in their own right.

"Who mines these stones?" she looked towards the large axes and picking tools.

"Centaurs," the death deity responded.

Centaurs - half man, half horse creatures. Sakura had read about them in stories, but was still surprised to discover they were real. Then she scolded herself; hadn't she already seen other magical entities?

"Where are they?" She was eager to look upon them. "Can I see one?"

Sasuke paused. He saw no reason to alarm Sakura by informing her that centaurs were untamed, fierce creatures that exhibited an often unhealthy interest in mortal women. For Sakura's protection – and for the centaurs themselves - he had firmly instructed the horse-men who served as miners in his realm to vacate the cave ahead of their arrival.

He shook his head, signalling a negative, noted the way her shoulders lowered in disappointment.

"Oh," she said softly. "That's too bad."

Sasuke did not know what exactly it was about her deflated expression that spurned him to supply an explanation for his rejection. "The creatures in my realm are untamed." He walked over to another cart and picked up a solid clump of amethyst rock. "Some harbour ill intentions to living humans – as you have seen."

Sakura gazed at him as the implications behind his words slowly registered.

"You sent them away." It was a statement, because she was oddly certain. After the incident with the harpies, Sasuke wasn't taking any further chances.

His silence was all the confirmation she needed. After another pointed pause, the Death God tossed the stone dismissively back onto the cart, the same way a person discarded anything that was inconsequential. Sakura thought that gods were likely so accustomed to great wealth, that they attributed it little to no value. In stark contrast, she knew that human nations would wage wars to gain access and ownership of such an untouched and unspoiled natural phenomenon.

She wondered why humans had been created with the ability to possess such a wide spectrum of qualities. Greed was an undesirable trait – but hadn't she exhibited it also, by ogling covetously at the gems on display? Was it innate? Weren't all mortals instinctively drawn to shiny, glimmering things?

A sudden, nagging curiosity entered her head, and the words had flown from the tip of her tongue before she could help herself.

"Do you have…" it had to be asked, "…diamonds here, too?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her - before nodding once.

Her eyes became as wide as saucers. "An entire _cave_ of diamonds?"

He snorted, and held up three fingers, indicating the number that existed.

"No way," Sakura exclaimed, gobsmacked once again. What did he _do_ with all the riches contained within his world – apart from stash them? She opened her mouth to ask him precisely that, when something high in the rock-face behind Sasuke glimmered enticingly, ensnaring her gaze. It was larger than the other stones, and a dark colour she could not make out at her distance.

Sasuke noticed that her eyes had fixed on something in the wall beyond his head. She was staring at it intently, and he all too clearly read the unspoken wish in her eyes. She then became aware of him watching her, and averted her face sheepishly.

It was _definitely_ time to leave the cave – before her itching fingertips reached out and snagged a gem. She didn't think displaying avarice in a deity's presence would be a wise thing to do. Thankfully, Sasuke agreed that their time was up, and gestured for her to walk ahead of him.

As Sakura made her way to the exit, his eyes flicked up to the wall, immediately locking onto the precise area she had been gazing so longingly at.

An uncommonly large emerald was set in the rock-face high above, sparkling alluringly in the warm glow of firelight.

Sasuke's gaze remained on it for a long moment, before slipping back to Sakura. Silently, he followed her.


	26. Chapter XXV

**Chapter XXV**

* * *

_Mirrored in dark eyes,_

_Is plain to see,_

_Desire and want,_

_Burning endlessly,_

_If only she would care to gaze,_

_Into that tangled, unfathomable maze,_

_She would glimpse,_

_His need – ablaze._

* * *

Sakura's fingers trailed over the book spines slotted neatly in the shelf she was examining. Sasuke had returned them at hurtling speed to the palace's stables following their exit from the jewelled cave, before promptly taking his leave, no doubt to see to the many responsibilities he shouldered as ruler of the Underworld. He had left before she could earnestly thank him for the tour he had given her. They had only visited two extraordinary places – but it was a start, and Sakura found herself eagerly looking forward to any subsequent trips.

After some deliberation, she had headed to the library to do what she had been intending for a while, but had never gotten around to doing. Her eyes had been opened to the wonders that existed in the Underworld, and she was keen to learn more about its different areas. If only she could find a map! But she knew that Sasuke would never permit her to look at one until he absolutely trusted that she would not embark on any further escape attempts.

So it was down to her to do her own research. She searched intently for any book relating to the Death God's realm and the afterlife – anything that would help advance her understanding. But finding information was easier said than done in a library as gigantic as Sasuke's. She had already hunted through the History section, and was now browsing under Religion - but none of the books she had examined up to that point had seemed relevant. Frustrated, she turned her attention to the shelf above, and her eyes almost immediately came to rest upon a blue-bound book, with the printed title, _Life after Death: Ancient Accounts_. Her interest firmly grabbed, Sakura drew the thick book off the shelf and scoured for any others.

She had read many mythological tales, but they had always belonged to a variety of different cultures and religions. The Underworld she was trapped in didn't belong in particular to anything she had ever read about, which prompted her to wonder which tribe of people it was that had worshipped Sasuke and his fellow gods to begin with. What had happened to wipe them – and all accounts of their beliefs - out?

Selecting two other books entitled _The Purpose of Life_ and _Ancient Gods and Goddesses_ , she made her way up to the Astronomy room with the telescopes and the giant globe. Settling in the comfortable chair by one of the study tables, Sakura dumped the books down and pulled the first one in front of her: _Life after Death: Ancient Accounts_. Then she opened the book and examined the contents.

Introduction… The significance of death… Burying rituals… Ancient Customs… The Afterlife… _Bingo!_ Sakura thought, and turned excitedly to page seventy one.

_Many ancient faiths believed in the existence of an afterlife. Some called it reincarnation; others believed that life on Earth is merely one form of existence, and a stepping stone in the soul's journey to more elevated places…_

Sakura already knew that. Her eyes scanned the page, looking for any mention of the Underworld. Her heart fluttered when her gaze finally rested on the word.

 _People in the past believed in the existence of a place which housed dead souls, and served as a location where they were filtered before passing to their next destinations. This place has commonly become known as the Underworld and is ruled by different deities, according to each respective faith_.

The text went on to talk about heaven and hell, and its variants. Sakura's shoulders slumped. There was nothing there that she didn't know. Disappointed, she flicked through the remainder of the book, her eyes stopping on various interesting snippets of information, but none that helped her cause. Sighing, she placed the book aside and opened the second one, entitled _The Purpose of Life._ The contents page revealed the book to be very philosophical.

 _That won't do_ , Sakura scowled, and turned her scrutiny to the third and final book – _Ancient Gods and Goddesses_. She opened it and flicked through the pages. Deities from different cultures and religions were organised into appropriately named sections. She took great interest in the ones that represented death, but none of them were called Sasuke. Sakura sat back, tapping a finger thoughtfully to her chin. Was she searching under the wrong name? _Sasuke_ seemed too normal, could pass for a human. Perhaps he had an alternative god title? There was no mention of an Underworld with boats and river shores, or a majestic palace. For there to be no accounts of the realm in Sasuke's library at all…

Unless… a sudden, troubling notion occurred to her; unless he had purposefully removed all texts…? But the only way for her to make sure was to look through every single book in all relevant sections – which would take her forever. Some books weren't even printed in languages she could read, which only added to her building frustration. She closed the book and stared sullenly at the large globe in the centre of the room. Was it a possibility that Sasuke had taken out all relevant information about his realm and himself? Perhaps he had not wanted her to learn anything – perhaps he had resorted to doing so to control what she learned and how much she knew.

Her fingers curled into angry fists. That sounded like something meticulous that Sasuke would do. It was funny how certain she felt of it. Deciding to ask Suigetsu about it later, she was just about to get up and examine the globe more closely, when-

"Sakura."

There was only one person alive who drawled her name sensuously like that. Sakura glanced guiltily down at the books on the table. Her first thought was that she couldn't let Sasuke see what she had been reading – but quickly dismissed it. She had nothing to hide. Yes, she wanted to find out more about the Underworld – hadn't she told him so herself? She had every right to snoop about in the library – it wasn't like he had made it off-limits to her.

She hurried down the steps that led to the second floor landing and peered over the golden railings at him.

"Yes?"

The Death God tilted his head back to regard her. "What are you doing?"

"Just looking around," she replied evasively, and before he could probe her further, added, "Did you want me?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment as he gazed up at her. He _always_ wanted her – but Sakura clearly had yet to catch onto the fact – at least, fully. He intended that to change, though – and fast.

"Meet me in the dome," he instructed.

Sakura blinked at him in surprise. "Right now?"

"Now," the death deity affirmed curtly, before turning swiftly on his heel and stalking out of the library. Sakura stared after him, frowning. Training again already? She had planned to spend a little more time looking for books, before sneaking into the dome to practice alone. She hadn't expected Sasuke to call for her again so soon. But then, she reasoned, that it could have been several hours since they had returned to his palace. She had no notion of time, no idea of just how much of it was passing.

Sighing heavily, she left the books where they were behind her and made her way to one of the staircases.

* * *

Hinata glanced anxiously at the multitude of apprehensive faces seated around the large, circular table. An emergency meeting had been called at the news of Inoichi's apparent disappearance, a troubling addition to the confounding mystery surrounding Sakura's case. Her pale, slender fingers fidgeted nervously with the hem of her silver, loose fitting cardigan as her gaze finally settled upon a noticeably subdued Naruto. He had not been himself since Sakura had vanished. It was almost as though the light and bursting warmth that dwelled within his soul had been sucked out and replaced with dark, morose dejection – a painful and stark reminder of just how dearly he held Sakura in his heart. Hinata's own ached with the near choking need to comfort and soothe him, even when she dared not close the distance between them. She wished there was something she could do to help, to ease his suffering, but felt as powerless as a sail-boat without compass, cast amongst the tumultuous waves of an ocean.

They had gathered again in the assembly room in the secret base, a hidden sanctuary located deep in the heart of Konoha's bordering south-western mountain ranges. Entry into the sanctuary was restricted only to those who possessed the knowledge to unlock the ancient seals guarding the magic-bolted doors. The sanctuary could only be reached via an underground tunnel, which itself required the cracking of a complex, five-part seal to remove. Those who knew the location of the tunnel's entry and exit points were sworn to utter secrecy.

Tsunade rose from her chair and placed her palms on the table. It was an unspoken signal for silence, and the room immediately quietened.

"It has been twenty four hours since Inoichi headed toward the eastern mountain ranges in search of…" here she paused and threw a disgusted glare at an oblivious Jiraiya, who sat leisurely in his seat with his feet propped atop the table. "Jiraiya," she bit out, prompting the white-haired god to smile and raise his wine goblet wryly at her. Ignoring his acknowledgement, she continued, "Ino has been unable to contact him, and our subsequent searches have proved fruitless."

"I don't get it," Ino exclaimed, her slender hands tightening to form agitated fists in front of her. "Why would anybody target my dad?"

"Are we certain that is what has happened here?" Asuma questioned.

"It's most likely," Kakashi sighed. "This cannot be a coincidence."

"First Sakura, then the oceans, now Inoichi…" Kurenai shook her head in concern. "What does this all mean?"

"We must connect the dots!" Gai exclaimed. "Whoever is responsible may come for any of us in turn!"

"We need to figure out why whoever is responsible would go after Inoichi," Shikamaru said. Directing his gaze to Sai, he said evenly, "Has Suigetsu attempted to contact you recently?"

Sai stared back at him with inky eyes. His heart accelerated as he wondered what the correct response would be. Saying yes would direct further blame onto the water deity. On the other hand, stating that he'd received no word would indicate that Suigetsu was acting independently – or somebody else was responsible.

Suffocated by the guilt he harboured deep inside his chest, Sai chose to tell the truth. "No," he answered. "I have not heard from him."

Ino clutched at her hair in frustration. "I can't believe this. I can't believe it's taking us so long to find that bastard!"

"We all know Suigetsu delights in causing mischief," Kurenai stated, "But for him to go to such lengths to keep Sakura from us…"

Jiraiya, looking bored by the entire affair, spoke up.

"What evidence do we have that he is directly responsible for Inoichi's disappearance?"

"We were planning to synchronise Inoichi's telepathic abilities with one of your toads to navigate our search underwater," Kakashi explained.

"Hmm," Jiraiya rubbed at his jaw and raised his eyebrows. "So in blaming Suigetsu, you are suggesting that he was somehow made aware of this plan…?"

"Damn it," Tsunade hissed. "There's no way he could have known, unless-" she drew a sudden, sharp intake of breath.

"A spy?" Gai stood up, completing her thoughts, his eyes ablaze with anger. "Someone is watching us?!"

"Or…" Jiraiya proposed lightly, "…somebody with knowledge of our plans has perhaps relayed this information to him - if it is indeed Suigetsu who is responsible."

Asuma held up his hands. "Now wait a minute-"

"What are you saying, old hermit?" Naruto demanded.

Ino was appalled. "A traitor? Is _that_ what you're seriously suggesting?"

"But who would do that…?" Kurenai wondered aloud, shocked by the very idea.

All at once, everybody began talking over each other. Asuma's calls for order went largely unheeded as his friends began to speculate over the possibility of a double-agent.

Hinata glanced again at the faces around the table. Everybody appeared upset and disgusted – everybody except for Sai, whose eyes were lowered, his expression unreadable. Her gaze lingered uncertainly on him. As if sensing her scrutiny, Sai looked up at her and stared blankly back, revealing nothing of his thoughts on the matter. Hinata flushed guiltily and quickly averted her attention, embarrassed to have been caught staring so openly.

Tsunade furiously slammed her palms down on the table, loud enough to enforce silence once again.

Glaring at Jiraiya, she snapped, "You've clearly been away from us too long if you think that anybody in this room would turn traitor!"

Jiraiya set down his goblet and leaned forward in his seat. "Times have changed, Tsunade, and what I am telling you is that it is unlikely Suigetsu is acting alone in this, if he is acting at all!"

"You seem reluctant to believe Suigetsu's involvement in this," Tsunade pounced suspiciously.

"I find it hard to imagine that the great Tsunade would have been deceived so easily," Jiraiya pointed out. "Suigetsu is crafty, but he has never acted against us in the past."

"It seems strange," Kakashi mused in agreement. "For him to neglect his duties for such a delayed period of time; if the water levels rise any further, towns will begin to flood. Those on the edges of shorelines have already begun to feel the effects."

"But he must be involved!" Gai cried. "There is something in the water that he does not want us to see! Why else would Inoichi have been targeted?!"

"How did he even know about our plan?" Ino returned the focus to the most pressing question. "There's no _way_ he could have found out, not unless somebody who knew told him."

"And everybody within this room knew, I assume," Jiraiya sat back, satisfied that his point had been taken into consideration at last.

"Fine! We'll swear an oath!" Naruto suddenly suggested, pounding a fist on top of the table. His eyes burning with challenge, he exclaimed to Jiraiya, "We'll prove to you that nobody here's a traitor!"

"This is ridiculous-" Asuma began in protest. "We've stuck together through thick and thin, to even suggest-"

"I swear!" Naruto interjected, holding his hand to his heart. "I swear on the Styx that I'm no traitor to Sakura-chan!"

Hinata gasped, alarmed. To swear on that dreadful river… any who broke their oaths were doomed to drink from its foul waters – which induced consequences feared even by immortals.

"Wait a second, you idiot!" Ino snapped, pointing. "Your dad upheld that law before, back when the Clan still served him. Who's going to do it now? It doesn't mean anything when we can't even get to that forsaken place!"

"Chiyo will know," Kurenai reminded them softly. "The Erinyes still uphold the law, and will punish any traitors."

Tsunade nodded. Determined to prove Jiraiya wrong too, she ordered, "Each of you, swear by it!"

Tiredly, Shikamaru muttered, "How troublesome. I swear by the Styx, I haven't betrayed us."

"Of course I'm not a traitor to my own best friend!" Ino said fiercely. "I swear on the Styx!"

"I- I swear by the Styx…" Hinata began tentatively.

Naruto quickly bypassed her, knowing full well that hell would sooner freeze over before Hinata ever committed an act of treachery. "Asuma?"

"I swear by the Styx," he vowed solemnly.

"I swear my youthful soul on the Styx, that I am as faithful to our cause as I have always been!" Gai saluted, causing a few of them to cringe at the vehemence in which the promise was uttered.

"I give my word, upon Styx, that I am no traitor," Kurenai pledged.

"On the Styx, I swear that I am no traitor," Kakashi sighed.

"Sai?" Naruto pressed next, when the youth did not immediately speak. "C'mon, swear it!"

Sai's heart was racing. He found it a miracle that he was able to keep his composed façade from slipping from his face entirely. He knew the consequences of promising an oath upon the Underworld's river, and what would happen to him if he broke it, or swore falsely. The moment he stepped into that realm again, the fearful Erinyes would be onto him, ready to tear him to shreds. Every vow made was heard by the death deity who ruled there, too. Would Sasuke spare him, knowing he had lied for his sake? Or would he use it as the perfect opportunity to feed Sai to the metaphorical wolves, after decreeing that he had no further use of his services?

Caught in an impossible no-win situation, Sai had a split second in which to make his decision. Refusing the oath would flare up their immediate suspicions. But talking about Sakura would result in his death. On the other hand, swearing an oath would damn his soul – unless the Underworld's King intervened on his behalf. Sasuke was not known to be merciful. And yet Sai found no alternative but to trust that the Death God still required his assistance – and would save him from the hot water he was about to fling himself into.

"I swear that I am not a traitor," he said, as coolly as he could manage – and prayed they would not notice his omission.

But Jiraiya was onto him in an instant. "Swear by the Styx, Sai."

They were all staring at him intently, all waiting for his pledge. Swallowing, and feeling sick to his stomach, Sai amended, "By the river. I swear."

"You see?" Tsunade sneered at Jiraiya. "Now _you_ swear by it! If anybody warrants suspicion here, it's you with your endless absences!"

"Ladies first, my dear," Jiraiya flashed a grin that did not reach his eyes.

She clenched her jaw tightly. "Of course I would not betray my own daughter!"

"Swear on it, like the rest of us have," Jiraiya prompted.

Insulted, she ground out, "I swear by that godforsaken river."

"As do I," Jiraiya sighed. "The Styx knows of my honourable intentions."

Tsunade snorted contemptuously, before moving swiftly on. "Then it is decided. A spy beyond these walls is involved. Orochimaru's appearance is no coincidence either – it's possible _he_ is watching us."

"Suigetsu's gotta be working with that creep," Naruto slammed a fist into his palm.

"Are the phials safe?" Kakashi murmured to Tsunade.

"Yes," she nodded stiffly. "Shizune and I have stored them in the vault."

"We must exercise caution," Asuma warned. "We must not discuss Sakura's situation beyond these walls. We don't know who might be listening!"

"What is your next course of action?" Jiraiya enquired.

"I can tap into my seal and find Inoichi-" Naruto began.

"No. It's too risky!" Kurenai admonished. "If we're being watched, we can't take any chances. We need somebody else's assistance, somebody who also has tracking abilities but is unhindered by a seal."

"You said you're in contact with Chiyo," Shikamaru glanced at Tsunade, who nodded again.

"Can she help us?" Ino asked hopefully.

"She discloses what she sees fit to disclose," Tsunade muttered. "I will appeal to her again… but Chiyo is unpredictable. She has a preference to allow fate to unravel its strings."

"Can't the old hag make an exception?" Naruto lamented. "Who else _is_ there?"

"Sasuke."

Everybody tensed at the uttered name. Heads snapped to gaze incredulously at Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-" Kakashi hissed beneath his breath. "I've already warned you about getting him involved-"

"He is able to locate any soul he wishes," Jiraiya continued, ignoring his friend's protests. "I don't see why we don't invite him here and make him a profitable offer."

Naruto's hands gripped tightly onto the arm-rests of his seat. He swallowed miserably.

"Hah!" Tsunade dismissed. "And what offer would be profitable enough to tempt that traitor to aid us? Unless you're able to restore his family, he will deem everything else beneath his time and effort!"

"Sasuke has always craved power. If we offer him something based on that…"

"You're crazy!" Ino gasped. "His abilities aren't sealed like ours. He isn't exactly lacking in power right now. We shouldn't meddle with him-"

"I agree," Kurenai shook her head. "We didn't part on good terms, and if he realises Sakura's worth, he might use her to get back at us."

"He wouldn't," a quiet voice spoke up, quivering with emotion. All eyes turned to Naruto, whose head was bowed low. "He wouldn't do that. Sasuke wouldn't stoop that low!"

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered in dismay.

"Still clinging to your false beliefs?" Tsunade glared. "He certainly stooped much lower when he stabbed us in the back!"

"NO!" Naruto exploded, jumping to his feet. "That's not what happened! He didn't _know_ -"

"Naruto!" Kakashi interjected harshly, reaching out to clamp a restraining hand around his wrist. "That's enough!"

Naruto yanked his arm out of his hold, his chest heaving. "I'll vouch for him! He wouldn't take Sakura-chan to hurt us, or use her for revenge! He isn't like that!"

"Calm down, Naruto," Shikamaru raised his hands, knowing how sensitive the subject of the death deity was to his friend. "We have to exhaust all possibilities-"

"You really think he'd leave his seat of power and come up here for a friendly chat?" Ino exclaimed in disbelief. "This is _Sasuke_ we're talking about!"

"Perhaps… a few of us could venture down instead and request his assistance?" Asuma began uncertainly.

"That would be foolish!" Gai exclaimed. "We would be walking straight into a trap-"

"You don't even know what you're saying!" Naruto shouted.

Everybody started arguing loudly again. Giving reasons as to why it was a terrible idea – and reasons why it was worth a try, at the very least. What was the worst Sasuke would do, some reasoned – refuse them? He certainly wouldn't do anything as reckless as attacking them, and if he did, then it only proved he had something to hide.

Sai listened to the exchanges in muted silence, his heart never ceasing its pounding.

Kakashi shook his head at Jiraiya, trying to block out the din of disorder that had broken out over the table. Telepathically, he admonished, _'You already confronted Sasuke about it. What are you thinking? He made it clear what he'd do if you trouble him again!'_

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. _'And I already told you, I don't trust that boy. Don't let old sentiments cloud your judgement, Kakashi!'_

Before Kakashi could respond, they were interrupted by the sound of heavy doors opening. Iruka burst in, red-faced and breathless.

"The oceans!" he panted. "The oceans have settled again!"

* * *

When Sakura stepped into the training dome, she immediately noticed that something seemed different about it. Walking up to the central area, she quickly realised what it was. The lowered, stair encircled arena had morphed into what she could only liken to a human chessboard of sorts. Alternating grey and darker grey panels formed a large eight by eight square. Sasuke, who had been seated in waiting on the third row of steps down, rose languidly to his feet as Sakura approached.

He noted that she had exchanged her dress for a pleasing green and black hued sparring outfit. Sasuke thought it flattered her figure remarkably well.

Intrigued, Sakura came to a stop at the top of the steps. "What's this?" she asked curiously. The Death God took position on the panel at the top left of the square, and gestured for her to take hers diagonally from him at the bottom-most panel to her right.

"A basic strategy exercise," he explained. "Move from your starting position, to the opposite end, without allowing your opponent to cross your square."

A game of human chess. Sakura had always enjoyed the mental stimulation a challenging game of chess provided, and was immediately interested in the activity. It beat physically sparring with Sasuke, at least - although the sword sheathed in its scabbard at his waist informed her that he probably intended to make use of it later.

"Can I move in any direction?"

"Not backwards."

"How many squares may I cross per turn?"

"One."

It seemed simple enough – but Sakura was still wary of a catch. "What happens if I win?"

Sasuke tossed her a haughty look. "Hn. I do not lose."

Her eyebrows shot up at that. The word 'humble' clearly did not exist in Sasuke's vocabulary. He was utterly arrogant - and utterly unashamed of it. "Really? If you're so sure you're going to win, then why are we even playing this game?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. It irked her that Sasuke was so ready and willing to write her off – and made her all the more determined to prove him wrong.

He stared at her. "This is no _game_ , Sakura."

Sakura rephrased her question. "What happens if I lose?"

Something about the manner in which one corner of Sasuke's lips curved to form a dark and sinister smirk set loose a strange, fluttering sensation in Sakura's stomach. She decided she didn't _want_ to know what would happen if Sasuke reached her, was adamant that she absolutely would _not_ lose - and was glad when he gave her a curt nod, signalling that they begin.

Rather than stepping forward without thought, Sakura sensibly scanned the board, mapping out her potential options. She couldn't simply head a direct path forward. Sasuke would reach her at the second last square – which meant she would have to move in numerous directions.

"Does remaining in place count as a turn?" she questioned, without taking her eyes from the panels before her.

"No," Sasuke stated.

So moving backwards was not permitted. Realising that it was useless to plan out a precise strategy given that her direction would very much be influenced by Sasuke's, Sakura took a step left and watched as Sasuke moved diagonally to his. Looking around her again, Sakura next stepped diagonally up to her right, and the death deity took another diagonal step left.

Sakura's eyes darted over the panels as she took the time to mentally recalculate her route. She needed to carefully consider every decision she made if she wanted to stand a fair chance at beating Sasuke.

Sasuke watched her intently, wondering just how much of Sakura's surface-admired intelligence she was about to put to good use.

Slowly, Sakura took a step forward. Sasuke moved left, and she answered with a diagonal step up to her left in turn, her pulse picking up pace a little. Only a single square separated them diagonally. If she put a foot wrong now, she would lose.

 _Focus,_ Sakura willed herself resolutely. _You can win this._ _Ignore his staring. Just keep your eyes on the board._ Cautiously, she weighed each of the five options available to her, before settling on a diagonal step up to her right. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her choice as he realised her course of movement, and had no other alternative than to move onto the square to his left.

Immediately, Sakura moved forward, her stomach fluttering when Sasuke stepped left again. He was on the square right beside hers – but her next movement would take her behind him. And going backwards was against the rules.

 _Yes!_ She thought, allowing a small grin to dance upon her lips as she cast Sasuke a triumphant look and slipped diagonally up to her left, so that she was positioned directly behind him.

The scowl he directed back at her only made her success all the sweeter and more amusing. Smothering back a giggle, for Sasuke did not seem to be someone who would take kindly to being laughed at, Sakura commented casually, "I thought you don't lose."

Before she could complete the final step that would take her to the other end of the board and seal her victory, she felt resistance in her legs. More specifically, her feet. She didn't need to look down to know that the pretty gold shackles around her ankles were responsible for her sudden inability to move.

Alarmed, Sakura looked up to meet glowering dark eyes. He had not miscalculated; he had made all the right moves. He had just not anticipated that she would choose all the right ones at the first attempt, also. She'd only had to make one mistake, and he would have claimed his win.

But Sasuke, unaccustomed to suffering a defeat of any kind, was not about to admit that he had underestimated her. He regarded her aloofly down the barrel of his nose for a moment – before his glare completely vanished. Sakura drew in a sharp breath, all remnants of amusement evaporating as she watched the Death God's lips curve to form a smug imitation of a smirk – and one that was anything but friendly.

"I don't," he said, his gaze falling briefly and pointedly to her feet. Meeting her eyes again, he added, "You have not completed the final step."

Sakura's jaw dropped in disbelief. The jerk! She was all at once overcome with the terrifying urge to break something – a far safer alternative to wanting to wipe that infuriatingly stupid, stupid, damned _sexy_ smirk off his face. She had won honestly, using nothing but brain power, and Sasuke, the sore loser, was not letting her claim her well-earned victory! Fuming internally, and flustered at her helplessness, she exclaimed, "You're cheating! I've won!"

She tried to focus on her legs, willed them with all her being to move, but her struggles were hopeless. She stiffened when Sasuke stepped forward, and her heart nearly leapt out of her throat when his left hand slid down her right side, before coming to a snug stop at the curve of her waist.

Leaning in close, he whispered, "I make the rules, Sakura."

It took every ounce of willpower to suppress the shudder that threatened to shoot down her spine when Sasuke exhaled lightly over the sensitive skin of her right ear. Then she said indignantly, "I followed the rules _you_ gave me. I won fair and square- wha-!?"

Blessedly, he drew back, but not before grabbing hold of her left wrist and yanking her to follow him off the board and onto the steps encircling the lowered arena.

Bemused, but glad that her legs were back under her control again, Sakura looked on as he pulled back the lever set in the top ring of steps. To her amazement, the chessboard floor began to retract, and was soon replaced by the default, sandy base.

Curiosity overruled her need to complain, and prompted her to ask, "How many floors are there?"

"Many," Sasuke answered vaguely, which to Sakura was the equivalent of not answering at all. Without giving her a chance to pose any further questions, he ordered, "Prepare yourself."

A flitter of apprehension filled Sakura as she watched the death deity gracefully draw Kusanagi and take his position on the restored floor. He _had_ lost the warm-up exercise, regardless of what he'd said, and Sakura was oddly sure that as a result, he would ensure that her main training drills were going to be exceptionally gruelling. Which was just _perfect._

She joined him, unsheathing her own blade. Sasuke adopted a ready stance and Sakura nervously mirrored him. The time had come. Finally, they were going to begin physically sparring. Sakura had been dreading the moment all along, had hoped that he would have a different routine planned for her instead. She just prayed that he would not be too tough on her.

"-arry me," the Death God completed his instruction, and Sakura's distracted mind chose that second to tune in to what he was saying. She blinked, startled, her confused brain initially mishearing his words to be something else. _What_ had he just said?

"Huh?" she double-took.

Sasuke looked mildly exasperated as he repeated, "I said, parry me."

 _Parry._ Oh, _of course_ that had been what he'd said. Sakura gave herself a mental shake as he began to circle her. For a long minute he said nothing, just prowled around her like a majestic lion closing in on his kill.

Sakura's posture bolted upright when the hilt of his sword prodded between her shoulder blades.

"Your back is your most vulnerable point. Always cover it."

Immediately she twisted, her sword raised protectively across her body.

 _Am I holding this right?_ Sakura asked herself. She felt more secure wielding her blade with both hands, and assumed that unless Sasuke stated otherwise, she was fine to hold it that way. They continued to circle one another, until Sakura's side-stepping movements gradually began to become less jittery.

"Keep an eye on your opponent's feet," Sasuke said next. "And be quick on your own."

She tensed as he abruptly stepped forward, swiping down at her ankles with Kusanagi. She stumbled away just in time to avoid his blade as it connected with the ground, sending particles of sand up into the air.

Sakura gulped. He wasn't going lightly. The force behind his strike indicated that he had absolutely no intention of easing her gently into the art of sword-fighting.

She watched his feet intently, trying to guess where he might move next. But her inexperience made her hesitant and uncertain. What if she read incorrectly? What if she couldn't dodge in time? She looked up questioningly when he suddenly stopped circling her.

"When I strike this way, raise your arms to parry me," he instructed, swiping down slowly with his back hand. Sakura lifted her arms, and Sasuke pressed his blade against hers. "Use the force of impact to deflect my attack. If your hold is too weak, you will be disarmed."

Sakura nodded, and he drew his sword back, swiping slowly once more, allowing her the opportunity to test out her newly learned reaction.

"Like this?" she met his sword with her own again.

He nodded.

"What about if you attack with your forearm?"

He adjusted his hold on his sword hilt accordingly. "This attack has less precision and power," Sasuke demonstrated. Sakura instinctively raised her sword to defend, striking against his blade.

"Hn," he scoffed, pulling his arm back for another go. "Use more power. Again."

She parried, putting more strength into the warding blow.

"Harder," he ordered sternly.

Frowning with effort, she struck her sword against his more forcefully – and was met with resistance when the death deity's arm held firm. Sakura thought it felt like she was pushing against an unwavering, unbreakable iron wall.

"When two blades are locked," Sasuke explained, "the battle becomes one of physical prowess – unless you are able to distract your opponent."

He stepped forward, and Sakura gritted her teeth, trying to hold ground. He wasn't even pushing anywhere near full power against her sword, and the strain on her muscles was already nearly unbearable. There was no way she could beat him physically, but maybe if she could utilise a distraction…

Her eyes moved back to his feet, and an idea suddenly occurred to her. She was smaller than he was. If she had another weapon, she could have tried dropping her blade and slipping around him before he could pull his arm back. That was how it played out in her mind, at least.

"Sakura," the Death God's admonishing voice drew her attention back to his face. "Never allow your opponent to read your intentions."

She flushed. He meant that he could read hers. Well, she _had_ been looking down rather obviously…

"Would it have worked?" she questioned, referring to her intended strategy.

He gave her a condescending look that conveyed a resounding _NO_ , before releasing the lock between their blades with a force that almost wrenched Sakura's sword from her grasp.

"To defend against a stab, parry your blade upwards," Sasuke tutored next. He jabbed lightly forward with his sword, and Sakura struck upwards – but her deflection was shaky and lacked stability. She knew from Sasuke's scowl that he considered her defence pathetic, and half hoped that he would give up on her. Instead he responded by stabbing more forcefully. Sakura yelped and instinctively deflected again – this time much more firmly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his mind forming a rapid conclusion based on the few observations he had made of her so far. When Sakura thought too carefully about her actions, her response time was slower. She was more stable when she acted on instinct, which meant he had to put her in situations that would force her to defend based on her gut reactions.

Without giving her an opportunity to recover, he closed in again, this time with a stab and a swipe. She parried back the stab, awkwardly warded off his swipe. He aimed at her head, and she ducked it, raising her sword unseeingly above her. In the next second, her feet had been swept out from underneath her and she landed ungraciously on her rear.

"Ouch!"

"Careless," Sasuke censured.

Sakura winced and brushed the sand off her skirt. "You aimed right for my head!"

"Your choice of defence was incorrect."

She grumbled, "I've never done this before, Sasuke."

"Hn," he dismissed, as if that wasn't anywhere near an acceptable enough excuse. "Get up."

She rose, and after drawing a deep breath, took her position again, deflecting the series of strikes Sasuke directed at her as best she could. He let her know whenever she moved incorrectly and left herself open to attack by angling the tip of his blade at her throat, his searing eyes silently disapproving, before continuing with a fresh sequence of attacks.

Slowly, Sakura began to become more familiar with the motions. She kept her eyes lowered as Sasuke had taught her to do, alternating her gaze between his feet and his left hand. Looking at his face, she'd quickly realised was pointless – no matter how strong the urge was to do so. Eventually they fell into a steady routine, with Sakura making fewer mistakes and managing more confident blocks. Sasuke spoke little and only when required to guide her reactions, allowing her to concentrate fully on reading his attacks and on her own footwork.

Then, gradually, the death deity began to pick up pace. He stabbed to her left, and she side-stepped away, raising her sword automatically to deflect his next swipe. When he struck at her head again she moved on instinct, hopping back to avoid him.

"Hn. Better," the death deity briefly acknowledged, but he was relentless. He went on the offensive once more, delivering blow after blow, and for a few adrenaline fuelled minutes the metallic clanging of steel against steel was all that Sakura could hear, along with the rushing of blood in her ears. She felt the muscles in her arms strain as he brought Kusanagi down with force, locking against her own sword.

"Too weak, Sakura," Sasuke mocked, lowering his face so that it was level with her own. Sakura ground her teeth with effort, pushing against his blade as strongly as she was able – when abruptly the pressure in her arms was released, and Sasuke circled around her again. Breathless with exertion, her posture slouched for an instant, her gaze lowering – and that split second was all Sasuke needed to slip behind her.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the feel of cool fingertips trailing down the underside of her right arm. The feather-like touch caused an unexpected jolt of electricity to pass through her, as Sasuke's voice murmured into her ear, "I told you to watch your back."

She swallowed as his fingers wrapped around her own and gently, insistently, began to pry her grip on the sword hilt lose. His other hand snaked around her left side, and began to slide toward her abdomen. The foreign sensations that followed in the wake of his movements disturbed and disconcerted her – yet she found that she couldn't move, her stumped mind still stunned by how quickly he had turned the tide against her. He was standing so close behind her that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.

This time she could not suppress the shudder that racked her spine when she felt him exhale over the sensitive skin of her ear. Unbidden, her fingers relinquished their hold on the blade.

"You have been disarmed," Sasuke breathed, as her blade fell to the floor with a dull thud. Sakura felt the kiss of cold metal as Kusanagi hovered at her throat. The fingers on her stomach curled, clutching at the fabric of her top. Flustered and angry at herself for being so diverted by his proximity, as well as the offending hand that had no _right_ to invade her personal space, she grasped onto his left wrist with the intention to yank it off – and that proved to be her second mistake in a matter of minutes. Before she could even blink, the world had spun on itself and she found herself lying flat on the ground.

Sakura panted, fighting to swallow down oxygen. The fall had fractured the air cleanly from her lungs, swarmed her vision momentarily with stars. But her merciless tutor did not give her an opportunity to regain her bearings. She stiffened as Kusanagi stabbed into the dusty ground just inches away from her head. In an instant, Sasuke was hovering over her, his legs straddling her sides. Sakura's heart leapt to her throat as the death deity, with one hand still clutching his blade's hilt, lowered his head, close enough for strands of raven hair to tickle her face. Close enough for the tip of his aristocratic nose to nuzzle against the bridge of hers.

"You are distracted, _Sakura_ ," he taunted quietly, silkily. Immediately, heat bloomed into her cheeks, and Sakura averted her head to the right. She had the overwhelming urge to connect a fist right into that arrogant jaw. He knew how uncomfortable his closeness made her – and seemed to delight in using that fact against her.

She expected him to move away, but to her utter mortification, Sasuke leaned in further, dragging the tip of his nose down her left cheek. She felt the fingers of his right hand entangle in her tresses. Sakura's pulse thundered in response, and she felt another tremor shoot down her spine at the intimate contact – one wholly unrelated to fear.

Her efforts to ask him just _what_ he thought he was doing by taking the liberty to touch her so freely were foiled by her treacherous tongue, which decided at that precise moment that it did not wish to articulate any coherent words.

"And if you are distracted..." Sasuke continued, the warmth of his breath causing her skin to tingle, "You invite your enemy to take advantage."

Sakura bit her lower lip. The _bastard_ was mocking her. Anger burned in her throat, triggering her voice to return. "Please get off me," she finally managed to utter stiffly. His presence was overwhelming. She could scarcely draw breath. Her entire body was alive and responding to the crackling aura that encompassed him, her mind whirling from thoughts she didn't particularly want to consider. Like how even more beautiful and arresting his eyes were this close, how those eyes made her feel like she was burning on the inside, a feeling she couldn't understand, and more frighteningly, did not want to.

Her drumming pulse accelerated into even further agitation when Sasuke's smirking lips whispered emphatically into her ear, " _Make me._ "

 _Wha-?_ Sakura thought incredulously. Was this some kind of _game_ to him? If so, she decidedly did _not_ like it, neither did she like the way it was causing butterflies to flutter frantically in the deepest pits of her stomach. She turned her face slightly, meaning to glare at him, to let him see how thoroughly upset she was – when she froze at the lightest brush of warm lips across her left cheekbone, a rendition of a phantom caress.

The fingers interlaced in her hair tightened. The lips hovered in place. Time seemed to suspend for an instant, in which all Sakura could hear was the racing of her own heartbeat – and then chaos erupted within her. She didn't _care_ about being polite. She just wanted him off her. With a surge of strength that Sasuke had not expected, she lifted her arms and shoved him away with all her might, succeeding in pushing him back enough to slip out from underneath him. Breathing rapidly, she scrambled away, a hand raised to her burning left cheek, which felt like it had been scorched by the touch of flame.

Sasuke sat back languidly, nonchalantly, regarding her with fathomless eyes, and she would have believed that he thought nothing of the encounter, had her gaze not happened to chance upon his hands, curled into tense fists on the ground by his sides. His chest seemed to be heaving, as if he, too, was fighting to restore oxygen to his lungs. She looked bewilderedly back to his face, thrown by the buzzing thoughts that were ricocheting dizzyingly inside her skull. For a long, immeasurable moment, they stared at each other in crushing silence. And the longer Sakura gazed at him, the more she unnervingly felt like she was being drawn into bottomless black vortexes.

Then all manner of thinking stilled, and only one instruction remained. She needed to leave. She needed space. The training session, as far as she was concerned, was definitely over.

Making absolutely sure her eyes remained fixed on the death deity, Sakura fumbled for her sword, felt the reassuring coolness of its hilt beneath her seeking fingers, and quickly rose to her feet. The realisation that her entire body was pulsating from the sheer force of her heartbeat only served to escalate her distress further.

Swallowing thickly, she took her leave, paying little attention to the automatic words that fell from her lips. "I'm tired. Sorry, I-" she stared hard at her feet for a moment, before finishing tautly, "Excuse me."

She could feel Sasuke's heavy gaze piercing through her back as she turned rigidly away and hurriedly exited the training dome.

* * *

Sasuke's jaw clenched and he inwardly cursed as the rotating platform disappeared, carrying Sakura out of sight. He had not initially intended for his lips to connect with her cheek. But the softness of her skin had been so inviting, its apricot glow so lovely and enticing. Coupled with the sweet scent of her, his senses had been engulfed by irresistible allure, and he had gotten too close, far too close to pull away in time, even if he'd wanted to, when she had suddenly turned her face toward him.

And now she had left. He had read the startled confusion in her eyes, the sliver of dawning understanding as her gaze had noted the tension he had evidently failed to conceal from her. Raking his fingers through his hair in frustration, he angrily found himself questioning what need there was for him to do so. He was a god! And he had granted her time enough to adjust to his realm, far longer than what other immortals would have gifted her. The blood in his veins was alight with the need to be close to her. He could not understand it, yet that same, maddening need compelled him to reach out, to touch her. What had begun as a game on his part, pinning her beneath him to see how she would respond and break free, had ended up backfiring. He had wanted to do more than trace the curve of her cheekbone with his lips.

By Tartarus, what he had really _wanted_ to do was _-_

' _Great God.'_

A familiar voice reverberated in his mind, the urgency behind its summoning call unmistakeable, causing Sasuke's features to cloud over further. The intrusion was an unwelcome one when he desired nothing more than to follow after Sakura – even when he knew the girl required space.

Rising and sheathing Kusanagi at his waist, the Death God took a few minutes to compose himself before flickering soundlessly out of sight.

* * *

Sakura burst into her bedchamber and headed straight toward the bathroom, twisting the lock roughly behind her. Her thoughts were hurtling at head-spinning speed. Had Sasuke just- had his lips really just…? She couldn't call it a kiss. It had been more of an instance of brushing, experimental contact.

It had set her face alight all the same.

Her initial stunned response was that it must have been an accident on his part. But upon reflection… she shook her head, dumbfounded by disbelief. _No._ It had _not_ been unintentional. It _couldn't_ have been; even a girl as inexperienced in men as she was had been able to read the unspoken intent in his body language. With his inhuman reflexes, the deity could have easily averted his face in time, but had chosen, instead, to allow his lips to linger lightly in place.

But why? _Why?_ The question tortured her. Was it all some kind of cruel game to Sasuke? Some twisted manner of _entertainment?_ Her throat and eyes burned with indignation. Was this how gods viewed and treated humans? Did they just decide, on a _whim_ , to ensnare whichever hapless mortal it was who happened to be unfortunate enough to capture their attention? Did they leisurely play on their emotions before disposing of them as they wished?

That sounded nothing like the benevolent deities she had been taught about throughout her education.

The tips of her nails dug into her palms, hard enough to indent skin. She half hoped the pain would snap her out of the nightmare she was drowning in, but Sakura was now convinced Fate hated her and was determined to make an absolute mockery of her.

Was Sasuke, as she had thought all along, purposefully misleading her and testing her responses as part of some higher, godly agenda, or was he setting her a deathly trap? Or was it neither of those things? Was it even remotely possible - as outrageous and ludicrous as it seemed - that he genuinely _did_ hold a baffling interest in her – one that clearly surpassed the simple need for detached observation?

Fresh heat assaulted her cheeks. Her brain was at war with itself. A naïve, foolish part of her that was still clinging to long shattered remnants of denial insisted that it hadn't _meant_ anything. Sasuke was a Death God, and she was just an ordinary girl. Why would an almighty deity be drawn to _her_ , of all people? Sakura didn't consider herself to be particularly beautiful. She could perhaps pass as pretty on the best of days, but stunning was a word reserved to describe other women. Like her mother. Or Ino and Hinata. There was no _way_ Sasuke possibly found her physically attractive. It was a gross sin to even entertain such an idea. She would just forget that it had happened at all.

But the other, more significant part of her, the part that she suddenly felt had perhaps known the truth all along, was telling her to face the limelight. The unnerving physical contact. How he always seemed to make a point of initiating it. The way he stared so intensely at her. The fact he had even bothered to abduct her to begin with.

 _Oh, God_ , Sakura sucked in a deep breath, trying to get a grasp on her riotous emotions. _I feel sick._

Gripping tensely onto the edge of the marble basin as it rapidly filled with water, she did not wait for it to reach its brim before telepathically calling out, _'Suigetsu!'_

As if he had been expecting her summon, the water deity's face rippled immediately into existence.

' _Pinky! Good timing. I was just about to-'_

Not allowing him to finish, Sakura interjected, _'Why has Sasuke brought me here? What's the real reason?'_

Suigetsu blinked up at her. _'Huh? This again? I already told you-'_

' _What does he want? What's he after?'_

Suigetsu looked bemused. _'I've been asking myself the same thing,'_ he answered slowly. _'I've thought about it over and over. He can't just be after a screw or two.'_

Sakura's vision was briefly unfocused by the threat of tears, which she miserably forced back. _'How can you say that so casually? I'm a human. He's a god-'_

' _Sakura,'_ the water deity communicated seriously, _'I wasn't kidding when I told you that gods have pursued mortal women in the past. Why can't you just accept that?'_

' _Because it's wrong!'_ Sakura mentally cried.

Suigetsu gave a telepathic snort. _'Sasuke doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I can sort of see why you're having a hard time stomaching it, though. Sasuke's never looked at any girl twice before. For a god who's as emotionally constipated as he is, this is a pretty earth-shattering development.'_

' _This is so wrong,'_ Sakura echoed again, clutching agitatedly at her tresses.

' _Is it? Are you telling me you don't even find that bastard a little attractive?'_

' _What?'_ the bluntness of the question caught her off guard. _'I-'_

Suigetsu wiggled knowing eyebrows. _'C'mon, Pinky; I know Sasuke's not as much of a catch as I am, but there has to be something about him that makes girls go all starry-eyed.'_ He scratched at his chin as he continued thoughtfully. _'Maybe it's that chicken-ass hair…'_ He blinked, before directing his attention back to her. _'Let me rephrase this. If Sasuke was Sasuke… but without all this Death-God-living-in-a-gloomy-haunted-neighbourhood baggage… would you be interested?'_

' _That,'_ Sakura tried to ignore the way her heart was pounding. Why was Suigetsu asking her such a thing all of a sudden? _'That has nothing to do with-'_

' _Can't you just answer the question?'_

' _I-'_ Sakura frowned down at him, conscious that the heat in her cheeks was likely giving out the wrong impression. _'He's rude, and arrogant, and selfish, and shameless! How can you even_ _ask_ _me that?'_

Suigetsu rolled his eyes and released a dramatic sigh _. 'Okay, listen. Sasuke's into you, like it or not. I don't think this is something that's just physical, either. You've got him running around, asking questions. He never asks questions. That bastard thinks he knows everything.'_

' _What?'_ Sakura was puzzled. _'What's he asking?'_

' _Never mind about that,'_ Suigetsu dismissed. _'Let's get back on point._ _Now, you've got two choices. You can either keep acting like a coy little schoolgirl – or you can actually work this whole thing to your serious advantage.'_

' _What are you saying?'_ Sakura demanded.

He flashed a suggestive grin. _'You know what I'm saying.'_

' _I'm-!'_ Sakura stuttered, flushing even more deeply in mortification. _'I'm not doing anything like that!'_

' _Whoa! Easy. I wasn't even thinking of that-'_

' _Liar!'_ she glared. She'd had enough interactions with the Ocean God to know that he was even more perverted than Naruto – something of a feat in itself.

' _Heh,'_ Suigetsu chuckled. _'Alright, alright. I'm not telling you to let him jump you – you've got more sense than that, anyway. But you're gonna have to give him a little more than what you've been giving him so far. Which I'm guessing is nothing. Has he made a move on you, yet?'_

Sakura's mind reeled from her recollections. Did touching her and initiating physical contact count as 'making a move' in _that_ way? She did not know. Sasuke was intense one moment – and cold and dismissive the next. The swiftness and ease in which he alternated between the two extremes made her head _hurt._

Suigetsu clarified, _'Has he…'_ here he pulled a sour face _, '…kissed you yet?'_

Sakura's face burned. She couldn't believe they were talking about _kissing_. How had it all come to this? Then she considered the question. _Had_ he kissed her? She didn't quite know what the touch on her cheek had been. No, she decided. Definitely _not_ a kiss. The mere thought of letting Sasuke do something so intimate struck her with inexplicable terror.

Mutely, she shook her head.

' _No?'_ Suigetsu looked surprised. Then he winked. ' _I admire your resilience_. _Most girls would have given in to temptation by now._ ' When Sakura simply stared back at him in disgust, he added seriously, _'Patience was never one of Sasuke's strongest traits. What's the hold up? I wouldn't have waited this long to-'_

That was the primary reason why Sakura had, up to that point, refused to fully believe that Sasuke's intentions geared toward anything physical. Not allowing the water god to complete his sentence, she interrupted, _'I told you; I'm not flirting, or doing anything like that! And I'm definitely not going to let him do… that!'_ She finished heatedly, referring to the kissing.

' _How else do you plan to get that asshole to lower his guard around you? You're a woman, Sakura. All women know how to flirt!'_

' _I don't!'_ she snapped back. _'And Sasuke probably knows that! What kind of person would I be if I tried to use that to trick a god?'_

Suigetsu looked exasperated. _'Oh, please. Nobody's going to judge you. You've got my full permission to act disgracefully. I'll even put in a good word for you. It's no more than that asshole deserves.'_

' _But Sasuke-'_

' _Sasuke can't pass judgement on you until you're_ _dead_ _. And I already told you, he isn't going to kill you. So relax.'_

' _How can you be so sure? If he finds out-'_

' _Pinky, Pinky!_ ' Suigetsu held up his hands. _'He's going through a heck of a load of trouble just to keep you here. He wouldn't bother if he planned on ending your life anytime soon._ ' Folding his arms across his chest, he reprimanded, _'Stop worrying about his feelings. You think he cared about yours when he brought you down here? He isn't going to find out. Just act on instinct, and think about it. Would it hurt to be a little nicer to him? I know,'_ he pounced, before she could give voice to her protests, _'I know you have no reason to be, because what kind of monster is he to abduct you in the first place? But if you want him to warm up to you, you'd better start batting those pretty eyelashes of yours.'_

Sakura was caught between wanting to laugh at the absurdity of it all, and wanting to weep in horror. She could scarcely believe that a deity was seriously advising her to utilise seduction as a means to deceive a fellow god. Of course, women had used their charms over the centuries to bend men to their will. To trick them into getting what they really wanted. But Sasuke was no ordinary man. Surely he would not fall to such simple guiles. He would immediately be suspicious of her. And even if Sakura attempted such a hazardous thing, how could she possibly live with herself afterwards? She would essentially become the kind of woman she had always looked down upon and detested.

 _But…_ a tiny voice reasoned in her head. _If it means freedom…_

Suigetsu seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Scowling impatiently, he communicated, _'I don't know what's happening between you two, but you have to make a choice here, Sakura. What's more important to you? Your integrity or your freedom? If you want to play the perfect Girl Scout, you can kiss those blue surface skies goodbye. This_ _isn't_ _some kind of test. I know all this has been hard for you to take in, but if you really want out, something's gotta give. You've got to be prepared to make a sacrifice.'_

The memory of Sasuke's fingers lacing in her hair, of his lips brushing fleetingly across her cheekbone, returned to plague her. Tears blurred her vision. This time she didn't bother restraining them. The true gravity of her situation was finally sinking in, and there was no more room for denial. Suigetsu's words were hitting home, and reality was echoing harshly in her skull, along with the urgent need to do _something._

' _I've heard you're a smart girl,'_ the Ocean God added, his features softening a little on witnessing her open distress. _'You can figure out a way to pull this off, and you can control how much you give. But that's what you've got to remember. You_ _are_ _in control here, as long as Sasuke wants you in his realm.'_

Sakura opened her mouth, and began to whisper thickly, "Suigetsu, I…"

But Suigetsu's time was up. _'Someone's coming. We'll talk again later. Just keep in mind what I've told you, and beat that bastard at his own game. Later, Pinky.'_

His face faded, and Sakura was left staring at her own reflection, the reflection of a troubled girl whose red-rimmed eyes were full of woe.


	27. Chapter XXVI

**Chapter XXVI**

* * *

_Bridge the space between you and I,_

_The chasm that lies from earth to sky,_

_And secure around my wrist a ring,_

_That whispers I am,_

_Your most precious thing._

* * *

Hinata crouched low, her movements as light and stealthy as a shadow. The night was hers, and although the ability to cloak herself in a veil of darkness had required a little tapping into her forbidden seal, she told herself that it was worth it. For Sakura. For _Naruto._ To restore the smile on his face again, she was prepared to go against her peaceful, law abiding disposition and break all the rules – even if she had to pay the consequences.

She inched forward, followed by her ever faithful companion. Neji Hyuuga masqueraded as her reticent cousin in the presence of ordinary people, but that was merely a guise he had adopted to hide his true identity. He was a seraph, an angel of the highest order, who had pledged to be her guardian and protector. At first, he had tried to dissuade her from her idea - for her own protection, he had insisted – but Hinata had surprised him by proving to be as stubborn as the fellow she was so hopelessly in love with. Instead of attempting to deter her further, Neji had dutifully complied with her wishes for him to accompany her. That way, he had reasoned to himself, he could keep both eyes on his precious charge and protect her if necessary, as well as satisfy the maddening curiosity that was nagging within him.

Never would he have anticipated there to be a potential traitor in their midst. Hinata's justifications for the actions they were taking had seemed uncertain and questionable at first, but Neji trusted in her astuteness. Her instincts had always served her well in the past and if her intuition was telling her that something wasn't quite right, then in his opinion, that alone held enough merit to warrant an investigation. And while they both hoped that Hinata's gut feeling this time was a misplaced one, there was only one sure way to dispel any doubts.

They crept along the grass, concealed behind the shielding bodies of trees, keeping off the winding footpath and away from the bright lamps lining the walkway, their moonlight gazes fixed on the lone, hooded figure ahead of them.

Sai had always been quick on his feet.

It was a well-known fact that he was fond of taking midnight strolls in the park whenever sleep eluded him. It was an entirely innocent pastime, and Hinata felt another pang of guilt. What right did she have to breach Sai's privacy like this? She had little evidence to support the hunch that had lodged itself into her mind. What strange force had compelled her to follow him home after the meeting with their elders? _Of course_ Sai was loyal to their cause – he had always been, and for her to even entertain otherwise surely made her the most awful and despicable of friends.

Her breath suddenly caught in her throat, a split instant before Neji held out a protective, halting arm, causing her to stop in her tracks.

' _Wait,'_ he mentally communicated. _'You see it too, don't you?'_

Hinata nodded tensely. The thin, eerie blanket of mist that infiltrated the cluster of withering blossom trees in the horizon was impossible to overlook - and Sai was walking directly toward it. But her searching eyes could detect no physical body within or beyond it. There were no tell-tale signs of chakra that suggested any unnatural forces were responsible for the fog's unexpected appearance. Which meant that it either was a freak occurrence of nature – it certainly _was_ nippy enough - or whatever was behind the mist's materialisation was powerful and skilful enough to keep their chakra signature completely concealed.

If the latter were true, then what were they really up against? She had a hard time believing that Suigetsu alone could be behind both Sakura _and_ Inoichi's disappearances.

Swallowing thickly, Hinata slipped her hand into Neji's, was reassured when his cool, strong fingers curled lightly around her own. Together, they hurried forward, pausing at every other interval to allow a safe measure of distance to be maintained between the pursued and his pursuers.

* * *

Sai's mind throbbed from the discordance of his thoughts as he once again lamented how he had landed himself into such a terrible, terrible mess. More importantly, how was he going to get out of it? He walked through the park, his head bowed in dejection. It seemed that the ever cunning Sasuke had found a way to tame the oceans, at least for a while. But in doing so, he had opened up a fresh can of challenging problems for Sai to deal with. The others were convinced that Suigetsu was hiding Sakura underwater, and had decided to attempt the perilous act of approaching the Death God with an open bribe in exchange for his assistance.

Inviting Sasuke to name his own price and terms was a dangerous move that brought to light the true extent of their desperation. In addition, such a move was in no way guaranteed to seal the Underworld king's cooperation. Sasuke trusted the others as much as they trusted him. Which was not at all. And of course, they were all misled, for Sasuke already knew precisely where Sakura was. Sai glumly wondered how in the world the death deity intended to snake his way out of a full-out confrontation once he had been updated on recent developments.

After leaving the secret base, he had immediately sent out a telepathic message to Sasuke and knew the Death God was en-route to meeting him. Sai went over what he intended to say again and again, knowing full well half of the words would likely be forgotten as soon as Sasuke materialised before him. The merciless deity had that kind of intimidating effect on people. Exhaling, and staring miserably at his breath as it vaporised before his face, Sai continued along his way, lost in the dilemmas that weighed heavily upon his chest.

At length, he neared the misty patch that was the designated meeting spot, expecting to find Sasuke already there – but his gaze settled on nothing but the faint silhouettes of trees. He walked more deeply into the freezing fog, his heart pounding sickeningly, his ears straining for the slightest sound. All he heard was the crunching of prematurely shed leaves beneath his feet. Deciding to cover his back, Sai leant against one of the tree trunks in waiting, his teeth chattering in the cold.

There was no mistaking that the sub-zero haze was Sasuke's doing. He had quickly become accustomed to the blood curdling conditions that heralded the death deity's coming. So where _was_ he? Why had he yet to materialise? The seconds ticked by, in which Sai became increasingly agitated and anxious. Surely any moment now…

' _You are being followed.'_

His heart leapt into his throat at the sound of Sasuke's voice echoing in his head. Muscles locking tensely, he nervously communicated back, _'Great God. I swear to you, that I was not aware-'_

' _The moon goddess and her guardian have cloaked themselves in darkness.'_ Sasuke mentally warned, his telepathic words dripping with disdain. His crimson eyes could detect the otherwise perfectly concealed chakra networks that flickered faintly to his far left. Nothing in blackness could truly be hidden from his vision. The shadows were his home, after all. From his position on the other side of the very same tree Sai was pressed up against, the death deity took a moment to weigh his options.

The moon goddess, who had masqueraded, like the others, as a human friend to Sakura, was tapping into her seal. He was not acquainted with her personally, had merely glimpsed her impassively from a distance several times, but had heard his mother's accounts of the goddess from many ages past. He strained to recall what little he could remember. She was timid and quiet. She was not confrontational and avoided drawing attention to herself whenever she could help it. She was generally compliant. It struck Sasuke as odd, then, that she would choose to tamper with her sealed powers. Surely that went against the wishes of the others – against the sacred pact that had been agreed in an era long forgotten?

She suspected Sai, and Sasuke angrily wondered how she had even managed to place such a suspicion, even when he already knew the answer. She must have detected something in Sai's demeanour. Even the slightest shift would not pass her notice. After all, her eyes, like his, possessed a heightened, sharper sense of sight than the eyes of other deities. And so she posed a problem. But unlike Inoichi, Sasuke could not simply attack and capture a goddess of her lineage and status. The Underworld's ruler was confident that he was more powerful and superior on the ground, but he was not familiar with her abilities, and was wary of the fact that she could probably flee easily to the sky, if the need arose. Additionally, she was not alone. Her guardian seraph, whom she had gifted with her eyesight also, accompanied her. Sasuke would only risk exposing himself if he acted too hastily.

Clenching his teeth in frustration, he snapped at the messenger, _'Remaining stationary makes you suspicious. Regulate your chakra.'_

' _I am sorry-'_ Sai began to apologise, and was once again cut off by Sasuke.

' _Move.'_

Sai did his best to calm himself. It was nearly impossible to do so. _'I have much to tell you-'_

' _Then make it quick,'_ Sasuke ordered, his gaze firmly fixed on the two individuals inching ever closer to them. He could not transport Sai to the Underworld – the sudden disappearance of the pale youth's chakra network would immediately be picked up by the goddess and her guardian, and would beg even further questions.

Sai swallowed, and obediently began to walk forward, making the wise decision to relay his news as succinctly as possible. _'They mean to enter the Underworld. They seek your assistance in locating Sakura, and are prepared to offer you an open bribe in exchange for your help.'_

Sasuke internally sneered as he mirrored Sai's steps. The fools! Independent of the fact that he had no intention of handing Sakura back, the other deities had absolutely nothing he desired – not unless they came to him with the ability to resurrect fallen, ancient deities whose essences had long since vanished beyond recovery, and undo the blood-spattered, hateful events that had preceded the swearing of oaths.

' _When, and how many?'_ he demanded.

Sai continued along the path. _'They have not yet specified, but I anticipate it will be at any instant, Great God.'_

Sasuke's eyes formed narrow slits. What arrogance they possessed, to believe they could so boldly trespass, uninvited, into his kingdom, and do so safely, for that matter! And what nerve, to believe for even a second that he would ever accept anything offered to him from their filthy hands!

Still, he had to prepare carefully for this unwelcome progression. It seemed that Jiraiya had disregarded his warning, and had convinced the others to venture into the Underworld in an attempt to secure his cooperation. Sasuke had wanted to avoid such a confrontation, but had always known it to be inevitable. A part of him had anticipated their summoning much sooner.

Glaring pointedly at the messenger, he clipped, _'Let them suspect you again and you will be of no further use to me.'_

Sai's heart quivered in response to the unmistakeable threat he detected in the words.

' _What will I tell them when they confront me here?'_

Sasuke was silent for a long moment – before answering menacingly, _'Nothing.'_

With that, the mental connection between them abruptly severed, and to Sai, it was akin to a door being slammed rudely and piercingly in his head. Without warning, pain assailed him, and he stiffened – before crumpling like a puppet with severed strings, to the floor.

The Death God stared callously down at his motionless form, before departing the surface a heartbeat later.

* * *

' _He has stopped,'_ Neji's smooth voice murmured in her mind.

Hinata gasped as she witnessed a sudden, dangerous alteration in Sai's chakra network, which had, up until that moment, been fluctuating strangely – and the fall that followed it. Alarmed, she whispered, "Quickly, Neji-san!"

Neji did not need to be told twice. In an instant, they had stepped out of their hiding spot and were rushing to catch up to Sai. They passed fearlessly into the fog, and did not stop until they came upon him, slumped sullenly at the base of a tree.

Neji glanced cautiously around, before crouching down to peer intently into Sai's unconscious face, looking for any clues that would help explain his unexpected collapse. But his eyes found nothing apparent.

"His breathing is steady. He doesn't seem to be in any obvious discomfort."

Hinata clutched a hand anxiously over her pounding heart. What was happening? Sai had been relatively fine just minutes ago. Why was he not responding to Neji's attempts to rouse him? She opened her mouth to reply to her seraph's observation – when, with a startled start, she realised that the air around them was changing.

Silently, the eerie mist dematerialised.

* * *

Sasuke entered the forge, lost deeply in his calculating thoughts. He had informed Cerberus to be extra vigilant and ordered Nagato to inform him at once in the event of any sudden appearances of visitors in his kingdom. His racing mind had mapped out several strategies of how to handle the imminent arrival of the surface deities. Caution was of the utmost importance. He couldn't allow them to read him. His tone, his body language, the words he selected – everything had to be carefully maintained. He could give nothing away. Simply put, he had to ensure that he outsmarted them – and how easily he could do that was very much dependent on which of them they decided to send down to his realm. He did not anticipate them all – that would be a reckless move on their part.

Tsunade, he was quite sure, would pay him a visit, as would that blasted Jiraiya. Kakashi, perhaps, because they believed that the old fool had once known him and thus how to interact with him. But the deluded person Kakashi had known in the past had long since disappeared. All that remained was a resentful, unforgiving shell.

As to who else came, Sasuke could only guess. There was one in particular, however, whom he did not wish to see under any circumstances.

Untying his cloak and rolling up the sleeves of his tunic top, Sasuke came to a stop before the clumps of gold he had instructed his centaurs to mine from the precious metal caves. The stone he had also specified sat prettily on the work surface, glittering with incredible clarity. The lustrous colour made him think fleetingly of Sakura's large, expressive eyes, and he felt something inside him twinge.

So green. So maddeningly captivating.

It would not take long to create what he envisaged in his mind. A few hours at most, if he left the polishing, wrapping and finishing touches to dexterous nymphs who were all too eager to please him.

Picking up a moulding hammer, the death deity set to work.

* * *

Sakura hummed as she trailed her fingertips over the velvety white rose collection placed prettily in the vase before her. A calming bath had helped to restore her composure and spirits, and, after changing into a turquoise dress and leaving her room, she had found Ume dusting statues in the art gallery, and had invited the little maid to arrange flowers in the palace's twilit gardens with her. They had chattered about different types of flowers, and Ume had asked many questions about how Sakura knew which ones to match together, and what each flower meant. The questions had made Sakura pause for thought. She had never really considered _how_ she knew so much. Flowers had been beloved to her since childhood – she had always just simply _known_ and felt a connection to them and to nature.

Time, or whatever semblance of it Sakura retained - which wasn't much in the otherworldly realm she was trapped in - seemed to suspend entirely when she was in the beautiful gardens. She enjoyed inhaling the floral scents and listening to the soothing sound of the crystal clear, shallow brooks as they rippled cool water. She found the rustling of grass and leaves in the pleasant breeze therapeutic. Occasionally, she would hear the enchanting echo of wood nymphs singing in the distance, their harmonic voices accompanied by sweet wooden flute music and birdsong. She loved drinking in the richness and vibrancy of her surroundings, how everything was aglow with a mysterious, magical life-force, and her eyes always found new details to marvel over.

"Mistress?"

Continuing to browse over the wonderful collection of flowers around her, Sakura replied absent-mindedly, "Hmm?"

"Do you-" the little maid seemed to hesitate, before venturing, "-do you like it here?"

Sakura's right hand, which had reached out to pluck a pink carnation stem, froze, hovering in mid-air. She quickly recovered, and pulled the stem out of its vase. Pretending to examine the petals closely, she questioned lightly, "What makes you ask, all of a sudden?"

"Oh," Ume answered shyly. "It is just... well, I am so happy that you are here. The palace was so quiet and empty before, but since you have come..." her voice grew more and more excited, and she ended with a bubbly burst, "...it is like you have brought everything to life!"

Sakura was touched by the earnestness of her sentiments. "That's sweet of you." Then, in response to the question, she added casually, carefully, "It's certainly... interesting here."

"Oh, yes! The Underworld is full of magic," Ume went on enthusiastically, "But really, I am so happy. All the servants are talking about you, too! Even the kitchen boys – I've never seen them so curious! One of them – I shan't tell the fellow's name – thinks you awfully pretty. He says he wishes he could have a dance."

"Really?" Sakura smiled. "I'd like to meet him sometime."

"Oh, no! He is much too shy. And I do not think it would please the Master too well if he saw him dancing with you."

Sakura's smile immediately waned. Falling silent, she collected four more flower stems – two lilac freesias and two pretty pink tulips – before settling down on the grass beside the rest of her chosen blooms. Her deft hands began to arrange them artistically, but she soon found herself distracted by her thoughts and paused when she picked out an exquisitely beautiful, deep purple lily.

Cradling the flower in her hands, she began quietly, "Ume?"

Ume looked up from where she had been contently picking out a selection of pretty ribbons to match the tissue paper and colour scheme Sakura had chosen for her bouquet.

"Yes, Mistress?"

Biting her lower lip for an uncertain moment, Sakura decided to voice what was on her mind. "Am I really safe here?"

"Of course, Mistress!" Ume exclaimed, her voice full of concern as she instantly sought to soothe her lady's worries. "The Underworld is the Master's domain. He would never allow any harm to befall you."

Perhaps not from others – but Sakura already knew that, and had no doubts that Sasuke would severely punish anyone or anything that harboured ill intentions toward her. After all, she had already witnessed that in the harpies' nest. But was she safe from the Death God himself? Somehow, not being entirely sure of the answer frightened her more than the thought of being attacked by one of the creatures that resided in his kingdom. At least a monster acted out of sheer malice or spite.

Her pulse accelerated as she recalled the feel of the death deity's lips brushing over her cheek. A touch that had been as fragile as gauze against her skin. Sasuke… Sasuke was another, more confounding story. The honest truth was she _didn't_ feel secure with him. She had felt that way from the moment she had first laid eyes on him on the carousel, when _something_ about him had whispered danger in her mind – but instead of getting used to his presence, she found that the tension that racked her body whenever he stood close to her was only increasing as time went by.

Suigetsu had been right – something would eventually have to give. But could she really do what he had advised? Could she really lower her guard around him more?

She knew that she very well _could_. After all, Sakura had always been a people person, and even quiet individuals usually got talking around her. But Sasuke had to be approached and handled with severe caution - and great wit. If she wanted to do this properly, she would have to do it with no further hesitation.

Maybe, just maybe, if she cast the first few stones, time would do the rest, and she would eventually be able to build something. But that was dependent on just how much a guarded Sasuke gave back to her.

Still, she told herself - there were other ways to test the waters before she took the imminent plunge. The Death God's subjects had known him for far longer than she had.

"And Sasuke," she clarified her point softly, stroking the purple flower's velvet-like petals. "I'm safe with him."

"Yes, Mistress," Ume nodded eagerly, sounding as though she could scarcely believe that Sakura was evening questioning it. "If it is not too bold of me to say, the Master cares for you a great deal."

Sakura released an involuntary laugh. If that was true, Sasuke had a very, _very_ funny way of showing it. "You really think so?"

"Yes!" Ume nodded even more zealously, her face completely serious. "You are special to him, Mistress – he favours you." Sakura swallowed when her heart fluttered unexpectedly at the word 'special' - spoken with such conviction and certainty. She fell silent again as her attendant finished cheerfully, "He had everything prepared, just for you; please believe me!"

 _Special?_ The word made Sakura uncomfortable, and her first instinct was to dismiss it. But then she thought of her room, fit for royalty. She thought of the lovely, luxurious clothes that fit her perfectly, as though they had been tailor made with her measurements. She thought of all her favourite foods which had been provided, of the flower arranging area that had been set up especially for her. It suddenly struck her that she could not have been kidnapped on a mere whim, as Sasuke had first informed her. Making such preparations for her arrival and stay in the Underworld had clearly required planning and time. The Death God had obviously put a lot of careful consideration into it.

She then realised that Ume was looking at her, waiting for her response. Sakura looked up and met her attendant's concerned gaze, and, after a few seconds, offered a small smile. "I believe you," she said softly.

Ume visibly relaxed, and beamed back.

* * *

Subdued blue eyes stared sullenly down at the sleek black and orange cell. Kakashi had just hung up after informing him that five of them would be venturing down to the Underworld following the finalisation of a diplomatic strategy; Kakashi himself, Tsunade, Kurenai, Jiraiya and Shikamaru were to undertake the perilous task of attempting to convince Sasuke to cooperate and assist them in their search for Sakura. Naruto had been completely side-lined. They considered him too unstable, too emotional to face Sasuke again.

His fingers curled into bitter fists. They had ignored his protests and arguments, that the ruler of the dead would view their coming as a confrontation of sorts; that he would likely react aggressively. They didn't know the Death God like Naruto did. They did not understand how his mind worked.

"Damn it," Naruto hissed, frustration simmering to boiling point within his chest. The others didn't need to articulate what shone evidently in their eyes every time they looked at him, whenever Sasuke was mentioned. They thought his loyalty was blind, misplaced, based on the long shattered remnants of a broken, tattered and twisted friendship. But the person who resided in Naruto's most distant and treasured memories had been no illusion. He had been real. And despite everything that had passed, all the blood that had been spilt and the lives that had been ruined – Naruto earnestly believed that that person still existed somewhere, deep beneath an iron-fist maintained masked exterior of hostility and hatred.

Naruto understood the foundation of that hatred. For he felt it too, towards another.

The blond closed his eyes briefly. Perhaps he really _was_ a fool for holding onto an antique memory. But he could not let them walk into the Underworld so brazenly. They didn't know how to approach Sasuke. They would offend and provoke him. And that would cause even more of a rift, even further damage.

 _No._ Naruto's jaw clenched. He could _not_ allow it. He couldn't let them hurt him anymore. He could not be expected to merely stand back and watch passively as events unfolded beyond his control. He had to make a stand; he had to act. To protect everybody's best interests. To honour the bonds of the past.

His eyes opened again, and his heart pounded as he came to a resolute decision.

* * *

Sakura placed the freshly prepared, cheerful flower arrangement on the vanity table, and stood back to admire its zesty yellow, orange and white hues. She had made three bouquets; one for herself, one for Ume and another for Chizu, who had both been delighted with her gift. Sakura smiled in recollection of their happiness and profuse exclamations of thanks. They had shown her nothing but kindness since her arrival; giving them what little she could in return as a sign of her gratitude was the least Sakura figured she could do.

Sighing, she stifled a yawn. It had been a while since she had last slept, and the prospect of doing so was a tempting one at that moment. Chizu had informed her that Sasuke wasn't in the palace, which had come as a great relief to Sakura. She hadn't exactly yet thought about how she planned to speak to him at their next encounter. What could she say following the awkwardness of their last one? Just anticipating the subsequent meeting made her cheeks feel warm and sent her heart into a gentle canter.

 _I'll be completely normal,_ Sakura told herself, as she changed out of her dress and slipped into a red night gown. _I won't let him see that it affected me. I'll be totally fine._

But instead of being reassuring, the voice inside Sakura's head sounded more like it was trying to convince her.

After hanging up her dress, she moved to the bed and pushed aside the semi-transparent drapes, before throwing herself onto the soft mattress. She stared at the underside of the canopy, which was quickly becoming the usual silent companion whenever she fell into deeper musings, until sleep eventually crept up on her, and her eyes succumbed to slumber.

* * *

" _Persephone!"_

_The divine name that mortals recognised and worshipped her by echoed through the forest again, called in searching, fretful tones._

_Kore's panic-glazed, gold flecked green eyes found Apollo's. They both knew that voice._

" _Hestia!" she gasped. Her mother's sister and trusted councillor had been sent to retrieve her! She grabbed a fistful of the golden sash tied across the Sun God's chest, and hissed furiously, "I told you I did not want to take part in any boyish races! Now see what has happened! When my mother finds out, she will never let me out of her sight again!"_

" _W-wait, wait!" Apollo threw up pacifying hands. "She does not have to find out! We still have an advantage!"_

" _What do you propose?" Kore demanded, causing Apollo to flinch as she jabbed an angry finger into his stomach. "If she finds either of us here, it will look suspicious! I am supposed to be with your father, in his palace!"_

" _Your mother isn't going to find you, Kore!"_

" _You had better hope she doesn't!"_

_Hades watched their animated interaction, silently bemused by their sudden, baffling anxiety. Hestia was not known to him to be a confrontational goddess – but then, he knew her little. On the other hand, the 'mother' they were referring to was apparently a figure to be dreaded and feared. Quickly growing bored, he decided he did not care for their plight, and took a step back, meaning to take his wordless leave – when Apollo shot him a warning look._

" _Not so fast, Hades! You're the reason Kore's in this mess – you'll help me get her out of it!"_

_Hades tossed back a chilly glare. "Such petty affairs do not concern me."_

_Kore had to stop her jaw from dropping. He was the one who had strung her into the cursed race to begin with! And now he was just going to walk away? She opened her mouth to indignantly tell Apollo that she had no desire to accept aid from such an arrogant, uncivil deity – regardless of how handsome he was - but her friend spoke up before she could do so._

" _Like Tartarus they don't! Where is your sense of chivalry, you bastard?"_

_Hades was about to disdainfully retort that there was nobody worth impressing here, when Hestia's voice called again, much closer, "Persephone!"_

_Apollo grabbed Kore's hand and bolted, throwing a glance back over his shoulder at Hades, as he exclaimed, "If you don't want to explain yourself to her mother, you had better follow us!" Mischievously, he added, "Let's lead old Hestia on a merry chase, Kore!"_

" _You are just- impossible!" Kore sputtered in disbelief. Only Apollo could treat such a serious and stressful situation with such shameless blasé and light-heartedness._

" _And the best – believe it!" He grinned back at Kore, prompting her to roll her eyes despite herself._

_Hades scowled at his words and glared after their retreating forms. That pompous, pea-brained light deity was always dragging him into senseless mischief – and to make it worse, he seemed to have found something of an accomplice in the strange goddess who was fleeing with him. Kore. Who was the young goddess's mother? He supposed he stood a better chance of discovering the answer if he tailed them._

_He directed a reluctant glance behind him, in the direction of his chariot and waiting horses. He knew they would easier lose the pursuing Hestia if they moved by foot, which allowed for better camouflage between the trees. His head turned to stare after Apollo's form again, growing rapidly more distant. And his pride finally kicked in, as he told himself there was no way he could let the fool upstage him in front of another, and a girl, no less. He would see this Kore out – and cause Apollo to fall flat on his face in the process._

_Then it would be clear who the real best was._

_Smirking, and sending a silent command for his stallions to return underground alone, Hades turned and gave chase. It did not take him long to catch up to them – Apollo knew that his friend had the advantage on the surface._

" _Decided to join us, eh?" Apollo's eyes shone with glee as Hades drew up beside them. "Scared of getting into trouble with my father?"_

" _Hn," Hades scoffed. "Moron. Do not flatter yourself."_

" _Take that back, bastard!"_

" _Make me."_

_Kore huffed. Even in the middle of shaking off a pursuer, they made time to quarrel._

_She yanked her hand out of Apollo's, and gestured for them to follow her. "Hestia will hear your bickering at this rate!" she admonished both gods. "This way; I will make the grass hide our tracks!"_

_Hades shot her a curious, dubious look, before glancing back behind them to find that their foot treads were indeed being covered by freshly sprouting flowers and grass. His eyes widened, as reluctant fascination slowly overtook him. He came from a world where death reigned supreme. This goddess, in stark contrast, commanded life._

_A forceful tug that veered him right snapped his attention in front of him again – and his vision locked on vivid golden-green. He had never seen such large, expressive eyes, and for a moment, their gazes held._

" _Be careful!" Kore cautioned him, nodding toward the knobbly upturned tree roots he had failed to notice in his uncharacteristic distraction._

" _Ahahahaha!" Apollo cackled, and Kore quickly looked away, severing eye contact. "Hades is always so clumsy, can't tell his left foot from his righ-argh!" he tripped over an unseen raise in the ground, causing a smug, sneering smirk to grace Hades's lips._

" _You were saying, idiot?"_

" _Stop trying to be so damned cool, Hades!"_

_Kore could not help the laugher that spilled from her. For some reason, her apprehension had been replaced with a thrilling feeling of adrenaline. She was still afraid of being discovered, of course – but somehow it seemed that the likelihood of her being caught had dwindled considerably when Hades had decided to join them._

" _Persephone!" Hestia's voice sounded further away – but nowhere near far enough._

" _Damn it! She's quite a persistent old bag, isn't she?"_

" _A quality my mother favours," Kore agreed. They raced through the undergrowth, leaping over more roots, gracefully avoiding the snagging ends of low branches that reached out for them like long wooden fingers. Hades watched as Kore took the lead ahead of them, her movements supple and swift. Stubborn, knotted shrubs parted for her, and when they came to a shallow brook, she skipped over the stones as though she had passed through the forest many times before. The nature surrounding them seemed to be thrumming with a renewed life force – and every so often, Hades caught the whispering of the goddess's name, spoken by the trees and flowers, and shyly hidden forest nymphs._

_Everywhere the goddess stepped, flowers bloomed, bursting joyously into existence. Hades had never seen such a remarkable gift._

_Apollo, who had caught his friend's eyes on young Kore's feet, grinned slyly, "She's really something, isn't she? You know her mother would probably gauge your eyes out for just looking at her – and slice my tongue off for talking you into a race."_

_Hades scowled. "Who is this mother?"_

" _Demeter. But you never heard it from me. You don't want to mess with her, trust me."_

" _Hn," Hades grunted scornfully, undaunted. But all he could think internally was – Demeter had a grown daughter? Why had he never known until that moment?_

" _The edge of the forest is west from here!" Apollo called, but Kore was already moving in that direction, as if the trees themselves were guiding her to safety. They slid down a gentle, earthy slope, their hearts pounding with exertion. Kore giggled and laughed as Apollo threw taunt after taunt at Hades, who sometimes batted back a slicing remark of his own – and sometimes chose to ignore the Sun God entirely._

" _This way," the dark god informed them as they reached the end of the descent, causing Kore to frown softly in confusion._

" _But that is not-" she began._

_Anticipating her words, Hades replied, "A shortcut."_

" _Bastard! So that's how you've beaten me in the past – you cheated your way through the shorter routes!" Apollo exclaimed, as they pressed toward the forest's exit._

" _I beat you because I am better," Hades stated flatly._

" _You wish!"_

" _Please be quiet!" Kore implored them. "We have not escaped yet!"_

" _Don't get your pretty flowers in a twist, Kore. There is no way Hestia is going to find us nooooooow!"_

" _Apollo!" Kore gasped, as he misplaced his foot and tumbled down a steeper slope they had arrived at, which was littered with trees._

_A steely hand grabbed her left wrist, keeping her from following after the light deity._

" _Fool." Hades muttered disgustedly beneath his breath. "He will catch up."_

_Kore's stomach fluttered as Hades guided her down the slant, and over another brook. Eventually, the thick trees began to disperse, until they broke out into a small, raised, grassy strip of land, overlooking a sprawling meadow. Hades finally released her arm, and Kore sat on a rocky boulder, catching her breath._

_Silence fell between them, and Kore was suddenly aware of the fact that she was alone with a god who was essentially a stranger to her. No, she told herself fiercely. A friend of Apollo's was surely a friend to her, also. However, the smouldering way Hades was staring at her was unnerving, and anything but friendly._

" _I-" she began uncertainly, dismayed to feel heat creeping into her cheeks as she recalled that this was the very same deity who had crossed her thoughts often following Aphrodite's introduction of his existence. "I am-"_

_Apollo abruptly burst out of the forest, and released a triumphant crow. "Yes! We lost her! I'm unbeatable!"_

_Hades gave him an appalled look. He begged to differ._

_The Sun God quickly rounded on him. "Hades, you bastard! You left me behind! What kind of friend does that?"_

_Hades folded his arms, and dead-panned back, "No friend of yours."_

" _Ouch." Apollo winced, before throwing an arm around Kore's shoulders as he sat down beside her to catch his breath in turn. "Kore. Don't believe a word that comes out of this bastard's mouth. He acts all tough and shows off, but really I'm his favourite friend. In fact, you could say I'm his only friend. Who would put up with such mistreatment?"_

_Kore began to giggle, but quickly coughed it down when Hades glared hatefully at Apollo. She had almost forgotten how much more beautiful he became when he scowled. Surely the heavens had gotten it wrong? Weren't smiles supposed to be full of allure instead?_

" _Hades, stop scaring the poor girl. It's her birthday today, you know." Apollo's expression softened as he gazed at a blushing Kore. "Happy birthday," he said, resting the side of his head against hers. Kore's eyes lowered, but she leaned comfortably into him as she whispered a thank you._

_Hades watched them for a moment and found himself wondering once again what kind of relationship they shared._

_Then Apollo looked up, and winked. "We make a good team – when Hades keeps up. We'll have to cause mischief again together, sometime. What do you say, Kore?"_

_Kore suppressed a shudder. She had thoroughly enjoyed the race, as well as the chase – it wasn't often she was allowed to have harmless fun with other young gods. In fact, she was never allowed the privilege. "My mother would kill me."_

" _Hah!" Apollo dismissed. "No she wouldn't. You'd make sure of that, right Hades?"_

_Kore glanced between them in confusion. She was even more perplexed when Hades averted his gaze._

" _I need to get home," she said, rising to her feet. "Apollo?"_

" _My chariot awaits, fair maiden!" The Sun God nodded, gesturing toward the golden carriage that had appeared in the meadow below them. "We'll settle the score next time, Hades," he added with a grin, before turning to make his way to his horses._

_Kore began to follow, but hesitated, and turned back to Hades, whose dark eyes were once again on her._

" _I…" she began nervously. "I am pleased to have met you, Hades."_

_He remained silent, like a striking, aloof statue that had no intention of responding to anything he deemed to be beneath him. Swallowing back her disappointment, Kore turned away, and took four steps after Apollo, when Hade's silky, deep voice uttered so quietly, that she almost thought she might have imagined it, "Many returns, goddess."_

_Her heart jumped, and she whirled back around, surprised by his unexpected birthday greeting – but her eyes found nothing except air in the place where Hades had been standing, just seconds earlier._

* * *

Sakura slowly came around, with the feeling of butterflies flittering in the depths of her stomach. Another dream. She raised a hand to her forehead, as her brain grappled frantically at the rapidly diminishing threads from her vision. She had been in a lush green forest, and had been running away from someone. It had once again seemed so real, that she could almost still smell the freshness of nature and wildflowers lingering in the waking world. But she had not been alone. She had been with two others…

"Mistress!" an exuberant voice suddenly exclaimed, violently derailing her thoughts before she could attempt to piece them together. Suppressing the brief surge of frustration, Sakura turned her head and sat up to find Ume peering excitedly at her from behind the drapes.

"Ume?" Sakura pushed the veils questioningly apart.

"Finally, you are awake! I was asked to deliver this gift to you!" The little maid relayed eagerly. In her hands she held a medium sized, royal purple, velvety box, wrapped exquisitely with varying shades of golden ribbon. Depositing it into Sakura's possession, Ume added shyly, "It is from the Master."

With a girlish little giggle, she turned, picked up her straw laundry basket, and skipped happily out of the room.

"Wait! Ume-" Sakura began to call after her, but the doors had already closed behind her humming attendant. Sighing heavily, Sakura looked down at the box. She gave it a little shake, her curiosity heightening when she couldn't immediately make a guess at what was contained inside.

Setting it snugly on her lap, she caressed the silken ribbon with her fingertips, shaking her head incredulously. Ume had told her that Sasuke had sent her a gift, but she still found it difficult to believe that he had done so. Gently, she untied the ribbon, which came apart easily, and, after just a second's hesitation, she lifted the lid-

-and instantly felt the air whoosh out of her lungs.

Glimmering up at her was the most stunning piece of jewellery she had ever seen. Rich, deep green glinted hypnotically in the candle and firelight surrounding her – and she was immediately struck with a jolt of recognition. The clarity of the emerald was unmistakeable. She had seen it before, when her eyes had lingered upon the impressive stone in the jewelled cavern. And evidently, Sasuke had noticed the attention she had paid to it, too – and chosen to set it into a solid gold bracelet, wrought with pretty golden leaves, studded with smaller cuts of emerald. The gold's rich colour suggested it was of the highest carat.

Sakura was hopelessly entranced. The central emerald was huge, and as she gently undid the black lace strings that held the bracelet in place on a velvety base, she felt its weight, heavy in her palm. She exhaled, shaking her head once again, rendered utterly speechless.

She wasn't usually so taken by jewellery. But something about the craftsmanship, the delicate way in which the impeccably moulded leaves swirled together tugged at something deep within her. Unexpectedly, her eyes watered.

Had… had Sasuke _really_ created this for her? Were Death's hands really capable of fashioning such beauty? Sakura told herself that she ought not to be surprised. After all, her sword was a masterpiece in itself, too.

But what was the occasion? Her heart pounded. Why had Sasuke chosen to give this to her now? Was it an apology for his earlier move on her? Had he seen how genuinely upset she had been, and sought to make amends? Or was it something else? Shaking her head for a third time, she quickly replaced the bracelet in its box, and, without sparing her actions another thought, moved on instinct. Hurriedly, she stripped out of her nightgown and selected a flowing, silver and grey lace dress from her immense wardrobe. Hastily smoothing down her bed-tousled hair with a paddle brush, Sakura stepped into a pair of silver sandals and exited her room, Sasuke's gift clutched firmly in her grasp.

She passed Chizu in the corridors leading toward the sprawling staircase, who informed her that the death deity was in the drawing room, the same one in which Sakura had heard him playing piano. She made her way to it, but found herself hesitating before the door. What would she say to him? Demand to know why he was giving her gifts? Tell him that she could not accept such an expensive trinket? Her mouth felt dry, but she forced herself to open the door before she could lose her nerve.

As Chizu had stated, the Death God stood by the angel flanked, gold marble fireplace, with a goblet of ambrosia in his hand. Even the way he drank oozed elegance and grace. As the door closed behind Sakura, and his searing eyes lifted to rest on her, she suddenly thought that listening to her instincts, which had told her to go to him, had not been such a fantastic idea. Her heart was hurtling at ground-breaking speed, surely loud enough for his immortal ears to discern.

She could tell that he had not expected her coming, for Sasuke was slow to set his goblet down, and even slower to turn to her. His expression was as unfathomable as always, yet his actions seemed guarded, as if he was wary that she might hurtle the box straight at him in rejection of his gift. But while a tiny part of Sakura was somewhat tempted to do just that, and snap that this by no means made up for the lips to cheek caress or kiss or whatever the _hell_ it had been in the training session before, the more sensible and rational part of her won out. She kept a firm hold of the box, and, just as slowly, inched forward.

"I…" she began, fumbling over what exactly it was she really wanted to say. Stupidly, she looked down at the velvety container, and swallowed, "What is this, Sasuke?"

A suffocating pause. And then, matter-of-factly, "A bracelet."

Sakura bristled, indignant in the face of what she took to be blatant patronisation. "I _know_ that, I meant-" she broke off, coming to an abrupt stop halfway in her walk toward him. Biting her lower lip, she stared at the box, and thought momentarily about what Suigetsu had told her. That something had to give, if she wanted to banish Sasuke's suspicions of her. Pressing for explanations, she knew, would get her nowhere. And so she did the exact opposite of what the waiting death deity expected.

She lowered her guard.

"You made this," she said softly, refusing to meet the gaze she could feel piercing into her. "It's… really beautiful." Speaking the next words in earnest felt alien to her tongue. "Thank you." Swallowing back the dryness in her throat, she added, "But I haven't done anything to deserve such a gift. I don't think I can accept this."

The steady, muted fall of footsteps on carpet heralded his approach. Sakura's pulse galloped even more wildly as Sasuke's feet came to a stop within her lowered field of vision. She cast a tentative glance up at him, to find him staring at her. Hard. As if he was searching for even the remotest hint of insincerity on her face.

But Sakura wasn't being insincere. The bracelet _was_ wonderful. And she _was_ oddly flattered that he had taken the time to make it. She could not have imagined how much effort and care he had invested in making it.

Sasuke seemed to make up his mind about her intentions, as he dead-panned, "It's yours."

She disconnected eye contact, and looked down at the box again. Opening the lid, she silently marvelled at the gorgeous bracelet once more.

"You really have a skill, here," she complimented him honestly. Then, heeding the need to alleviate the stifling tension she could feel crackling in the space between them, she added light-heartedly, "Have you ever thought about giving up your day job and forging metals instead? You'd be really great at it."

Something passed fleetingly across his charcoal eyes. Mortified, Sakura thought that he had not appreciated her attempt to joke, and she had probably just succeeded in making him more mistrustful of her intentions. She was even more horrified to feel warmth stinging at her eyes. Why in the world did she have the sudden urge to cry, and in front of Sasuke, no less?

Because the gift _had_ touched her. Against her better judgement, she had been moved by it – and that disturbed her.

 _Get a grip!_ She furiously censured herself, dismayed when sudden heat bloomed into her cheeks. It didn't help that the Underworld's ruler was just standing there, gazing at her in utter silence. Sakura thought that a pin could drop and she would hear it. It was _that_ quiet, the stillness interrupted only by the crackling of flames in the fireplace behind him.

Then another idea suggested itself to her; a way to possibly salvage the awkward way their interaction was going, a move to help break the ice. She was quite certain that she was asking for trouble, as it would essentially invite Sasuke to initiate physical contact – but it was all she could think of at that second.

"I don't suppose you could… maybe help me try it on?" Sakura tried next, telling herself she would give up if he did not respond to her a second time. The clasp she had glimpsed earlier had seemed to be an elaborate one that required twisting three delicate screws in place. She wanted to see how they were correctly fastened before trying to do it herself. And she figured there was nobody better to show her than the god who had created the masterpiece itself.

Silence again. She dared to chance another look at him, made sure it conveyed her own uncertainty. Sasuke was gazing not at her, but at the open box. He had noted the fine tremors that afflicted her fingers and was contemplating the root of her discomfort.

Embarrassed at his prolonged wordlessness, Sakura made to step away. "It's okay, I can just-" she stopped as cool fingers closed around her right hand, preventing her from drawing back. Her heart thumped when Sasuke took the bracelet out of its box and secured it around her right wrist, taking his time to do it. Sakura gazed in silent awe at how precise and gentle his fingers were capable of being.

After he had fastened the final screw, his left hand lingered in place, supporting her palm between them. Sakura stared at the bracelet, breathless all over again. It was a perfect fit. She opened her mouth to tell him again that it was truly exceptional, and that he should not have troubled himself – but the words loaded on the tip of her tongue vanished as she met his magnetic gaze.

Instead she offered him a small, tentative smile.

Something flickered in those dark irises, and Sakura would have missed it completely had she blinked at that moment. But she did not, and for just an astonishing fraction of a second, she thought the death god seemed almost disconcerted by her smile – and somewhat bewildered that it was being directed at him. It took everything in her will power to keep from gawping at the realisation that it was actually emotionally possible for Sasuke to experience such sentiments. And staggering proof that Suigetsu's words held absolute merit – she really _could_ hold some element of control – as long as she had remained level-headed and had faith in her own actions.

That knowledge – that she potentially had something at her disposal which, if implemented correctly, could cause a shift in their grossly unbalanced power scale – even if only marginally - changed everything. Suddenly it was like someone had wiped the cloudy lenses that had been hindering her eyesight. Or perhaps it was that she had foolishly chosen, out of fear and stubbornness, _not_ to look this closely before.

A voice whispered to her with growing conviction that Sasuke could not possibly be as heartless and unyielding as he portrayed. Even if he was the deity who reigned over the dead, in a land where the sun's warmth could not infiltrate - surely there _had_ to be more to him, and the inexplicable desire to give in to curiosity and unearth the enigma of his character began to kindle into existence within Sakura. It was by no means her priority – but the intrigue was definitely there – and so was the undeniable danger. How much did she even dare hope to learn, if she really made the effort? How much was he capable of expressing?

Had she just witnessed a crack in his iron exterior – or was she foolishly getting ahead of herself? What if it was just a mere one-off slip – one he would never repeat again?

Then his sliver of uncertainty had gone almost as soon as it had materialised, and Sakura's smile was finally acknowledged, when the slight crease in Sasuke's brow smoothed over. It was a barely discernible change - but Sakura, whose eyes had been trained intently on his face – noticed it all the same.

 _Did my smile do that…?_ She dizzily wondered.

Her rushing thoughts were interrupted by the feel of Sasuke's fingers closing lightly around her own.

"Your hand trembles," the death deity quietly noted.

Sakura breathed out and followed his lowered gaze to look upon their joined hands. In her distraction following his reaction, she had almost forgotten all about the nervous little tremors that were shooting down her spine and taking port in her arms. The agitation only grew following Sasuke's observation.

She tried to suppress the shaking, but swiftly realised that the source of the problem was the physical contact between them.

"I-" she began, immediately attempting to draw her arm back, but Sasuke's eyes flicked up to her face again, and the fingers around hers tightened, indicating that he did not wish for her to pull away. Instead of increasing her distance, Sakura found herself being reeled gently closer. It did not help with her nerves. Her body was too painfully aware of his – and she hated the confusing, terrifying feeling of being metal drawn to an overpowering magnet.

In a desperate attempt to divert attention from how close Sasuke was standing to her, Sakura blurted out the first thing that entered her mind.

"I don't know why."

 _Of all the stupid, brainless things to say, Sakura Haruno_! She mentally berated herself. She had practically handed him an opening! But it was too late. The words could not be unsaid.

There was another pause, in which his hand still clasped hers. And then her heart hurtled at a thousand miles in the next instant, as Sasuke murmured, "I do."

 _Oh, God!_ She experienced a blinding flash of panic, before something else kicked in. _Don't look at him_ , the voice of what Sakura took to be as self-preservation furiously screamed at her, rebounding over and over in her skull like a booming mantra. It somehow still possessed the sense to register that raising her gaze to his face would be a terrible mistake. One that would surely cost and doom her.

_Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him..._

But the allure of his exotic dark eyes was too great. They tempted hers to creep up, whispering promises that it would be worth the investment. Sakura stood, frozen stiffly in place. How was she going to get out of this situation? How was she meant to play it to her advantage like Suigetsu had advised her? It was too soon. She hadn't prepared herself. She could never be prepared. Her mind rivalled her heart in speed, as Sasuke's fingertips trailed tantalisingly up the bare skin of her left arm, leaving tingles that were almost painful in their wake. They lingered at the delicate petal shaped leaf sleeve at her shoulder, and that was when a dumbfounded Sakura finally acknowledged the Death God's intent.

He meant to kiss her. She didn't have to look into his eyes to sense what it was he desired to do. She could practically feel his gaze boring into her lips. His body language betrayed him – whether he intended it to or not.

It was as though the floor had been swept out from underneath her. An immortal king, an all-powerful deity – actually wanted to _kiss_ her _._

All she could think about was how wrong it was, how utterly, sinfully forbidden… and how horrifying it was that she didn't feel as sickened by the prospect as she ought to have been and had anticipated she would.

Prioritising as Sasuke's left arm made to slip around her, Sakura steeled her jangling nerves. If he thought he could give her a pretty gift and secure a kiss in return, then she couldn't be expected to stay quiet about it. A large part of her was incensed, roaring at the death deity's unashamed arrogance. Did he _really_ believe she was that naïve? That she would fall so easily into his hands? That she couldn't recognise a trap when she saw one?

Suigetsu had told her to play along. Sakura knew that playing along too compliantly would only make Sasuke more suspicious of her. Letting him get too close now after she had shoved him away from her earlier was inconsistent. And Sasuke was no fool.

But neither was she. Frantically, she acknowledged that there was only one way to stop his current advance – without physically pushing him away.

"Sasuke," her voice was barely above a whisper. She was taking a massive gamble, trusting in the hunch that her hastily prepared strategy would force the Underworld's ruler to go on the defensive. Heart hammering, she reminded herself that hesitation was no longer an option, and ventured, "Why are you doing this…?"

The arm which had been about to close around her waist paused, hovering in place.

 _Don't hesitate!_ Sakura willed herself again. She had no idea how Sasuke would react. And she had a feeling that if Suigetsu could somehow see her, he would likely be pounding his head against a wall. The Sea God had told her to utilise seduction. But she was choosing a different route entirely. A route she felt much more comfortable with.

Before he could respond, Sakura pressed, "The clothes, the flowers, this gift; I'm not just here on a whim of yours, am I? This was all planned – wasn't it?"

His left arm lowered away from her. The fingers clasping her right hand relinquished their hold.

It was precisely the reaction she had prayed for – but she wasn't out of hot water just yet.

Sasuke's expression had hardened. His body stood angled away from her – a stark contrast to its proximity before she had selected her words. His eyes glittered with open challenge. As if he had been waiting a long time for her to confront him, and now that she had, dared her to overstep the very clear boundary he had placed between them; the same boundary that warned against asking too many questions.

She had always wondered what would happen if she braved his temper and continued pushing for answers. Now, at last, was the time to find out. Sakura took the plunge, lifting her hands to hold her palms out toward him in a peace-making gesture – but wisely retained her distance. "I'm not confronting you, Sasuke. I'm just trying to understand _._ Why won't you let me?"

"I do not answer to _humans_ ," he clipped, withdrawing all over again. He spoke the final word like it was something filthy and wretched – which Sakura only found ironic and all the more baffling, given that he seemed to desire such closeness with her.

 _Be patient_ , she willed herself, even when the urge to snap back at him was nearly overwhelming. She did not want to displease him too much, not after she had witnessed his response to her smile. But the only way to reliably test the tempestuous waters that formed Sasuke was to wade into them.

"Gods created curiosity in humans," she answered, keeping her tone as unchallenging and neutral as she could. "You can't expect me not to ask questions."

His eyes formed stony slits. "Enough, Sakura."

It wasn't enough. It was nowhere near enough, and she thought that nobody could have been stupid enough in the past to defy Death, to stubbornly ignore his commands. He was giving her the opportunity to remain unscathed.

So for Sakura to go on had to make her the craziest girl alive.

"I thought I could wait, that I'd come to understand everything eventually, but I can't, not on my own, Sasuke. I've kept quiet all this time. And now you've given me this gift…" she shook her head. "Can you blame me for asking? If you answer me just this once, I won't say anymore."

She should have glimpsed it, then. The turbulent warning glinting in his eyes that told her she was pushing her luck too far. But adrenaline was pumping through her veins; the same adrenaline that dictated the fight or flight survival instinct, innate to all living things. Except it was practically useless in Sakura's situation; she could neither physically ward off Sasuke nor ever hope to outrun an immortal being. However, she pressed blindly onwards, too focused on just how much she could get out of him.

"Why? Why did you bring me here?" She hazarded quietly. Sasuke's scowl turned to the unfortunate carpet. If it had been a living thing, Sakura thought it would have shrivelled up and died right there. She detected the tightness in his jaw, but she recklessly went on, "I just keep thinking that you could have chosen anybody else- what would you want from someone like me? Why can't you just-!?"

The final word choked in her throat as Sasuke's eyes flashed back to her face, glaring with an intensity that finally struck home to Sakura just how angry she had succeeded in making him. He stepped toward her, and every muscle in her body tensed as she compelled herself to hold her ground.

Before she could blink, the death deity had bridged the gap between them. Sakura's arms weren't the only parts of her that were shaking, now. Her very core was quivering as his hands closed just beneath her shoulders, in a singeing hold that felt like molten iron. She released a shuddering breath, trying to maintain order to her thoughts, trying to keep at bay the rapidly escalating sense of panic. It was hard to believe he would not hurt her when staring straight into the formidable face of his fury. But if she really _was_ as special as Ume had told her, then Sasuke would not harm her. She had nothing to be scared about.

Her body didn't seem so convinced by her mind's weak attempts at reassurances, when the fingers around her arms tightened almost painfully, and Sasuke lowered his face to within inches of hers, hissing harshly, _"Everything."_

Sakura's eyes searched his, and for a confusing moment she did not understand what he meant. Then, in a stomach plunging moment, it finally clicked.

Her last question had been asking him what he wanted. The answer was everything.

 _Everything._ The word rebounded inside her skull, leaving Sakura unable to formulate any kind of articulate reply. _Everything._ What could she say to a god who was looking at her like Sasuke was, with eyes that were alight with something she could no longer ignore, could no longer pretend did not exist?

Hunger. Pure, ravenous, carnal – and utterly terrifying. It stole her breath away, leaving her mind a stunned, humming blank.

Her heart was out of control inside her, its rhythm frenzied. And Sakura became distinctly aware that she could feel a pounding against her right side too.

Sasuke's heart was also racing. She knew because she was pressed against him, held in place by the vice-like hands clamped around her arms. She realised what that had to mean. And then it was like she was being submerged under water. Sasuke's gaze met hers, his irises no longer dark, but bloody red, screaming out intent. She dizzily wondered when the change had occurred, for she couldn't recall seeing it.

He angled his head, and the next minute felt like an out of body sensation for Sakura. Like she was detached from herself, and her actions. She knew what was inevitably following, what Sasuke was about to do – but her limbs made no move to prevent it. She had always told herself she would never permit it happen. But the death deity was like an unstoppable force of nature, and it was about to happen, anyway. She was pinned in place by those arresting, deep crimson eyes. And all she could do was watch numbly, as they grew closer and closer-

Just before his lips touched hers, Sasuke abruptly jerked back at the final moment, his eyes wide as he stared down at her. Then his gaze trailed to her right, and Sakura dazedly registered the short-lived look of shock that flickered across his features. Without warning, his head turned marginally to his left, as if he had heard something else – or was listening intently to a sound she could not hear.

A low curse fell from his tongue, one spoken in a language she did not understand. Or maybe her ears were just unable to comprehend it, so assaulted were they by the blood rushing in them.

The hands gripping beneath her shoulders loosened, and Sasuke cast one final glance down at her. The heat in his eyes had fizzled out, replaced by icy fury. The rapidity of the change was frightening.

Sakura barely managed to suppress a sob of relief as he wordlessly stepped around her. When the door opened and slammed shut behind her seconds later, her legs, which had turned to jelly, could no longer support her weight, and collapsed beneath her. Sakura hugged herself as she slid to the carpet-laid floor, frantically trying to regulate her thundering, chaotic heartbeat.

* * *

His blood was simmering with rage. Merely half an inch had stood between him and claiming Sakura's first kiss. She had been open to him, had made no move or effort to break free. He had _had_ her, in the very position he had been waiting to get her in for an entire month. But Nagato's urgent, telepathic message could not be ignored. He hadn't been able to delay for even a minute longer.

Sasuke inhaled deeply, crushing back the lingering desire pulsating inside him. The attempt was met with a profound ache. He wanted her far too much. It was becoming impossible to deny himself any further. And the more the desperate need for closeness with her increased to nearly unbearable levels, the more frustrated and disturbed he became by the intensity of his feelings.

However, now was not the time to consider such things. It was a struggle, but he forced his mind to clear of thoughts of Sakura as he materialised by his kingdom's yawning entrance point.

Cerberus was already growling in response to the threat that had unexpectedly arrived in the Underworld. Unbidden, Sasuke felt his pulse quicken. In anger – and in anticipation. The chakra flickering faintly beyond the blanket of mist ahead of him could only belong to one person, and the death deity felt the power in his own veins stir, as he entertained the idea of sending a welcoming stream of electricity or fire the trespasser's way.

Instead he chose to wait, gauging the visitor's intentions as they approached. Time seemed to hang in the balance as the figure stepped out of the freezing fog at last.

Cobalt blue clashed with fiery crimson. Silence roared.

"Sasuke," said a voice quietly, a hated voice that the Death God had not heard since the days of his family's massacre. It held within it regret, and feelings that had long since been terminated on Sasuke's part.

An asphyxiating, deliberate pause ensued, in which the Underworld's king regarded his unwelcome guest with a chilly, aloof stare. When he finally deigned to respond, his tone, in stark contrast, was perfectly frosty. Devoid of any emotion – bar pure contempt and bitter loathing.

"Naruto."

* * *


	28. Chapter XXVII

**Chapter XXVII**

* * *

_In ages past,_

_I called you friend,_

_And would have followed you,_

_To time flow's end,_

_But Fate's cruel hands,_

_Severed in two,_

_The link we shared,_

_My bond with you._

* * *

Naruto gulped down a deep, unsteady breath, seeking to calm the turbulent storm of his emotions, caught wholly off-guard by their intensity. How long had it been since he had stood face-to-face with the lord of the Underworld? At that moment, it seemed to him as though all the millennia that had passed since their last meeting had done so in a blur, and it had only been yesterday when they had exchanged final, parting words. Those words still echoed in Naruto's mind, as if they had been singed into his skull with burning tongs. All at once he was being sucked violently into a spinning mental vortex, his vision momentarily glazing over as he lost himself to bitter recollections.

Near-crippling desperation as a hand extended to draw another out of a swallowing abyss.

" _I tried to stop it! You_ _have_ _to believe me!"_

The swipe of a long, slender, deadly blade, in open rejection of assistance, forcing the offered hand to withdraw. Contempt and loathing flashing in swirling, blood-red irises.

" _Your family reigned at the expense of my own! I'll never be blind again!"_

" _We're still brothers!"_ The pleading voice was hoarse; choking on despair, as though it knew it was fighting a losing battle. The hand reached out once more, clawing frantically to provide salvation. _"Damn it!_ _Please!_ _Take my hand!"_

This time the blade's slicing edge connected with flesh, leaving a gashing wound, spilling crimson liquid in a gesture that manifested malicious, killing intent.

" _My brother is_ _dead!_ _"_ Screamed words were hurtled hatefully like stones, striking physical blows upon an aching heart as the wielder of the sword plummeted into darkness, his cloak being snagged by ghostly, skeletal hands, rushing up to claim their new ruler. _"And when we next meet, so will you be!"_

The memory faded to white, and Naruto's vision cleared. Almost subconsciously, his left hand closed, as if feeling the stinging injury that had been inflicted upon it back then. It had been quick to heal. The mental scars, however, had not.

Sasuke appeared older than the aristocratic young god with whom Naruto had once relished racing and sparring. There were ominous shadows on the sharp, chiselled planes of his face, which had never been there before he had become King of the Dead. His features had also matured further, were now set in stone - colder, harder – and completely ruthless. He had always exuded great potential and raw power. That same power had undoubtedly been honed and perfected over time, and now pulsated from his form as a suffocating, crackling aura of danger and menace.

It was frightening, how callous those eyes were, how regal, aloof and utterly unreachable he seemed.

The muteness stretched on, in which they both eyed and measured up one another. Naruto knew he had to be decidedly more vigilant. He was in the Death God's territory, after all, where everything, even the crumbled stones beneath his feet, answered to Sasuke's will. His decision to venture to the Underworld had been borne out of frustrated instinct. Now that he was here, Naruto had to convince himself that it was the right course of action. He had already avoided Sasuke for long enough. And he knew the death deity was waiting for him to make the first move.

Putting great caution and consideration behind every word, Naruto began slowly, "Sasuke. It's been a while."

Sasuke stared silently back at him, his features devoid of any expression. He had always been notoriously difficult to read, but Naruto was anxious for any sign, any clue at all that could reveal even a sliver of what the stoic god might be thinking or feeling.

Another tense pause lugged by, and Naruto tried to continue conversationally, "You look a little different. Your hair isn't as long. Guess you finally listened to me after all and got a haircut, righ-"

His attempt to joke was skewered immediately.

"Why are you here?"

Naruto swallowed thickly. That voice. So empty. So chilly. Sasuke was evidently in no mood whatsoever to humour him by engaging in a catch-up round of small talk. He had never been much of a talker, but was now even blunter and to the point than Naruto remembered.

Pulse roaring within him, Naruto figured that adopting honesty was the best way to go about approaching Sasuke, and answered earnestly, "Someone important to me went missing about a month ago." When Sasuke gave no visible response, he went on, "I know Kakashi and Jiraiya have already asked you about Sakura-chan. I know what you told them you'd do if we troubled you about it again. But Sasuke… you can find anyone. We could really use your help."

One corner of the death deity's lips turned upward condescendingly. "Why would I help _you?_ "

Naruto had anticipated the question, and provided his prepared answer. "Because," he said seriously, "if we don't find Sakura-chan soon, there'll be consequences on the surface which will affect your world, too. She…" he hesitated, before going on quietly, "Sakura-chan isn't like other human girls. She's… special."

Sasuke stared at him for another long moment. Then, voice dripping with disgust, he sneered, "If the girl is so _special_ , why did you lose her?"

Naruto's eyes lowered sadly. "Heh," he shook his head. "I guess I've always been bad at protecting my most precious people." He looked up and met Sasuke's gaze pointedly for a few seconds, before continuing, "It's her birthday today. I'd give anything to have her back."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Anything?" he repeated the word sceptically, as if testing its sincerity.

Naruto gave a fierce nod. " _Anything._ I'd give my life for her."

The Death God stared hard at him again, as if trying to map out the possible reasons and feelings that could justify the magnitude of such a sacrifice. Naruto's heart was thundering. He knew Sasuke better than the others did. He knew he desired power and knowledge above all things. Naruto couldn't give him any more power than he already had at his disposal – but he _could_ grant him knowledge. Knowledge of something that was forbidden to be spoken, something he had promised Tsunade that he would never allow to be known. But if it meant finding Sakura, then Naruto was prepared to do what it took to get her back.

Because he truly believed that Sasuke was not like _him_ , the heartless, evil, war-mongering one who resided in the sky. Sasuke could actually be reasoned with-

"Then I'll take it, now."

-or maybe not. The distinct, metallic sound of a sword being drawn snapped Naruto out of the hurricane of his thoughts. Startled, he held up his hands in submission, and spoke guardedly, "I didn't come here to fight you, Sasuke-"

But Kusanagi was already in Sasuke's left hand, glowing pale blue in response to its master's chakra. "I told you," he hissed. "The next time we met, I would kill you. You've made this too easy, Naruto."

Something inside Naruto splintered at that. His composure. He had never been much good at keeping his cool in the raven-haired god's presence, and had the lousy track-record to prove it. Upset that the focus was shifting away from Sakura and toward an issue that Naruto had intended to resolve later on, he snapped, "Damn it, Sasuke! I don't care what kind of crap you've made yourself believe, but I didn't betray you back then! I didn't find out until the attack was happening-"

He wasn't granted the luxury of finishing, for Sasuke darted fluidly forward, sending Cerberus's heads barking excitedly in blood lust, and forcing Naruto on the defensive.

 _Shit!_ Naruto internally cursed. He was rusty and had forgotten just how eye-wateringly fast Sasuke moved. Speed had always been his signature. Frantically he tapped into his seal to summon some of his own power. The fact that they were underground meant that he could release more chakra flow than usual – and not have to worry about the one who resided in the sky finding out about his breach of the vow – not unless Sasuke was working for him and reported it. Which Naruto highly doubted; he knew for a fact that Sasuke detested _that_ particular god almost as much as Naruto himself did.

Golden light burst from his form, and a luminous dagger materialised in his hand just in time to halt Sasuke's lunging stab. Naruto's arm nearly caved in to the force behind the death deity's attack as he was briefly caught by surprise at just how strong Sasuke had become. But he managed to steel himself at the final moment, pushing back and dropping low to avoid Sasuke's subsequent swipe. He barely succeeded in rolling to safety when Kusanagi stabbed into the ground, just about missing his left leg.

Skidding back, Naruto raised his dagger protectively across his chest. Sasuke stood, sword by his side, looking a thousand times more composed and unruffled by the entire situation.

 _Bastard's acting cool, as usual_ , Naruto inwardly fumed. It was funny how easily old sentiments fell in place when he was antagonistically engaged with the governor of death.

"Sasuke," he attempted to reach him through dialogue again. "Stop this! I came here for Sakura-"

Sasuke flickered out of sight the second Naruto spoke her name, and Naruto stiffened when he sensed a rapid fall in air pressure at his back. _He's behind me!_ He thought, spinning wildly, slicing at Sasuke's reappearing form with his weapon. But Sasuke blinked out of existence once again, only to rematerialize gracefully above him. Naruto's heart leapt as he glanced up to find Kusanagi's tip bearing down toward him.

There was no question about it. Sasuke meant to impale him.

 _He really wants to kill me._ Naruto could scarcely believe it, but there was little doubt when he looked into those eyes, full of such malevolent animosity. Sasuke had discarded the bond they had shared a long time ago, and any hope of salvaging it had clearly been buried forever, just like the bodies of the deceased over which he ruled. It was still difficult for Naruto to stomach the realisation. He kept thinking that maybe, just maybe, if he continued to persist, he would eventually cause a chip to break off the seemingly impenetrable armour Sasuke had secured around himself.

Naruto just hadn't expected to be unable to distinguish the armour from the person beneath it anymore.

He threw himself out the way and nearly stumbled to avoid the growling Cerberus's swiping paws. One hit from them and he knew he would be knocked out senseless.

"Damn it," Naruto breathed heavily, taking several retreating steps backward to maintain space between his body and Sasuke, who was slinking forward like a black panther on the prowl. "Just _listen_ to me for a second-"

But Sasuke had no intention of hearing him out, and continued to advance.

Desperate to get through to him, Naruto yelled, "Do you know what Itachi made me promise, before he died?" Something indecipherable wavered across Sasuke's face at the mention of the name. "He told me to be your brother, in his place! He told me to look after you, Sasuke! He made me promise to make sure nothing bad ever happened to you! If the others come down here, and you don't cooperate, I won't be able to stop them all-"

The Death God's face twisted with an ugly emotion that was wrought with unadulterated rage. In an instant, lightning energy flared from Kusanagi, screeching murderously. Naruto gaped in horrified awe. He couldn't recall Sasuke's control of Chidori being so precise and dreadfully lethal. It had always been so unstable and jagged in the past. Fire had been his preferred element – but seemingly no longer.

"Do not speak of Itachi!" Sasuke snarled, and rushed at him, lightning screaming out from his blade in a radius so wide that it was impossible for Naruto to dodge it in time. He raised his arms, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought to wrestle enough power to summon a protective force-field of light – but his chakra network was hindered by the seal, and responded far too slowly. Crackling tendrils of lightning shattered the flimsy, golden barrier he had managed to erect in front of him as if it were made of glass, and stabbed straight through Naruto's right shoulder.

The pain was immense. Freezing. Biting. "Guah!" Naruto cried out, as the force of Sasuke's drive sent him flying backwards, slamming him into the rough rock face behind him. He blinked, momentarily dazed, but knew he couldn't stop to dwell on the agony. If he did, he would be as good as dead. He rolled out of the way as Kusanagi stabbed into the wall, breaking off large pieces of rock as Sasuke yanked it out again. His eyes were a livid, stomach-curdling crimson. His chest was heaving, his composure lost, and Naruto was distraught as the true extent of hatred which the god he had always considered as his brother, best friend and equal, hit him full throttle.

"Sasuke," Naruto wheezed, wincing at the unbearable pain in his right arm. Already, it was growing numb, the result of the poison contained within the lightning energy. "I'm your _friend,_ damn it!"

The heartless half-smile that played on Sasuke's lips was even more terrifying than his previous wrath. "Still so deluded," he taunted. "You were the means to an end, _Apollo._ "He spat the name out, as if it were venom on his lips. "We were _never_ friends."

The darkly sinister smirk deepened and he seemed to delight at the hurt that flashed across Naruto's shocked face.

"No," Naruto whispered. Then, in wounded indignation, he bellowed, "You're _LYING!_ "

His denial reverted Sasuke's smug expression to one of anger, and his swift response came in the form of another attack. Naruto parried and evaded, compelled to defend himself with one hand as his chakra worked pitifully slowly to mend the damage to his right arm. He ran down the misty path, the light flaring from his left palm warding back the dense fog. Sasuke tracked his movements easily, running opposite him, looking for what would likely be the final opening he needed to fell his age-old rival. Naruto once again cursed the seal placed upon him. In a fair fight, his speed could have matched Sasuke's. He would have surely gotten a hit in by now. But the Death God had every advantage, and it suddenly struck Naruto that Sasuke was trying to push him into a corner.

"You arrogant bastard!" he shouted, his voice shaking from the extent of his raging emotions. He ignored the violent throb of pain in his chest as he forced more of his chakra from of its seal, was furious when he felt its resistance as most of it slipped back into place. It didn't matter. He had just about dragged enough of it out. "Don't… underestimate me!"

Golden light erupted from his hand and fired straight toward Sasuke, who halted abruptly, nearly losing his footing in the process.

" _Katon!_ " In a heartbeat he had raised his right hand to his lips, summoning a ball of fire that clashed into the golden light and immediately overwhelmed and consumed it. Blinded by the collision, Naruto failed to see the raised ridge in the ground and stumbled, sprawling to the gravelly floor. Those split seconds were all Sasuke needed to turn the tide. A vice-like grip closed around the front of Naruto's hooded top, and he was flung against the wall again, hard enough to knock the air cleanly from his lungs, sending the dagger clattering from his hand. His head struck against a jagged edge of rock, and he felt liquid warmth trail down his face as he slumped to the ground, breathless.

"You're finished," Sasuke's voice clipped mercilessly over him. Naruto looked up, his vision blurring as he glimpsed brilliant blue light coiling along Sasuke's entire left arm, down the body of his sword.

 _Sakura-chan_ , he thought out to her with every fibre of his being. _I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you again…_

There was a miniscule shift in his mind, and he froze when something seemed to breeze through it in response. He didn't dare pay it heed, as he acknowledged that he was just minutes away from being completely incapacitated, if he didn't act quickly.

"Madara," Naruto gasped, the name tumbling from his lips without a thought as Sasuke drew his blade back, meaning to pierce him straight in the heart. "W-we have to keep it… hidden from him! The- the essence of spring-"

Sasuke paused, and for an uncharacteristic instant, seemed to hesitate.

"S-Sakura-chan-" Naruto coughed, telling himself that it was just a coincidence, that the pain _had_ to be causing him to hallucinate when he thought he witnessed Sasuke's arm lower marginally. "She- she's-"

Sasuke tensed a micro-second before a sudden bolt of lightning was directed his way. He flash-stepped away from Naruto and raised his sword defensively as the new arrival materialised through the mist. And inwardly cursed his luck, knowing that what he had been on the verge of discovering about Sakura had been denied to him.

"I knew it," Kakashi's voice spoke with resignation. "I knew you would come here alone." He kneeled beside Naruto's battered form, and shook his head. "Naruto, you're still so reckless."

Sasuke clenched his jaw tightly as Kakashi cast a lone-eyed glance toward him. "And you," he lightly chided. "If I had known you would ever use _chidori_ against a comrade, I would have thought twice about teaching it to you."

"Hn," the death deity smirked haughtily. "You always were one to miscalculate, Kakashi."

"You're right," the masked man sighed, helping a wincing Naruto up. "But I've learned to live with my mistakes. You, however, Sasuke, still cannot accept them." Nodding at a panting Naruto, he continued, "Naruto played no part in what happened to your family. He was almost killed trying to lead our forces away from you – even when he knew you were planning to betray him."

Naruto raised pained blue eyes to Sasuke, swallowing the tears that were burning behind them.

Sasuke glared frostily at them. "Enough of your lies," he uttered flatly. Raising his hands to form a summoning seal, he added, "I will find this _Sakura_ , and deliver her to you now - _dead._ "

A faint, glimmering light shimmered in the space between them, and slowly began to adopt a feminine form. It was Sakura's height and build, but its features were otherwise indistinguishable.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi exclaimed harshly, stretching out a halting, warding palm. His visible eye was wide, alarmed. "Don't-"

"NO!" Naruto tried to lurch forward at the same time, only to double over in pain. "No!" he near-sobbed. "Don't hurt her, Sasuke! You don't…" he whispered, "You don't know-"

"Naruto!" Kakashi interrupted sharply, causing the blond to quieten, his ragged breaths the only further sounds that escaped his lips.

Sasuke's crimson gaze narrowed, and he seemed to deliberate for a long moment, before slowly lowering his hands. The phantom form lingered, before fading out of existence.

"I told you," he uttered coldly, his features expressionless once more. "Your affairs do not concern me. Test me again, and I _will_ kill her."

He snapped his fingers together, and ordered curtly, "Leave."

For a confusing instant, Kakashi thought he had clicked his fingers to dismiss them – very disrespectfully. But it quickly became apparent that the sound was a signal to something else entirely. The ground beneath their feet trembled and a hulking figure loomed behind Sasuke, snarling ravenously, its bloody jaws drooling venomous saliva. Cerberus growled, and lowered his mighty heads in submission to his master's following command.

"See them out," Sasuke gestured nonchalantly, and in a blink, vanished silently before their very eyes. Kakashi wasn't fool enough to waste another second. Securing the injured Naruto's arm more firmly around his shoulders, he turned around and fled.

* * *

The first thing Sai distinguished when he opened his eyes was a white ceiling. For a disorientated minute, he thought that he was in a room in Konoha Central Hospital, and struggled to remember just what had happened to him. But then he became aware of softness beneath him, and the fact that he was lying on a comfortable couch of some kind. Gingerly, he sat up, and all his recollections suddenly came flooding back, washing over him like a tsunami. He almost lay back down, wishing that his memories could be wiped all over again.

Especially when his eyes met with Neji's stern, astute ones.

"You're awake," the seraph remarked bluntly, from his position leaning against a very plain wall. Sai was quick to rationally conclude that he had to be in Neji's house. It was sparsely furnished, and as clinical as the masquerading human's mannerisms. But that was to be expected. The only reason Neji had a house was to keep up appearances. In reality, he scarcely left Hinata's side.

"What happened?" Sai questioned, rubbing at his aching forehead. He had one _hell_ of a headache – and knew who he had to thank for it. However, he did not dare to think the name of the perpetrator. Not with those eyes on him.

"We are expecting you to tell us," Neji clipped. With his arms folded and his face betraying little of his thoughts, he lived up to the honourable role of guardian angel to perfection. Thankfully, Hinata entered the small living room at that moment, with a tray bearing a steaming bowl of soup in her hands.

"Sai," she greeted with a gentle, apologetic smile. "Thank goodness! I was worried. We…" she shot Neji an uncertain look, and seemed reassured when he nodded. "We found you in the park, unconscious. Do you… can you remember what happened?"

They had been following him. But Sai was prudent that he could not let them know that he had realised it. It would only invite further questioning, and heighten suspicion.

"I…" he shook his head. "I can't quite recall… I was taking a walk, and then…" he shook his head again, signalling a blank. "I do not know what happened."

Both Hinata and Neji stared intently at him. And Sai felt sick to his stomach when Neji said sharply, "You are lying."

Sai shifted his gaze guiltily, and felt even more wretched when Hinata reached out to place a slender hand entreatingly upon his arm. "Please, Sai," she said softly. "If you know something, anything at all…"

He snatched his arm back and squeezed his eyes shut. "Forgive me," he managed to utter with great difficulty. "I am not being honest with you. You are right."

"You had better speak up, now," the hint of threat in Neji's words was not lost to Sai.

Taking a deep breath, he began, "I started feeling dizzy. And the next thing I knew, I blacked out. But just before that, I had another vision. I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset anybody. I have been wrong before."

Hinata's beautiful, clear grey eyes were wide. Clutching a hand to her pounding heart, she dared to whisper, "W-what was it?"

Sai masked the tell-tale disturbance in his chakra levels by clenching his teeth and feigning despair.

"I saw Sakura." he swallowed, causing Hinata to gasp, and Neji to sharply catch his breath. With great effort, he added, "She was locked in a cell. Dying _._ "

* * *

"What were you _thinking?"_

Naruto ground his teeth as Kakashi delivered the lecture he had been anticipating the second they reached safe ground. Outrunning Cerberus had been no easy feat, and on several occasions, Naruto had been convinced that he was on the verge of becoming doggie food – for three rapacious jowls. Blessedly, they had made it to the surface without being crushed or devoured, and Kakashi had swiftly transported them to his apartment to recuperate following their unpleasant encounter with the Underworld's ruler.

The injuries he had sustained at Sasuke's hands had since healed – but Naruto was frustrated at how long it had taken to repair the damage in the heat of battle. Sasuke had not given him the opportunity, had taken full advantage of the seal placed upon his abilities. What kind of fight was it, if it wasn't a fair one? How was Naruto meant to healthily vent his anger when he couldn't even land the punch his fists were so itching to deliver to Sasuke's stupid, stuck-up face?

"To go down there alone; how could you be so reckless, Naruto?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Naruto erupted. "Sit it out while you went down there and provoked him? You think you can handle him, Kakashi?"

"Do you think _you_ can?" Kakashi retorted. "Hasn't what happened today proven to you that Sasuke isn't the same god we once knew? When are you going to accept that, Naruto? He meant to kill you!"

Naruto glowered, struggling to contain his boiling emotions. "I had to do _something!_ "

"You've only made things worse," Kakashi reprimanded. "If I hadn't arrived in time-"

"I would have handled it!"

Kakashi raked an exasperated hand through his silver hair. Naruto was clearly in denial, if he had believed that he'd had everything under control. "Naruto-"

"It _wasn't_ meaningless," Naruto's voice dropped, quivering with emotion. "What we had… I won't give up! I know he's still there somewhere!"

Kakashi sighed heavily. When was Naruto going to learn? "Naruto. Sasuke has made it plain he's forgotten the past. Don't let your sentiments cloud your judgement."

When Naruto remained silent, Kakashi sighed again, and shook his head tiredly. "I'll have to think of a way to explain this mess to the others." Sending the blond a meaningful look, he finished sternly, "You lay low for now, Naruto. You've already caused enough damage."

Naruto said nothing as Kakashi left the room, disappearing into the kitchen to make a phone call to Jiraiya. But the stillness of his exterior mirrored nothing of his internal turmoil.

He couldn't stop thinking about the way Sasuke's arm had hesitated, for just a fraction of a split-second, when he had mentioned having to keep the essence of spring hidden. It hadn't been a figment of his imagination. He couldn't erase the flicker of _something_ he had glimpsed in Sasuke's otherwise indecipherable gaze – a look that anyone else would have surely missed entirely. But not Naruto. He had known Sasuke for far too long. And he couldn't ignore the way his heart was thumping inside him. As if he had stumbled upon a staggering discovery.

As if a veil had been lifted before his eyes and everything was suddenly clicking frighteningly in place.

* * *

Sakura did not know how long it had been since Sasuke had left her. She had remained numbly in position, on the floor by the fireplace, for a long time afterward, before rising to her feet and returning to her room to change into training clothes. Hitting something and strenuously exercising, she had told herself as she'd stepped into the hushed training dome, would help to outlet all her suppressed emotions. As she practiced various sword strikes against a defenceless wooden post, Sakura finally allowed her thoughts to branch out.

She had been so close to letting him kiss her. Another heartbeat and his lips would have met hers. What would have become of her, then? The heat she felt creeping into her cheeks only made her more uncomfortable. It now seemed to Sakura that it would only be a matter of time before Sasuke would steal a kiss from her. He had made transparent what he wanted. How was she meant to continually resist and deny the will of a god? And now that she was _finally_ paying attention, Sakura was uncertain of how she ought to proceed. She had never been in such a... _delicate_ situation before.

What was the correct thing to do? Suddenly she resented the fact that her mother had never allowed her to date boys. She didn't have the first clue of how to handle advances from the opposite sex. Then she rationalised that even if her mother _had_ let her see guys, nothing could have ever really prepared her for Sasuke. He was on an entirely different level, in a league of his own, and he threw traditional courting rituals out of the window completely. Sakura perplexedly thought that it didn't seem like he really wanted to _woo_ her at all, or maybe it was that he had no clue how to do it. There was certainly nothing romantic or tender about the way he interacted with her. No. To Sasuke, it was all about staking a claim. But to what end… Sakura shuddered, as her eyes fell to the stunning emerald and gold bracelet, his gift, still clasped around her right wrist. She didn't _want_ to guess.

Her vision briefly unfocused as unhappy, unshed tears welled up in her eyes. She had always secretly fantasised about what it would be like sharing her first kiss with the man of her dreams. And even though he was by far the most gorgeous specimen of a male she had ever laid eyes upon, Sasuke was more Prince Alarming than Prince Charming. Yet it seemed to be expected of her to play the role of his Cinderella - regardless of her feelings on the matter.

She closed her eyes, lowering her sword to cover her face in despair. Her life had always been so simple and… well, _boring_. Comfortable and predictable. Yet how many times had she yearned for excitement and adventure? How many times had she looked up into the night sky, wondering if there was more out there? Wasn't that what Fate had handed to her? Adventure? Except the problem was, she wasn't enjoying her ordeal now that it had been granted to her. Being stuck, quite literally, with Death was far from her idea of a passionate escapade. Proof of that was the fact that she couldn't stop the trembles that were afflicting her body. Why did she still feel so cold on the inside? Why had it taken so long for her pulse to settle?

It had been throughout the course of these torturous musings that Sakura had heard a whisper through her head. So fleeting and weak that she had almost missed it. It was impossible – but she thought she had heard Naruto's voice in her mind.

 _Naruto_ , she had thought forlornly, knowing the voice to be nothing more than wishful thinking. How she missed him! How she longed to see his goofy, endearing smile, to bask in the light and warmth he radiated.

 _I'll see him again_ , she vowed. _As long as I stay level-headed._ Wiping at her damp eyes, she told herself that she would just have to deal diplomatically with the new developments. They weren't ideal. But now that she had actually succeeded in gaining some kind of reaction out of Sasuke, she needed to stay disciplined, and focused.

 _I'm in control_ , she echoed to herself fiercely, recalling the way her smile had caused the creases in Sasuke's brow to smooth over. _I_ _am_ _in control._

She lifted the large goblet of ambrosia she had taken the liberty of pouring herself in Sasuke's absence, and gulped it down, sighing as the liquid soothed her emotional agitation. Her eyes moved greedily to the table where more of the sweet beverage sat, shimmering prettily in its crystal decanter.

A few more glasses wouldn't hurt, she reasoned, and they would even give her the energy she needed to maintain an extended training session. Giving into temptation, she poured herself another serving and wolfed it down, licking her lips as she savoured the very last drops. Then she poured herself a third goblet, filling it to the brim, surprised by how quickly she swallowed it also. It was almost like her body thirsted for its consumption. Sternly dismissing the voice that pleaded for a fourth helping, Sakura stepped back into the central, circular area. Then she raised her sword to continue raining blows on the unfortunate wooden post, drawing satisfaction when it began to splinter at the sides. She carried on swiping and stabbing, marvelling at how brilliant the ambrosia was at keeping muscle fatigue at bay.

Eventually she grew bored with the sword drills, and turned her attention to the pillars encircling the sparring area. She felt energised, her body buzzing with warmth and a strange, foreign adrenaline. Were the extra servings of ambrosia responsible for her unexpected boost in stamina? Whatever was, she felt just fabulous. As if she could race a marathon. Running around the pillars didn't seem like such a major feat all of a sudden. Why hadn't she thought before about drinking ambrosia prior to her training sessions with Sasuke? If it made her body this aware and rejuvenated, she would definitely be able to perform better. Maybe Sasuke knew it too. Maybe that was why he never allowed her to ingest too much. Because he liked to be controlling, like the chauvinistic pig he was.

He was in for a surprise at their next sparring match, then, Sakura smiled, as she plotted to herself and began rushing full speed around the pillars. If she was lucky, maybe she could even get a hit in somewhere. That was, if Sasuke wasn't too busy hitting on _her_ \- in a different way, of course.

She giggled to herself as she passed the fifth pillar, then bit down on her lower lip in shame. What was _wrong_ with her? It wasn't funny. But the more she pictured Sasuke trying to flirt, the more she began to chuckle. Soon she was laughing so hard that she pulled a muscle in her side. Forgetting all about circling the pillars, she waltzed to the central area again, feeling elated, like she was floating on clouds.

"I'm…" she began, frowning, before bursting into a jubilant grin. "I'm feeling as light as a bubble!" Giggling again, she spread her arms, and swiped unseeingly with her sword. Did ambrosia really possess the ability to make a person so high? Even as she went back to the table and was helping herself to a fourth serving, a tiny voice whispered that she ought to stop. She wasn't being sensible. But it was so distant and inconsequential and nowhere near as persuasive as the louder one that told her to have the fourth goblet, _and_ a fifth. She was a teenager. Surely she was allowed to live a little – even if she was in Death's kingdom.

Sakura skipped down the stairs and into the central space again with the cup full of wine in her right hand. Her arms and legs were restless, and she felt oddly bubbly and lightheaded as she spun around and around, pirouetting like a ballerina, taking sips from the goblet until she had downed it all.

That was how a brooding Sasuke found her, twirling and humming, when he stepped off the rotating platform and into the training dome. As he curiously approached the steps leading down to the sandy arena, he halted to stare at Sakura, dancing with her back turned to him. She was dressed in a pink and grey sparring outfit, but was definitely _not_ practicing swordplay. His eyes lowered to her seductively swaying hips, followed the shapely curves of her slender legs, before rising incredulously to her face as she whirled around to look at him. The telling pink flush to her cheeks and the glaze in her eyes, coupled with the incriminating, empty goblet in her hand, told him all he needed to know. The foolish girl had swallowed too much ambrosia for her own good.

The question was, just how much?

Scowling disapprovingly at her, he began, "Sakura-"

"Sasuke!" she greeted chirpily, lifting the goblet and beaming joyously at him. It was a sight so beautiful and alluring that for an awful moment, the death deity forgot his exasperation entirely, and it was all he could do to gaze at her, struck by how very desirable she looked – and just how much he wanted to take her. "This drink… it's amazing. I feel so… so alive!" She giggled and spun again, rocking unsteadily on the balls of her feet in the process.

Wary that she would tumble and hurt herself, Sasuke immediately joined her on lower ground. Prying her fingers gently from the goblet in her grasp, he interrogated, "How much did you have?"

"Hmm?" Sakura hummed. "Oh. A little." She made a tiny measuring gesture with an index finger and thumb. "This much. See? S'not a lot. _Hic!_ " She hiccupped, then slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening before she proceeded to burst into a fresh fit of giggles.

Sasuke's lips parted slightly – about as close as he could ever get to gaping open-mouthed at anything or anyone – when Sakura suddenly lifted her sword, hoisting it up precariously between them.

"Let's spar," she suggested enthusiastically. "I'll definitely beat you this time."

He slowly shook his head, reaching out to lower her right arm firmly. She was completely intoxicated, and barely in control of her own actions. She probably wasn't aware of what she was really saying, either. Sasuke calculated that she would have had to have had at least seven or eight goblets of wine to reach such a tipsy state. His silent refusal prompted Sakura to pout unhappily at him.

"Why noooot? I'm ready. Try me."

When he didn't release her wrist, and shook his head mutely once again, she stepped closer, the front of her body brushing against his as she looked up into his face beneath hooded lashes.

"Don't you want to try me?" she said huskily.

Sasuke froze as her left index finger jabbed into his chest. This playful, previously dormant Sakura was virtually unrecognisable to him. He had never expected alcohol to affect her so profoundly, and gazed in fixated, disbelieving fascination as she sulked, "You're no fun."

"You are not yourself," he stated. She seemed to find this hilarious, for she began to laugh again, before tugging at him to release her. When his fingers reluctantly let go, she sashayed away from him.

"What would _you_ know about me? Just because… _hic_! You're a god- _hic!_ Doesn't mean you know everything- _hic_!"

She spun again, dropping her blade to the dusty ground, looking lost for a moment.

"I feel… happy," she then declared. "Happy, happyyyy. Unh?" She suddenly stopped, pressing a hand to her forehead, and the smile slipped from her face. "I don't… I don't feel too good," she whispered, teetering dangerously to her left. Sasuke's eyes widened and he darted forward, just about catching her as she fell, her clumsy angle sending them both to the ground. Sakura landed snugly in his lap, with his arms around her, and giggled breathlessly once more.

A tiny voice that sounded very foreign and far away in Sakura's head was telling her that she was sitting in Sasuke's lap. That it was a big deal, and she was making a total and utter fool of herself. But she couldn't really bring herself to care, not when a more significant part of her quite enjoyed how it felt to be held by him.

Sasuke's pulse picked up speed when she stared right into his face and made no effort to pull away. She just fit in his arms. As if she had been moulded for him. It just felt… _right._ It was strange how he had never really paid attention to it until then.

"My mother would kill me," she confided sadly, "if she saw us like this. She'd even kill you. She never let me see anyone." Turning large eyes to the death deity, she breathed, "But can I tell you a secret…?" When she beckoned for him to lower his head and he did so, she cupped her hands around his left ear and whispered, "I _did_ see someone. A long time ago." Drawing back slightly, she finished dreamily, "Hmm. He was so handsome."

Sasuke didn't expect the jolt of jealousy that swelled within him at the unexpected disclosure. He couldn't recall Sakura being romantically involved with anybody in the past. If she had been, he most certainly would have done something about it.

Unless… unless she had seen someone _before_ he had watched her? That wasn't consistent with her mother's overprotectiveness. And surely if Sakura _had_ pranced about with some puny mortal boy, he would have known.

"Who?" The Death God demanded. When she just hummed again distractedly, he lifted one of the arms that encircled her waist and gripped her chin, forcing her to look back at him. "Sakura."

She looked muddled for a second, before wriggling in his hold. When he held fast, she pouted, "I… can't remember his name. He just left me." Quickly realising that he was unlikely to obtain a coherent answer, Sasuke released her jaw, and she threw her right hand up into the air, forming a triumphant, yet clumsy fist. "Doesn't matter now," she drawled. "I'm a world who's taking over the girl!"

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow. He was still bewilderedly trying to get his head around how very different and thoroughly intriguing Sakura was when all her inhibitions were released, when her giggles turned into soft moans.

"Sasuke," she whispered again, leaning into his warmth. "I don't feel too well."

"You disobeyed me," he censured, his arms keeping her close. But there was no anger or accusation in his voice.

"M'not a lightweight," she grumbled, before slurring, "Hmm… smells nice." Nuzzling her cheek into his chest, she inhaled deeply, before growing still, having submitted at last to drunken sleep. Sasuke exhaled at how slight and fragile she felt in his embrace, and lowered his nose to the top of her head, breathing in her sweet, flowery scent.

At that precise moment, he couldn't imagine not holding her. He couldn't imagine not ever having her near to him. Not being able to reach out and touch her whenever he desired. He recalled his earlier exchange with Naruto, and his arms tightened even further around Sakura's slumbering form as he clutched her possessively to him. He had done everything he could to deter them, to throw them off his trail. But had he done enough? His time was running out. Sooner or later, they would know the truth, and take her from him. He had to bind her to him and his world, as soon as possible. When she awoke, he would offer her the food of the dead. He needed to be careful, though. He couldn't risk allowing Sakura to realise the fruit's hidden effects.

Snagging her sword from the ground and securing it back in its jewelled casing at her waist, he rose to his feet, lifting her in his arms, and decided against teleporting to her bedchamber, choosing instead to carry her all the way back. Fury still brewed within him at Naruto's arrival in his realm. He had made a monumental mistake showing up, and the next time Sasuke saw him, he vowed that he would finish the idiot off - _permanently_.

But the words that the loud-mouthed, overly emotional fool had spoken still reverberated deafeningly in Sasuke's skull.

" _If we don't find Sakura-chan soon, there'll be consequences on the surface which will affect your world, too. She… Sakura-chan isn't like other human girls. She's… special."_

Hadn't Jiraiya told him something similar? That the trees were already shedding their blooms? The shedding, Sasuke suddenly realised, had begun roughly two weeks after he had abducted Sakura. And the more Sasuke deliberated it, the less of a coincidence it seemed to be. Especially when he considered Naruto's most puzzling and troubling revelation.

" _Madara. We have to keep it… hidden from him. The- the essence of spring-"_

He frowned as he stepped off the revolving platform and back into the palace's grand entrance hall. Essence of spring? His eyes lowered to the sleeping girl in his arms. Her face was serene, and the mysterious glow about her was almost tangible – a temporary change that he attributed to her increased consumption of ambrosia.

Spring was contained in Sakura's name. Her colourings, so rare and unique, also harmonised with the season. And that light she carried… weaker than a deity's, but more radiant than any human soul he had glimpsed since ascending the throne of the Underworld.

His heart began to accelerate as a notion slowly began to trickle in his mind, a notion he had always been quick to scorn and dismiss before. Was it even conceivable? That Sakura was somehow tied to springtime?

" _S-Sakura-chan… she- she is-"_

Was that what Naruto had been meaning to say? Was that why Tsunade and the others had always been so overprotective of her? The signs were too many, now. He had witnessed Naruto and Kakashi's desperation and fear when he had bluffed his intent to kill Sakura. It went beyond simply caring for her wellbeing. They had a deeper connection. Something more imperative.

He would have entertained and accepted the possibility much sooner, were it not for the confounding contradiction of Sakura's blood chemistry. It was ordinary, and wholly human. How could she influence a season and vegetation on the surface, when she possessed no supernatural abilities?

But he recalled the speed in which she had managed to summon her chakra. It had been mortal chakra – but she had shown an uncommon knack for harnessing it, something most humans spent years and years of their life trying to perfect.

Then there was the attack she'd had. How did that relate to everything? Sakura had informed him that Tsunade had always given her ambrosia as a medicine. The wine had the ability to repair wounds – and to subdue serious conditions, temporarily making them appear as though they were completely healed.

Sasuke exhaled as realisation struck him abruptly like a bolt of lightning. Tsunade hadn't given Sakura the medicine to heal her pain. If it happened every year, then the ailment was still there, merely being suppressed by the beverage of the gods. Which meant that whatever it was still existed inside Sakura. The Death God's thoughts buzzed with a sudden, startling clarity, leaving only one coherent echo.

Sakura had something that was important. Something that was connected to nature. Something that caused her pain, and had to be inhibited. He didn't know exactly what it was, why it hurt her, or how it could be, when she bled and hurt and breathed like a human. But whatever it was, Naruto, Tsunade, Kakashi, and all the others were frantic to keep it secret. Hidden from watching eyes in the sky.

As he entered Sakura's bedroom and lowered her onto her bed, he stared at her for a long minute, as if the answers to all the infuriating questions ricocheting in his head were contained in her sweet features. How could his eyes have failed to see it? He already knew the explanation to that particular query. When he looked into her soul, he found nothing extraordinary. There wasn't a trace of anything remotely goddess-like, besides the purity and radiance of her life-force.

There was no seal on her, not one that he could detect. Unless it was one so complex, that not even he could recognise it. It was a maddening paradox, and many dots were missing. He didn't have much time left to try piecing it all together. And what irritated him even more was that Sakura was oblivious to everything.

Leaning forward, he pressed his forehead lightly against hers, and murmured in frustration, "What are you…?"

Her steady breaths were the only response Sasuke received. He remained by her side, tracing over her fingertips, watching as she fell into rapid eye movement and the haven of dreams.

 _Elysium_ , he suddenly thought. Elysium's light revealed things for what they really were. Every soul shined with its true, full worth. If he took Sakura there, and let her enter its sacred fields, would he finally see the source of all her riddles? Would he finally understand just what she was?

It was a place that was not intended for the living. But he saw no other alternative. Rising from her bedside, Sasuke drew the gauzy drapes, and turned away, lost to the heavy gravity of his contemplations.

Was she the essence of spring that they had to keep hidden from Madara? Or was this mysterious essence somehow locked away inside her for safe-keeping? And if so, who had put it there? Tsunade? Or someone else? And why Sakura? Why a girl who was otherwise essentially human, who could die just like everybody else? If this essence – or Sakura – was really so precious, why would they take such an irresponsible and thoroughly reckless risk?

He reached the door, grasped onto the handles to quietly exit the room, when a softly sighed whisper behind him, barely audible, travelled to his ears. Its effect was instantaneous, devastating, made his entire body freeze, caused the very blood in his veins to turn to ice, and sent his heart and mind careening into the endless depths of chaos.

" _Hades…"_

The breath that had hitched in his throat was difficult to dislodge, and for a horrendous moment, Sasuke couldn't even discern his own hand, gripping onto the handle before him with enough force to shatter it. Wide-eyed and plagued with dreadful, uncharacteristic hesitation - as if fearful of what he would discover - the Death God turned slowly back around.

**Chapter XXVI**

* * *

_Bridge the space between you and I,_

_The chasm that lies from earth to sky,_

_And secure around my wrist a ring,_

_That whispers I am,_

_Your most precious thing._

* * *

Hinata crouched low, her movements as light and stealthy as a shadow. The night was hers, and although the ability to cloak herself in a veil of darkness had required a little tapping into her forbidden seal, she told herself that it was worth it. For Sakura. For _Naruto._ To restore the smile on his face again, she was prepared to go against her peaceful, law abiding disposition and break all the rules – even if she had to pay the consequences.

She inched forward, followed by her ever faithful companion. Neji Hyuuga masqueraded as her reticent cousin in the presence of ordinary people, but that was merely a guise he had adopted to hide his true identity. He was a seraph, an angel of the highest order, who had pledged to be her guardian and protector. At first, he had tried to dissuade her from her idea - for her own protection, he had insisted – but Hinata had surprised him by proving to be as stubborn as the fellow she was so hopelessly in love with. Instead of attempting to deter her further, Neji had dutifully complied with her wishes for him to accompany her. That way, he had reasoned to himself, he could keep both eyes on his precious charge and protect her if necessary, as well as satisfy the maddening curiosity that was nagging within him.

Never would he have anticipated there to be a potential traitor in their midst. Hinata's justifications for the actions they were taking had seemed uncertain and questionable at first, but Neji trusted in her astuteness. Her instincts had always served her well in the past and if her intuition was telling her that something wasn't quite right, then in his opinion, that alone held enough merit to warrant an investigation. And while they both hoped that Hinata's gut feeling this time was a misplaced one, there was only one sure way to dispel any doubts.

They crept along the grass, concealed behind the shielding bodies of trees, keeping off the winding footpath and away from the bright lamps lining the walkway, their moonlight gazes fixed on the lone, hooded figure ahead of them.

Sai had always been quick on his feet.

It was a well-known fact that he was fond of taking midnight strolls in the park whenever sleep eluded him. It was an entirely innocent pastime, and Hinata felt another pang of guilt. What right did she have to breach Sai's privacy like this? She had little evidence to support the hunch that had lodged itself into her mind. What strange force had compelled her to follow him home after the meeting with their elders? _Of course_ Sai was loyal to their cause – he had always been, and for her to even entertain otherwise surely made her the most awful and despicable of friends.

Her breath suddenly caught in her throat, a split instant before Neji held out a protective, halting arm, causing her to stop in her tracks.

' _Wait,'_ he mentally communicated. _'You see it too, don't you?'_

Hinata nodded tensely. The thin, eerie blanket of mist that infiltrated the cluster of withering blossom trees in the horizon was impossible to overlook - and Sai was walking directly toward it. But her searching eyes could detect no physical body within or beyond it. There were no tell-tale signs of chakra that suggested any unnatural forces were responsible for the fog's unexpected appearance. Which meant that it either was a freak occurrence of nature – it certainly _was_ nippy enough - or whatever was behind the mist's materialisation was powerful and skilful enough to keep their chakra signature completely concealed.

If the latter were true, then what were they really up against? She had a hard time believing that Suigetsu alone could be behind both Sakura _and_ Inoichi's disappearances.

Swallowing thickly, Hinata slipped her hand into Neji's, was reassured when his cool, strong fingers curled lightly around her own. Together, they hurried forward, pausing at every other interval to allow a safe measure of distance to be maintained between the pursued and his pursuers.

* * *

Sai's mind throbbed from the discordance of his thoughts as he once again lamented how he had landed himself into such a terrible, terrible mess. More importantly, how was he going to get out of it? He walked through the park, his head bowed in dejection. It seemed that the ever cunning Sasuke had found a way to tame the oceans, at least for a while. But in doing so, he had opened up a fresh can of challenging problems for Sai to deal with. The others were convinced that Suigetsu was hiding Sakura underwater, and had decided to attempt the perilous act of approaching the Death God with an open bribe in exchange for his assistance.

Inviting Sasuke to name his own price and terms was a dangerous move that brought to light the true extent of their desperation. In addition, such a move was in no way guaranteed to seal the Underworld king's cooperation. Sasuke trusted the others as much as they trusted him. Which was not at all. And of course, they were all misled, for Sasuke already knew precisely where Sakura was. Sai glumly wondered how in the world the death deity intended to snake his way out of a full-out confrontation once he had been updated on recent developments.

After leaving the secret base, he had immediately sent out a telepathic message to Sasuke and knew the Death God was en-route to meeting him. Sai went over what he intended to say again and again, knowing full well half of the words would likely be forgotten as soon as Sasuke materialised before him. The merciless deity had that kind of intimidating effect on people. Exhaling, and staring miserably at his breath as it vaporised before his face, Sai continued along his way, lost in the dilemmas that weighed heavily upon his chest.

At length, he neared the misty patch that was the designated meeting spot, expecting to find Sasuke already there – but his gaze settled on nothing but the faint silhouettes of trees. He walked more deeply into the freezing fog, his heart pounding sickeningly, his ears straining for the slightest sound. All he heard was the crunching of prematurely shed leaves beneath his feet. Deciding to cover his back, Sai leant against one of the tree trunks in waiting, his teeth chattering in the cold.

There was no mistaking that the sub-zero haze was Sasuke's doing. He had quickly become accustomed to the blood curdling conditions that heralded the death deity's coming. So where _was_ he? Why had he yet to materialise? The seconds ticked by, in which Sai became increasingly agitated and anxious. Surely any moment now…

' _You are being followed.'_

His heart leapt into his throat at the sound of Sasuke's voice echoing in his head. Muscles locking tensely, he nervously communicated back, _'Great God. I swear to you, that I was not aware-'_

' _The moon goddess and her guardian have cloaked themselves in darkness.'_ Sasuke mentally warned, his telepathic words dripping with disdain. His crimson eyes could detect the otherwise perfectly concealed chakra networks that flickered faintly to his far left. Nothing in blackness could truly be hidden from his vision. The shadows were his home, after all. From his position on the other side of the very same tree Sai was pressed up against, the death deity took a moment to weigh his options.

The moon goddess, who had masqueraded, like the others, as a human friend to Sakura, was tapping into her seal. He was not acquainted with her personally, had merely glimpsed her impassively from a distance several times, but had heard his mother's accounts of the goddess from many ages past. He strained to recall what little he could remember. She was timid and quiet. She was not confrontational and avoided drawing attention to herself whenever she could help it. She was generally compliant. It struck Sasuke as odd, then, that she would choose to tamper with her sealed powers. Surely that went against the wishes of the others – against the sacred pact that had been agreed in an era long forgotten?

She suspected Sai, and Sasuke angrily wondered how she had even managed to place such a suspicion, even when he already knew the answer. She must have detected something in Sai's demeanour. Even the slightest shift would not pass her notice. After all, her eyes, like his, possessed a heightened, sharper sense of sight than the eyes of other deities. And so she posed a problem. But unlike Inoichi, Sasuke could not simply attack and capture a goddess of her lineage and status. The Underworld's ruler was confident that he was more powerful and superior on the ground, but he was not familiar with her abilities, and was wary of the fact that she could probably flee easily to the sky, if the need arose. Additionally, she was not alone. Her guardian seraph, whom she had gifted with her eyesight also, accompanied her. Sasuke would only risk exposing himself if he acted too hastily.

Clenching his teeth in frustration, he snapped at the messenger, _'Remaining stationary makes you suspicious. Regulate your chakra.'_

' _I am sorry-'_ Sai began to apologise, and was once again cut off by Sasuke.

' _Move.'_

Sai did his best to calm himself. It was nearly impossible to do so. _'I have much to tell you-'_

' _Then make it quick,'_ Sasuke ordered, his gaze firmly fixed on the two individuals inching ever closer to them. He could not transport Sai to the Underworld – the sudden disappearance of the pale youth's chakra network would immediately be picked up by the goddess and her guardian, and would beg even further questions.

Sai swallowed, and obediently began to walk forward, making the wise decision to relay his news as succinctly as possible. _'They mean to enter the Underworld. They seek your assistance in locating Sakura, and are prepared to offer you an open bribe in exchange for your help.'_

Sasuke internally sneered as he mirrored Sai's steps. The fools! Independent of the fact that he had no intention of handing Sakura back, the other deities had absolutely nothing he desired – not unless they came to him with the ability to resurrect fallen, ancient deities whose essences had long since vanished beyond recovery, and undo the blood-spattered, hateful events that had preceded the swearing of oaths.

' _When, and how many?'_ he demanded.

Sai continued along the path. _'They have not yet specified, but I anticipate it will be at any instant, Great God.'_

Sasuke's eyes formed narrow slits. What arrogance they possessed, to believe they could so boldly trespass, uninvited, into his kingdom, and do so safely, for that matter! And what nerve, to believe for even a second that he would ever accept anything offered to him from their filthy hands!

Still, he had to prepare carefully for this unwelcome progression. It seemed that Jiraiya had disregarded his warning, and had convinced the others to venture into the Underworld in an attempt to secure his cooperation. Sasuke had wanted to avoid such a confrontation, but had always known it to be inevitable. A part of him had anticipated their summoning much sooner.

Glaring pointedly at the messenger, he clipped, _'Let them suspect you again and you will be of no further use to me.'_

Sai's heart quivered in response to the unmistakeable threat he detected in the words.

' _What will I tell them when they confront me here?'_

Sasuke was silent for a long moment – before answering menacingly, _'Nothing.'_

With that, the mental connection between them abruptly severed, and to Sai, it was akin to a door being slammed rudely and piercingly in his head. Without warning, pain assailed him, and he stiffened – before crumpling like a puppet with severed strings, to the floor.

The Death God stared callously down at his motionless form, before departing the surface a heartbeat later.

* * *

' _He has stopped,'_ Neji's smooth voice murmured in her mind.

Hinata gasped as she witnessed a sudden, dangerous alteration in Sai's chakra network, which had, up until that moment, been fluctuating strangely – and the fall that followed it. Alarmed, she whispered, "Quickly, Neji-san!"

Neji did not need to be told twice. In an instant, they had stepped out of their hiding spot and were rushing to catch up to Sai. They passed fearlessly into the fog, and did not stop until they came upon him, slumped sullenly at the base of a tree.

Neji glanced cautiously around, before crouching down to peer intently into Sai's unconscious face, looking for any clues that would help explain his unexpected collapse. But his eyes found nothing apparent.

"His breathing is steady. He doesn't seem to be in any obvious discomfort."

Hinata clutched a hand anxiously over her pounding heart. What was happening? Sai had been relatively fine just minutes ago. Why was he not responding to Neji's attempts to rouse him? She opened her mouth to reply to her seraph's observation – when, with a startled start, she realised that the air around them was changing.

Silently, the eerie mist dematerialised.

* * *

Sasuke entered the forge, lost deeply in his calculating thoughts. He had informed Cerberus to be extra vigilant and ordered Nagato to inform him at once in the event of any sudden appearances of visitors in his kingdom. His racing mind had mapped out several strategies of how to handle the imminent arrival of the surface deities. Caution was of the utmost importance. He couldn't allow them to read him. His tone, his body language, the words he selected – everything had to be carefully maintained. He could give nothing away. Simply put, he had to ensure that he outsmarted them – and how easily he could do that was very much dependent on which of them they decided to send down to his realm. He did not anticipate them all – that would be a reckless move on their part.

Tsunade, he was quite sure, would pay him a visit, as would that blasted Jiraiya. Kakashi, perhaps, because they believed that the old fool had once known him and thus how to interact with him. But the deluded person Kakashi had known in the past had long since disappeared. All that remained was a resentful, unforgiving shell.

As to who else came, Sasuke could only guess. There was one in particular, however, whom he did not wish to see under any circumstances.

Untying his cloak and rolling up the sleeves of his tunic top, Sasuke came to a stop before the clumps of gold he had instructed his centaurs to mine from the precious metal caves. The stone he had also specified sat prettily on the work surface, glittering with incredible clarity. The lustrous colour made him think fleetingly of Sakura's large, expressive eyes, and he felt something inside him twinge.

So green. So maddeningly captivating.

It would not take long to create what he envisaged in his mind. A few hours at most, if he left the polishing, wrapping and finishing touches to dexterous nymphs who were all too eager to please him.

Picking up a moulding hammer, the death deity set to work.

* * *

Sakura hummed as she trailed her fingertips over the velvety white rose collection placed prettily in the vase before her. A calming bath had helped to restore her composure and spirits, and, after changing into a turquoise dress and leaving her room, she had found Ume dusting statues in the art gallery, and had invited the little maid to arrange flowers in the palace's twilit gardens with her. They had chattered about different types of flowers, and Ume had asked many questions about how Sakura knew which ones to match together, and what each flower meant. The questions had made Sakura pause for thought. She had never really considered _how_ she knew so much. Flowers had been beloved to her since childhood – she had always just simply _known_ and felt a connection to them and to nature.

Time, or whatever semblance of it Sakura retained - which wasn't much in the otherworldly realm she was trapped in - seemed to suspend entirely when she was in the beautiful gardens. She enjoyed inhaling the floral scents and listening to the soothing sound of the crystal clear, shallow brooks as they rippled cool water. She found the rustling of grass and leaves in the pleasant breeze therapeutic. Occasionally, she would hear the enchanting echo of wood nymphs singing in the distance, their harmonic voices accompanied by sweet wooden flute music and birdsong. She loved drinking in the richness and vibrancy of her surroundings, how everything was aglow with a mysterious, magical life-force, and her eyes always found new details to marvel over.

"Mistress?"

Continuing to browse over the wonderful collection of flowers around her, Sakura replied absent-mindedly, "Hmm?"

"Do you-" the little maid seemed to hesitate, before venturing, "-do you like it here?"

Sakura's right hand, which had reached out to pluck a pink carnation stem, froze, hovering in mid-air. She quickly recovered, and pulled the stem out of its vase. Pretending to examine the petals closely, she questioned lightly, "What makes you ask, all of a sudden?"

"Oh," Ume answered shyly. "It is just... well, I am so happy that you are here. The palace was so quiet and empty before, but since you have come..." her voice grew more and more excited, and she ended with a bubbly burst, "...it is like you have brought everything to life!"

Sakura was touched by the earnestness of her sentiments. "That's sweet of you." Then, in response to the question, she added casually, carefully, "It's certainly... interesting here."

"Oh, yes! The Underworld is full of magic," Ume went on enthusiastically, "But really, I am so happy. All the servants are talking about you, too! Even the kitchen boys – I've never seen them so curious! One of them – I shan't tell the fellow's name – thinks you awfully pretty. He says he wishes he could have a dance."

"Really?" Sakura smiled. "I'd like to meet him sometime."

"Oh, no! He is much too shy. And I do not think it would please the Master too well if he saw him dancing with you."

Sakura's smile immediately waned. Falling silent, she collected four more flower stems – two lilac freesias and two pretty pink tulips – before settling down on the grass beside the rest of her chosen blooms. Her deft hands began to arrange them artistically, but she soon found herself distracted by her thoughts and paused when she picked out an exquisitely beautiful, deep purple lily.

Cradling the flower in her hands, she began quietly, "Ume?"

Ume looked up from where she had been contently picking out a selection of pretty ribbons to match the tissue paper and colour scheme Sakura had chosen for her bouquet.

"Yes, Mistress?"

Biting her lower lip for an uncertain moment, Sakura decided to voice what was on her mind. "Am I really safe here?"

"Of course, Mistress!" Ume exclaimed, her voice full of concern as she instantly sought to soothe her lady's worries. "The Underworld is the Master's domain. He would never allow any harm to befall you."

Perhaps not from others – but Sakura already knew that, and had no doubts that Sasuke would severely punish anyone or anything that harboured ill intentions toward her. After all, she had already witnessed that in the harpies' nest. But was she safe from the Death God himself? Somehow, not being entirely sure of the answer frightened her more than the thought of being attacked by one of the creatures that resided in his kingdom. At least a monster acted out of sheer malice or spite.

Her pulse accelerated as she recalled the feel of the death deity's lips brushing over her cheek. A touch that had been as fragile as gauze against her skin. Sasuke… Sasuke was another, more confounding story. The honest truth was she _didn't_ feel secure with him. She had felt that way from the moment she had first laid eyes on him on the carousel, when _something_ about him had whispered danger in her mind – but instead of getting used to his presence, she found that the tension that racked her body whenever he stood close to her was only increasing as time went by.

Suigetsu had been right – something would eventually have to give. But could she really do what he had advised? Could she really lower her guard around him more?

She knew that she very well _could_. After all, Sakura had always been a people person, and even quiet individuals usually got talking around her. But Sasuke had to be approached and handled with severe caution - and great wit. If she wanted to do this properly, she would have to do it with no further hesitation.

Maybe, just maybe, if she cast the first few stones, time would do the rest, and she would eventually be able to build something. But that was dependent on just how much a guarded Sasuke gave back to her.

Still, she told herself - there were other ways to test the waters before she took the imminent plunge. The Death God's subjects had known him for far longer than she had.

"And Sasuke," she clarified her point softly, stroking the purple flower's velvet-like petals. "I'm safe with him."

"Yes, Mistress," Ume nodded eagerly, sounding as though she could scarcely believe that Sakura was evening questioning it. "If it is not too bold of me to say, the Master cares for you a great deal."

Sakura released an involuntary laugh. If that was true, Sasuke had a very, _very_ funny way of showing it. "You really think so?"

"Yes!" Ume nodded even more zealously, her face completely serious. "You are special to him, Mistress – he favours you." Sakura swallowed when her heart fluttered unexpectedly at the word 'special' - spoken with such conviction and certainty. She fell silent again as her attendant finished cheerfully, "He had everything prepared, just for you; please believe me!"

 _Special?_ The word made Sakura uncomfortable, and her first instinct was to dismiss it. But then she thought of her room, fit for royalty. She thought of the lovely, luxurious clothes that fit her perfectly, as though they had been tailor made with her measurements. She thought of all her favourite foods which had been provided, of the flower arranging area that had been set up especially for her. It suddenly struck her that she could not have been kidnapped on a mere whim, as Sasuke had first informed her. Making such preparations for her arrival and stay in the Underworld had clearly required planning and time. The Death God had obviously put a lot of careful consideration into it.

She then realised that Ume was looking at her, waiting for her response. Sakura looked up and met her attendant's concerned gaze, and, after a few seconds, offered a small smile. "I believe you," she said softly.

Ume visibly relaxed, and beamed back.

* * *

Subdued blue eyes stared sullenly down at the sleek black and orange cell. Kakashi had just hung up after informing him that five of them would be venturing down to the Underworld following the finalisation of a diplomatic strategy; Kakashi himself, Tsunade, Kurenai, Jiraiya and Shikamaru were to undertake the perilous task of attempting to convince Sasuke to cooperate and assist them in their search for Sakura. Naruto had been completely side-lined. They considered him too unstable, too emotional to face Sasuke again.

His fingers curled into bitter fists. They had ignored his protests and arguments, that the ruler of the dead would view their coming as a confrontation of sorts; that he would likely react aggressively. They didn't know the Death God like Naruto did. They did not understand how his mind worked.

"Damn it," Naruto hissed, frustration simmering to boiling point within his chest. The others didn't need to articulate what shone evidently in their eyes every time they looked at him, whenever Sasuke was mentioned. They thought his loyalty was blind, misplaced, based on the long shattered remnants of a broken, tattered and twisted friendship. But the person who resided in Naruto's most distant and treasured memories had been no illusion. He had been real. And despite everything that had passed, all the blood that had been spilt and the lives that had been ruined – Naruto earnestly believed that that person still existed somewhere, deep beneath an iron-fist maintained masked exterior of hostility and hatred.

Naruto understood the foundation of that hatred. For he felt it too, towards another.

The blond closed his eyes briefly. Perhaps he really _was_ a fool for holding onto an antique memory. But he could not let them walk into the Underworld so brazenly. They didn't know how to approach Sasuke. They would offend and provoke him. And that would cause even more of a rift, even further damage.

 _No._ Naruto's jaw clenched. He could _not_ allow it. He couldn't let them hurt him anymore. He could not be expected to merely stand back and watch passively as events unfolded beyond his control. He had to make a stand; he had to act. To protect everybody's best interests. To honour the bonds of the past.

His eyes opened again, and his heart pounded as he came to a resolute decision.

* * *

Sakura placed the freshly prepared, cheerful flower arrangement on the vanity table, and stood back to admire its zesty yellow, orange and white hues. She had made three bouquets; one for herself, one for Ume and another for Chizu, who had both been delighted with her gift. Sakura smiled in recollection of their happiness and profuse exclamations of thanks. They had shown her nothing but kindness since her arrival; giving them what little she could in return as a sign of her gratitude was the least Sakura figured she could do.

Sighing, she stifled a yawn. It had been a while since she had last slept, and the prospect of doing so was a tempting one at that moment. Chizu had informed her that Sasuke wasn't in the palace, which had come as a great relief to Sakura. She hadn't exactly yet thought about how she planned to speak to him at their next encounter. What could she say following the awkwardness of their last one? Just anticipating the subsequent meeting made her cheeks feel warm and sent her heart into a gentle canter.

 _I'll be completely normal,_ Sakura told herself, as she changed out of her dress and slipped into a red night gown. _I won't let him see that it affected me. I'll be totally fine._

But instead of being reassuring, the voice inside Sakura's head sounded more like it was trying to convince her.

After hanging up her dress, she moved to the bed and pushed aside the semi-transparent drapes, before throwing herself onto the soft mattress. She stared at the underside of the canopy, which was quickly becoming the usual silent companion whenever she fell into deeper musings, until sleep eventually crept up on her, and her eyes succumbed to slumber.

* * *

" _Persephone!"_

_The divine name that mortals recognised and worshipped her by echoed through the forest again, called in searching, fretful tones._

_Kore's panic-glazed, gold flecked green eyes found Apollo's. They both knew that voice._

" _Hestia!" she gasped. Her mother's sister and trusted councillor had been sent to retrieve her! She grabbed a fistful of the golden sash tied across the Sun God's chest, and hissed furiously, "I told you I did not want to take part in any boyish races! Now see what has happened! When my mother finds out, she will never let me out of her sight again!"_

" _W-wait, wait!" Apollo threw up pacifying hands. "She does not have to find out! We still have an advantage!"_

" _What do you propose?" Kore demanded, causing Apollo to flinch as she jabbed an angry finger into his stomach. "If she finds either of us here, it will look suspicious! I am supposed to be with your father, in his palace!"_

" _Your mother isn't going to find you, Kore!"_

" _You had better hope she doesn't!"_

_Hades watched their animated interaction, silently bemused by their sudden, baffling anxiety. Hestia was not known to him to be a confrontational goddess – but then, he knew her little. On the other hand, the 'mother' they were referring to was apparently a figure to be dreaded and feared. Quickly growing bored, he decided he did not care for their plight, and took a step back, meaning to take his wordless leave – when Apollo shot him a warning look._

" _Not so fast, Hades! You're the reason Kore's in this mess – you'll help me get her out of it!"_

_Hades tossed back a chilly glare. "Such petty affairs do not concern me."_

_Kore had to stop her jaw from dropping. He was the one who had strung her into the cursed race to begin with! And now he was just going to walk away? She opened her mouth to indignantly tell Apollo that she had no desire to accept aid from such an arrogant, uncivil deity – regardless of how handsome he was - but her friend spoke up before she could do so._

" _Like Tartarus they don't! Where is your sense of chivalry, you bastard?"_

_Hades was about to disdainfully retort that there was nobody worth impressing here, when Hestia's voice called again, much closer, "Persephone!"_

_Apollo grabbed Kore's hand and bolted, throwing a glance back over his shoulder at Hades, as he exclaimed, "If you don't want to explain yourself to her mother, you had better follow us!" Mischievously, he added, "Let's lead old Hestia on a merry chase, Kore!"_

" _You are just- impossible!" Kore sputtered in disbelief. Only Apollo could treat such a serious and stressful situation with such shameless blasé and light-heartedness._

" _And the best – believe it!" He grinned back at Kore, prompting her to roll her eyes despite herself._

_Hades scowled at his words and glared after their retreating forms. That pompous, pea-brained light deity was always dragging him into senseless mischief – and to make it worse, he seemed to have found something of an accomplice in the strange goddess who was fleeing with him. Kore. Who was the young goddess's mother? He supposed he stood a better chance of discovering the answer if he tailed them._

_He directed a reluctant glance behind him, in the direction of his chariot and waiting horses. He knew they would easier lose the pursuing Hestia if they moved by foot, which allowed for better camouflage between the trees. His head turned to stare after Apollo's form again, growing rapidly more distant. And his pride finally kicked in, as he told himself there was no way he could let the fool upstage him in front of another, and a girl, no less. He would see this Kore out – and cause Apollo to fall flat on his face in the process._

_Then it would be clear who the real best was._

_Smirking, and sending a silent command for his stallions to return underground alone, Hades turned and gave chase. It did not take him long to catch up to them – Apollo knew that his friend had the advantage on the surface._

" _Decided to join us, eh?" Apollo's eyes shone with glee as Hades drew up beside them. "Scared of getting into trouble with my father?"_

" _Hn," Hades scoffed. "Moron. Do not flatter yourself."_

" _Take that back, bastard!"_

" _Make me."_

_Kore huffed. Even in the middle of shaking off a pursuer, they made time to quarrel._

_She yanked her hand out of Apollo's, and gestured for them to follow her. "Hestia will hear your bickering at this rate!" she admonished both gods. "This way; I will make the grass hide our tracks!"_

_Hades shot her a curious, dubious look, before glancing back behind them to find that their foot treads were indeed being covered by freshly sprouting flowers and grass. His eyes widened, as reluctant fascination slowly overtook him. He came from a world where death reigned supreme. This goddess, in stark contrast, commanded life._

_A forceful tug that veered him right snapped his attention in front of him again – and his vision locked on vivid golden-green. He had never seen such large, expressive eyes, and for a moment, their gazes held._

" _Be careful!" Kore cautioned him, nodding toward the knobbly upturned tree roots he had failed to notice in his uncharacteristic distraction._

" _Ahahahaha!" Apollo cackled, and Kore quickly looked away, severing eye contact. "Hades is always so clumsy, can't tell his left foot from his righ-argh!" he tripped over an unseen raise in the ground, causing a smug, sneering smirk to grace Hades's lips._

" _You were saying, idiot?"_

" _Stop trying to be so damned cool, Hades!"_

_Kore could not help the laugher that spilled from her. For some reason, her apprehension had been replaced with a thrilling feeling of adrenaline. She was still afraid of being discovered, of course – but somehow it seemed that the likelihood of her being caught had dwindled considerably when Hades had decided to join them._

" _Persephone!" Hestia's voice sounded further away – but nowhere near far enough._

" _Damn it! She's quite a persistent old bag, isn't she?"_

" _A quality my mother favours," Kore agreed. They raced through the undergrowth, leaping over more roots, gracefully avoiding the snagging ends of low branches that reached out for them like long wooden fingers. Hades watched as Kore took the lead ahead of them, her movements supple and swift. Stubborn, knotted shrubs parted for her, and when they came to a shallow brook, she skipped over the stones as though she had passed through the forest many times before. The nature surrounding them seemed to be thrumming with a renewed life force – and every so often, Hades caught the whispering of the goddess's name, spoken by the trees and flowers, and shyly hidden forest nymphs._

_Everywhere the goddess stepped, flowers bloomed, bursting joyously into existence. Hades had never seen such a remarkable gift._

_Apollo, who had caught his friend's eyes on young Kore's feet, grinned slyly, "She's really something, isn't she? You know her mother would probably gauge your eyes out for just looking at her – and slice my tongue off for talking you into a race."_

_Hades scowled. "Who is this mother?"_

" _Demeter. But you never heard it from me. You don't want to mess with her, trust me."_

" _Hn," Hades grunted scornfully, undaunted. But all he could think internally was – Demeter had a grown daughter? Why had he never known until that moment?_

" _The edge of the forest is west from here!" Apollo called, but Kore was already moving in that direction, as if the trees themselves were guiding her to safety. They slid down a gentle, earthy slope, their hearts pounding with exertion. Kore giggled and laughed as Apollo threw taunt after taunt at Hades, who sometimes batted back a slicing remark of his own – and sometimes chose to ignore the Sun God entirely._

" _This way," the dark god informed them as they reached the end of the descent, causing Kore to frown softly in confusion._

" _But that is not-" she began._

_Anticipating her words, Hades replied, "A shortcut."_

" _Bastard! So that's how you've beaten me in the past – you cheated your way through the shorter routes!" Apollo exclaimed, as they pressed toward the forest's exit._

" _I beat you because I am better," Hades stated flatly._

" _You wish!"_

" _Please be quiet!" Kore implored them. "We have not escaped yet!"_

" _Don't get your pretty flowers in a twist, Kore. There is no way Hestia is going to find us nooooooow!"_

" _Apollo!" Kore gasped, as he misplaced his foot and tumbled down a steeper slope they had arrived at, which was littered with trees._

_A steely hand grabbed her left wrist, keeping her from following after the light deity._

" _Fool." Hades muttered disgustedly beneath his breath. "He will catch up."_

_Kore's stomach fluttered as Hades guided her down the slant, and over another brook. Eventually, the thick trees began to disperse, until they broke out into a small, raised, grassy strip of land, overlooking a sprawling meadow. Hades finally released her arm, and Kore sat on a rocky boulder, catching her breath._

_Silence fell between them, and Kore was suddenly aware of the fact that she was alone with a god who was essentially a stranger to her. No, she told herself fiercely. A friend of Apollo's was surely a friend to her, also. However, the smouldering way Hades was staring at her was unnerving, and anything but friendly._

" _I-" she began uncertainly, dismayed to feel heat creeping into her cheeks as she recalled that this was the very same deity who had crossed her thoughts often following Aphrodite's introduction of his existence. "I am-"_

_Apollo abruptly burst out of the forest, and released a triumphant crow. "Yes! We lost her! I'm unbeatable!"_

_Hades gave him an appalled look. He begged to differ._

_The Sun God quickly rounded on him. "Hades, you bastard! You left me behind! What kind of friend does that?"_

_Hades folded his arms, and dead-panned back, "No friend of yours."_

" _Ouch." Apollo winced, before throwing an arm around Kore's shoulders as he sat down beside her to catch his breath in turn. "Kore. Don't believe a word that comes out of this bastard's mouth. He acts all tough and shows off, but really I'm his favourite friend. In fact, you could say I'm his only friend. Who would put up with such mistreatment?"_

_Kore began to giggle, but quickly coughed it down when Hades glared hatefully at Apollo. She had almost forgotten how much more beautiful he became when he scowled. Surely the heavens had gotten it wrong? Weren't smiles supposed to be full of allure instead?_

" _Hades, stop scaring the poor girl. It's her birthday today, you know." Apollo's expression softened as he gazed at a blushing Kore. "Happy birthday," he said, resting the side of his head against hers. Kore's eyes lowered, but she leaned comfortably into him as she whispered a thank you._

_Hades watched them for a moment and found himself wondering once again what kind of relationship they shared._

_Then Apollo looked up, and winked. "We make a good team – when Hades keeps up. We'll have to cause mischief again together, sometime. What do you say, Kore?"_

_Kore suppressed a shudder. She had thoroughly enjoyed the race, as well as the chase – it wasn't often she was allowed to have harmless fun with other young gods. In fact, she was never allowed the privilege. "My mother would kill me."_

" _Hah!" Apollo dismissed. "No she wouldn't. You'd make sure of that, right Hades?"_

_Kore glanced between them in confusion. She was even more perplexed when Hades averted his gaze._

" _I need to get home," she said, rising to her feet. "Apollo?"_

" _My chariot awaits, fair maiden!" The Sun God nodded, gesturing toward the golden carriage that had appeared in the meadow below them. "We'll settle the score next time, Hades," he added with a grin, before turning to make his way to his horses._

_Kore began to follow, but hesitated, and turned back to Hades, whose dark eyes were once again on her._

" _I…" she began nervously. "I am pleased to have met you, Hades."_

_He remained silent, like a striking, aloof statue that had no intention of responding to anything he deemed to be beneath him. Swallowing back her disappointment, Kore turned away, and took four steps after Apollo, when Hade's silky, deep voice uttered so quietly, that she almost thought she might have imagined it, "Many returns, goddess."_

_Her heart jumped, and she whirled back around, surprised by his unexpected birthday greeting – but her eyes found nothing except air in the place where Hades had been standing, just seconds earlier._

* * *

Sakura slowly came around, with the feeling of butterflies flittering in the depths of her stomach. Another dream. She raised a hand to her forehead, as her brain grappled frantically at the rapidly diminishing threads from her vision. She had been in a lush green forest, and had been running away from someone. It had once again seemed so real, that she could almost still smell the freshness of nature and wildflowers lingering in the waking world. But she had not been alone. She had been with two others…

"Mistress!" an exuberant voice suddenly exclaimed, violently derailing her thoughts before she could attempt to piece them together. Suppressing the brief surge of frustration, Sakura turned her head and sat up to find Ume peering excitedly at her from behind the drapes.

"Ume?" Sakura pushed the veils questioningly apart.

"Finally, you are awake! I was asked to deliver this gift to you!" The little maid relayed eagerly. In her hands she held a medium sized, royal purple, velvety box, wrapped exquisitely with varying shades of golden ribbon. Depositing it into Sakura's possession, Ume added shyly, "It is from the Master."

With a girlish little giggle, she turned, picked up her straw laundry basket, and skipped happily out of the room.

"Wait! Ume-" Sakura began to call after her, but the doors had already closed behind her humming attendant. Sighing heavily, Sakura looked down at the box. She gave it a little shake, her curiosity heightening when she couldn't immediately make a guess at what was contained inside.

Setting it snugly on her lap, she caressed the silken ribbon with her fingertips, shaking her head incredulously. Ume had told her that Sasuke had sent her a gift, but she still found it difficult to believe that he had done so. Gently, she untied the ribbon, which came apart easily, and, after just a second's hesitation, she lifted the lid-

-and instantly felt the air whoosh out of her lungs.

Glimmering up at her was the most stunning piece of jewellery she had ever seen. Rich, deep green glinted hypnotically in the candle and firelight surrounding her – and she was immediately struck with a jolt of recognition. The clarity of the emerald was unmistakeable. She had seen it before, when her eyes had lingered upon the impressive stone in the jewelled cavern. And evidently, Sasuke had noticed the attention she had paid to it, too – and chosen to set it into a solid gold bracelet, wrought with pretty golden leaves, studded with smaller cuts of emerald. The gold's rich colour suggested it was of the highest carat.

Sakura was hopelessly entranced. The central emerald was huge, and as she gently undid the black lace strings that held the bracelet in place on a velvety base, she felt its weight, heavy in her palm. She exhaled, shaking her head once again, rendered utterly speechless.

She wasn't usually so taken by jewellery. But something about the craftsmanship, the delicate way in which the impeccably moulded leaves swirled together tugged at something deep within her. Unexpectedly, her eyes watered.

Had… had Sasuke _really_ created this for her? Were Death's hands really capable of fashioning such beauty? Sakura told herself that she ought not to be surprised. After all, her sword was a masterpiece in itself, too.

But what was the occasion? Her heart pounded. Why had Sasuke chosen to give this to her now? Was it an apology for his earlier move on her? Had he seen how genuinely upset she had been, and sought to make amends? Or was it something else? Shaking her head for a third time, she quickly replaced the bracelet in its box, and, without sparing her actions another thought, moved on instinct. Hurriedly, she stripped out of her nightgown and selected a flowing, silver and grey lace dress from her immense wardrobe. Hastily smoothing down her bed-tousled hair with a paddle brush, Sakura stepped into a pair of silver sandals and exited her room, Sasuke's gift clutched firmly in her grasp.

She passed Chizu in the corridors leading toward the sprawling staircase, who informed her that the death deity was in the drawing room, the same one in which Sakura had heard him playing piano. She made her way to it, but found herself hesitating before the door. What would she say to him? Demand to know why he was giving her gifts? Tell him that she could not accept such an expensive trinket? Her mouth felt dry, but she forced herself to open the door before she could lose her nerve.

As Chizu had stated, the Death God stood by the angel flanked, gold marble fireplace, with a goblet of ambrosia in his hand. Even the way he drank oozed elegance and grace. As the door closed behind Sakura, and his searing eyes lifted to rest on her, she suddenly thought that listening to her instincts, which had told her to go to him, had not been such a fantastic idea. Her heart was hurtling at ground-breaking speed, surely loud enough for his immortal ears to discern.

She could tell that he had not expected her coming, for Sasuke was slow to set his goblet down, and even slower to turn to her. His expression was as unfathomable as always, yet his actions seemed guarded, as if he was wary that she might hurtle the box straight at him in rejection of his gift. But while a tiny part of Sakura was somewhat tempted to do just that, and snap that this by no means made up for the lips to cheek caress or kiss or whatever the _hell_ it had been in the training session before, the more sensible and rational part of her won out. She kept a firm hold of the box, and, just as slowly, inched forward.

"I…" she began, fumbling over what exactly it was she really wanted to say. Stupidly, she looked down at the velvety container, and swallowed, "What is this, Sasuke?"

A suffocating pause. And then, matter-of-factly, "A bracelet."

Sakura bristled, indignant in the face of what she took to be blatant patronisation. "I _know_ that, I meant-" she broke off, coming to an abrupt stop halfway in her walk toward him. Biting her lower lip, she stared at the box, and thought momentarily about what Suigetsu had told her. That something had to give, if she wanted to banish Sasuke's suspicions of her. Pressing for explanations, she knew, would get her nowhere. And so she did the exact opposite of what the waiting death deity expected.

She lowered her guard.

"You made this," she said softly, refusing to meet the gaze she could feel piercing into her. "It's… really beautiful." Speaking the next words in earnest felt alien to her tongue. "Thank you." Swallowing back the dryness in her throat, she added, "But I haven't done anything to deserve such a gift. I don't think I can accept this."

The steady, muted fall of footsteps on carpet heralded his approach. Sakura's pulse galloped even more wildly as Sasuke's feet came to a stop within her lowered field of vision. She cast a tentative glance up at him, to find him staring at her. Hard. As if he was searching for even the remotest hint of insincerity on her face.

But Sakura wasn't being insincere. The bracelet _was_ wonderful. And she _was_ oddly flattered that he had taken the time to make it. She could not have imagined how much effort and care he had invested in making it.

Sasuke seemed to make up his mind about her intentions, as he dead-panned, "It's yours."

She disconnected eye contact, and looked down at the box again. Opening the lid, she silently marvelled at the gorgeous bracelet once more.

"You really have a skill, here," she complimented him honestly. Then, heeding the need to alleviate the stifling tension she could feel crackling in the space between them, she added light-heartedly, "Have you ever thought about giving up your day job and forging metals instead? You'd be really great at it."

Something passed fleetingly across his charcoal eyes. Mortified, Sakura thought that he had not appreciated her attempt to joke, and she had probably just succeeded in making him more mistrustful of her intentions. She was even more horrified to feel warmth stinging at her eyes. Why in the world did she have the sudden urge to cry, and in front of Sasuke, no less?

Because the gift _had_ touched her. Against her better judgement, she had been moved by it – and that disturbed her.

 _Get a grip!_ She furiously censured herself, dismayed when sudden heat bloomed into her cheeks. It didn't help that the Underworld's ruler was just standing there, gazing at her in utter silence. Sakura thought that a pin could drop and she would hear it. It was _that_ quiet, the stillness interrupted only by the crackling of flames in the fireplace behind him.

Then another idea suggested itself to her; a way to possibly salvage the awkward way their interaction was going, a move to help break the ice. She was quite certain that she was asking for trouble, as it would essentially invite Sasuke to initiate physical contact – but it was all she could think of at that second.

"I don't suppose you could… maybe help me try it on?" Sakura tried next, telling herself she would give up if he did not respond to her a second time. The clasp she had glimpsed earlier had seemed to be an elaborate one that required twisting three delicate screws in place. She wanted to see how they were correctly fastened before trying to do it herself. And she figured there was nobody better to show her than the god who had created the masterpiece itself.

Silence again. She dared to chance another look at him, made sure it conveyed her own uncertainty. Sasuke was gazing not at her, but at the open box. He had noted the fine tremors that afflicted her fingers and was contemplating the root of her discomfort.

Embarrassed at his prolonged wordlessness, Sakura made to step away. "It's okay, I can just-" she stopped as cool fingers closed around her right hand, preventing her from drawing back. Her heart thumped when Sasuke took the bracelet out of its box and secured it around her right wrist, taking his time to do it. Sakura gazed in silent awe at how precise and gentle his fingers were capable of being.

After he had fastened the final screw, his left hand lingered in place, supporting her palm between them. Sakura stared at the bracelet, breathless all over again. It was a perfect fit. She opened her mouth to tell him again that it was truly exceptional, and that he should not have troubled himself – but the words loaded on the tip of her tongue vanished as she met his magnetic gaze.

Instead she offered him a small, tentative smile.

Something flickered in those dark irises, and Sakura would have missed it completely had she blinked at that moment. But she did not, and for just an astonishing fraction of a second, she thought the death god seemed almost disconcerted by her smile – and somewhat bewildered that it was being directed at him. It took everything in her will power to keep from gawping at the realisation that it was actually emotionally possible for Sasuke to experience such sentiments. And staggering proof that Suigetsu's words held absolute merit – she really _could_ hold some element of control – as long as she had remained level-headed and had faith in her own actions.

That knowledge – that she potentially had something at her disposal which, if implemented correctly, could cause a shift in their grossly unbalanced power scale – even if only marginally - changed everything. Suddenly it was like someone had wiped the cloudy lenses that had been hindering her eyesight. Or perhaps it was that she had foolishly chosen, out of fear and stubbornness, _not_ to look this closely before.

A voice whispered to her with growing conviction that Sasuke could not possibly be as heartless and unyielding as he portrayed. Even if he was the deity who reigned over the dead, in a land where the sun's warmth could not infiltrate - surely there _had_ to be more to him, and the inexplicable desire to give in to curiosity and unearth the enigma of his character began to kindle into existence within Sakura. It was by no means her priority – but the intrigue was definitely there – and so was the undeniable danger. How much did she even dare hope to learn, if she really made the effort? How much was he capable of expressing?

Had she just witnessed a crack in his iron exterior – or was she foolishly getting ahead of herself? What if it was just a mere one-off slip – one he would never repeat again?

Then his sliver of uncertainty had gone almost as soon as it had materialised, and Sakura's smile was finally acknowledged, when the slight crease in Sasuke's brow smoothed over. It was a barely discernible change - but Sakura, whose eyes had been trained intently on his face – noticed it all the same.

 _Did my smile do that…?_ She dizzily wondered.

Her rushing thoughts were interrupted by the feel of Sasuke's fingers closing lightly around her own.

"Your hand trembles," the death deity quietly noted.

Sakura breathed out and followed his lowered gaze to look upon their joined hands. In her distraction following his reaction, she had almost forgotten all about the nervous little tremors that were shooting down her spine and taking port in her arms. The agitation only grew following Sasuke's observation.

She tried to suppress the shaking, but swiftly realised that the source of the problem was the physical contact between them.

"I-" she began, immediately attempting to draw her arm back, but Sasuke's eyes flicked up to her face again, and the fingers around hers tightened, indicating that he did not wish for her to pull away. Instead of increasing her distance, Sakura found herself being reeled gently closer. It did not help with her nerves. Her body was too painfully aware of his – and she hated the confusing, terrifying feeling of being metal drawn to an overpowering magnet.

In a desperate attempt to divert attention from how close Sasuke was standing to her, Sakura blurted out the first thing that entered her mind.

"I don't know why."

 _Of all the stupid, brainless things to say, Sakura Haruno_! She mentally berated herself. She had practically handed him an opening! But it was too late. The words could not be unsaid.

There was another pause, in which his hand still clasped hers. And then her heart hurtled at a thousand miles in the next instant, as Sasuke murmured, "I do."

 _Oh, God!_ She experienced a blinding flash of panic, before something else kicked in. _Don't look at him_ , the voice of what Sakura took to be as self-preservation furiously screamed at her, rebounding over and over in her skull like a booming mantra. It somehow still possessed the sense to register that raising her gaze to his face would be a terrible mistake. One that would surely cost and doom her.

_Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him..._

But the allure of his exotic dark eyes was too great. They tempted hers to creep up, whispering promises that it would be worth the investment. Sakura stood, frozen stiffly in place. How was she going to get out of this situation? How was she meant to play it to her advantage like Suigetsu had advised her? It was too soon. She hadn't prepared herself. She could never be prepared. Her mind rivalled her heart in speed, as Sasuke's fingertips trailed tantalisingly up the bare skin of her left arm, leaving tingles that were almost painful in their wake. They lingered at the delicate petal shaped leaf sleeve at her shoulder, and that was when a dumbfounded Sakura finally acknowledged the Death God's intent.

He meant to kiss her. She didn't have to look into his eyes to sense what it was he desired to do. She could practically feel his gaze boring into her lips. His body language betrayed him – whether he intended it to or not.

It was as though the floor had been swept out from underneath her. An immortal king, an all-powerful deity – actually wanted to _kiss_ her _._

All she could think about was how wrong it was, how utterly, sinfully forbidden… and how horrifying it was that she didn't feel as sickened by the prospect as she ought to have been and had anticipated she would.

Prioritising as Sasuke's left arm made to slip around her, Sakura steeled her jangling nerves. If he thought he could give her a pretty gift and secure a kiss in return, then she couldn't be expected to stay quiet about it. A large part of her was incensed, roaring at the death deity's unashamed arrogance. Did he _really_ believe she was that naïve? That she would fall so easily into his hands? That she couldn't recognise a trap when she saw one?

Suigetsu had told her to play along. Sakura knew that playing along too compliantly would only make Sasuke more suspicious of her. Letting him get too close now after she had shoved him away from her earlier was inconsistent. And Sasuke was no fool.

But neither was she. Frantically, she acknowledged that there was only one way to stop his current advance – without physically pushing him away.

"Sasuke," her voice was barely above a whisper. She was taking a massive gamble, trusting in the hunch that her hastily prepared strategy would force the Underworld's ruler to go on the defensive. Heart hammering, she reminded herself that hesitation was no longer an option, and ventured, "Why are you doing this…?"

The arm which had been about to close around her waist paused, hovering in place.

 _Don't hesitate!_ Sakura willed herself again. She had no idea how Sasuke would react. And she had a feeling that if Suigetsu could somehow see her, he would likely be pounding his head against a wall. The Sea God had told her to utilise seduction. But she was choosing a different route entirely. A route she felt much more comfortable with.

Before he could respond, Sakura pressed, "The clothes, the flowers, this gift; I'm not just here on a whim of yours, am I? This was all planned – wasn't it?"

His left arm lowered away from her. The fingers clasping her right hand relinquished their hold.

It was precisely the reaction she had prayed for – but she wasn't out of hot water just yet.

Sasuke's expression had hardened. His body stood angled away from her – a stark contrast to its proximity before she had selected her words. His eyes glittered with open challenge. As if he had been waiting a long time for her to confront him, and now that she had, dared her to overstep the very clear boundary he had placed between them; the same boundary that warned against asking too many questions.

She had always wondered what would happen if she braved his temper and continued pushing for answers. Now, at last, was the time to find out. Sakura took the plunge, lifting her hands to hold her palms out toward him in a peace-making gesture – but wisely retained her distance. "I'm not confronting you, Sasuke. I'm just trying to understand _._ Why won't you let me?"

"I do not answer to _humans_ ," he clipped, withdrawing all over again. He spoke the final word like it was something filthy and wretched – which Sakura only found ironic and all the more baffling, given that he seemed to desire such closeness with her.

 _Be patient_ , she willed herself, even when the urge to snap back at him was nearly overwhelming. She did not want to displease him too much, not after she had witnessed his response to her smile. But the only way to reliably test the tempestuous waters that formed Sasuke was to wade into them.

"Gods created curiosity in humans," she answered, keeping her tone as unchallenging and neutral as she could. "You can't expect me not to ask questions."

His eyes formed stony slits. "Enough, Sakura."

It wasn't enough. It was nowhere near enough, and she thought that nobody could have been stupid enough in the past to defy Death, to stubbornly ignore his commands. He was giving her the opportunity to remain unscathed.

So for Sakura to go on had to make her the craziest girl alive.

"I thought I could wait, that I'd come to understand everything eventually, but I can't, not on my own, Sasuke. I've kept quiet all this time. And now you've given me this gift…" she shook her head. "Can you blame me for asking? If you answer me just this once, I won't say anymore."

She should have glimpsed it, then. The turbulent warning glinting in his eyes that told her she was pushing her luck too far. But adrenaline was pumping through her veins; the same adrenaline that dictated the fight or flight survival instinct, innate to all living things. Except it was practically useless in Sakura's situation; she could neither physically ward off Sasuke nor ever hope to outrun an immortal being. However, she pressed blindly onwards, too focused on just how much she could get out of him.

"Why? Why did you bring me here?" She hazarded quietly. Sasuke's scowl turned to the unfortunate carpet. If it had been a living thing, Sakura thought it would have shrivelled up and died right there. She detected the tightness in his jaw, but she recklessly went on, "I just keep thinking that you could have chosen anybody else- what would you want from someone like me? Why can't you just-!?"

The final word choked in her throat as Sasuke's eyes flashed back to her face, glaring with an intensity that finally struck home to Sakura just how angry she had succeeded in making him. He stepped toward her, and every muscle in her body tensed as she compelled herself to hold her ground.

Before she could blink, the death deity had bridged the gap between them. Sakura's arms weren't the only parts of her that were shaking, now. Her very core was quivering as his hands closed just beneath her shoulders, in a singeing hold that felt like molten iron. She released a shuddering breath, trying to maintain order to her thoughts, trying to keep at bay the rapidly escalating sense of panic. It was hard to believe he would not hurt her when staring straight into the formidable face of his fury. But if she really _was_ as special as Ume had told her, then Sasuke would not harm her. She had nothing to be scared about.

Her body didn't seem so convinced by her mind's weak attempts at reassurances, when the fingers around her arms tightened almost painfully, and Sasuke lowered his face to within inches of hers, hissing harshly, _"Everything."_

Sakura's eyes searched his, and for a confusing moment she did not understand what he meant. Then, in a stomach plunging moment, it finally clicked.

Her last question had been asking him what he wanted. The answer was everything.

 _Everything._ The word rebounded inside her skull, leaving Sakura unable to formulate any kind of articulate reply. _Everything._ What could she say to a god who was looking at her like Sasuke was, with eyes that were alight with something she could no longer ignore, could no longer pretend did not exist?

Hunger. Pure, ravenous, carnal – and utterly terrifying. It stole her breath away, leaving her mind a stunned, humming blank.

Her heart was out of control inside her, its rhythm frenzied. And Sakura became distinctly aware that she could feel a pounding against her right side too.

Sasuke's heart was also racing. She knew because she was pressed against him, held in place by the vice-like hands clamped around her arms. She realised what that had to mean. And then it was like she was being submerged under water. Sasuke's gaze met hers, his irises no longer dark, but bloody red, screaming out intent. She dizzily wondered when the change had occurred, for she couldn't recall seeing it.

He angled his head, and the next minute felt like an out of body sensation for Sakura. Like she was detached from herself, and her actions. She knew what was inevitably following, what Sasuke was about to do – but her limbs made no move to prevent it. She had always told herself she would never permit it happen. But the death deity was like an unstoppable force of nature, and it was about to happen, anyway. She was pinned in place by those arresting, deep crimson eyes. And all she could do was watch numbly, as they grew closer and closer-

Just before his lips touched hers, Sasuke abruptly jerked back at the final moment, his eyes wide as he stared down at her. Then his gaze trailed to her right, and Sakura dazedly registered the short-lived look of shock that flickered across his features. Without warning, his head turned marginally to his left, as if he had heard something else – or was listening intently to a sound she could not hear.

A low curse fell from his tongue, one spoken in a language she did not understand. Or maybe her ears were just unable to comprehend it, so assaulted were they by the blood rushing in them.

The hands gripping beneath her shoulders loosened, and Sasuke cast one final glance down at her. The heat in his eyes had fizzled out, replaced by icy fury. The rapidity of the change was frightening.

Sakura barely managed to suppress a sob of relief as he wordlessly stepped around her. When the door opened and slammed shut behind her seconds later, her legs, which had turned to jelly, could no longer support her weight, and collapsed beneath her. Sakura hugged herself as she slid to the carpet-laid floor, frantically trying to regulate her thundering, chaotic heartbeat.

* * *

His blood was simmering with rage. Merely half an inch had stood between him and claiming Sakura's first kiss. She had been open to him, had made no move or effort to break free. He had _had_ her, in the very position he had been waiting to get her in for an entire month. But Nagato's urgent, telepathic message could not be ignored. He hadn't been able to delay for even a minute longer.

Sasuke inhaled deeply, crushing back the lingering desire pulsating inside him. The attempt was met with a profound ache. He wanted her far too much. It was becoming impossible to deny himself any further. And the more the desperate need for closeness with her increased to nearly unbearable levels, the more frustrated and disturbed he became by the intensity of his feelings.

However, now was not the time to consider such things. It was a struggle, but he forced his mind to clear of thoughts of Sakura as he materialised by his kingdom's yawning entrance point.

Cerberus was already growling in response to the threat that had unexpectedly arrived in the Underworld. Unbidden, Sasuke felt his pulse quicken. In anger – and in anticipation. The chakra flickering faintly beyond the blanket of mist ahead of him could only belong to one person, and the death deity felt the power in his own veins stir, as he entertained the idea of sending a welcoming stream of electricity or fire the trespasser's way.

Instead he chose to wait, gauging the visitor's intentions as they approached. Time seemed to hang in the balance as the figure stepped out of the freezing fog at last.

Cobalt blue clashed with fiery crimson. Silence roared.

"Sasuke," said a voice quietly, a hated voice that the Death God had not heard since the days of his family's massacre. It held within it regret, and feelings that had long since been terminated on Sasuke's part.

An asphyxiating, deliberate pause ensued, in which the Underworld's king regarded his unwelcome guest with a chilly, aloof stare. When he finally deigned to respond, his tone, in stark contrast, was perfectly frosty. Devoid of any emotion – bar pure contempt and bitter loathing.

"Naruto."

* * *


	29. Chapter XXVIII

**Chapter XXVIII**

* * *

_And the pendulum doth begin its swing,_

_Ever nearer, to the zenith of things,_

_To the dreaded time of reckoning,_

_When the silent will speak,_

_And truth bears fruit,_

_From seamed tongues,_

_No longer mute._

* * *

_The stars twinkled in the midnight sky, like tiny jewels glimmering unattainably in a glorious canvas of darkness. Kore released a wistful sigh as she gazed up at the wonderful array of constellations, every single one unique and weaving its own tale, honouring heroes and those chosen by the gods to live eternally in the heavens. Gold-green eyes settled on one particular cluster of celestial matter shining exceptionally brightly, and Kore smiled absentmindedly to herself. It was without a doubt Zeus's latest masterpiece. A hunter of sorts, she could make out, holding a slender spear. Now to which blessed mortal was that sparkling arrangement intended to pay homage?_

_Her train of tranquil thought derailed as she recalled her birthday the previous day. After Apollo had returned her to Zeus's palace, she had been collected by her mother, who had led her to a surprise feast and a spectacular celebration prepared in her honour. The festivities had continued long into the night. While she'd had a thoroughly delightful time, Kore had found herself uncharacteristically distracted in the company of her loved ones. Aphrodite had noticed it immediately of course, and Kore feared, so had her eagle-eyed mother. But whereas Aphrodite had chosen to confront her about it, her mother had not. Not yet._

_Kore had defended that she was merely feeling a little overwhelmed by the realisation of finally coming of age by goddess standards, but Aphrodite had shot her continuous knowing looks throughout the evening, the kind of looks that had made Kore thankful that the heat in her cheeks had been cloaked by the dimness of nightfall and the concealing glow of firelight._

_But while she could perhaps mislead the others around her, if only for a little while, Kore knew she could never lie to herself. Her mind was completely and utterly fixated on the enigmatic young Hades. She did not know how many times she had replayed his parting words at the forest's edge in her head. And every time she did, her heart would flutter a little, as a bird flapping its wings in restlessness._

_She sighed, and the flowers in the moonlit field surrounding her sighed into the air with her. The grass beneath her reclining form was cool and comforting, but did not relieve the strange warmth throbbing inside her chest as she contemplated the potential reason behind feelings that were wholly unfamiliar and new to her._

_Was this what love felt like, then? A charming blush slowly bloomed into being across her cheeks as she shyly allowed herself to entertain thoughts of the much celebrated emotion. Was it even possible that she was so hopelessly smitten with Apollo's handsome friend already? Surely it was wrong for her to feel so intensely for him? For her breath to catch in her throat and her legs to feel like they were ready to buckle beneath her whenever she caught sight of him? To feel like her insides were on the verge of melting whenever he happened to flick a piercing, heavy-lashed glance her way? But such was the nature of gods and goddess, or so Aphrodite always told her. They loved passionately and quickly – and then moved eagerly on once the flames of their lust had been quenched._

_Perhaps that was the case for the Goddess of Love and her abundance of suitors. But Kore did not just want an inconsequential fling. She wanted a romance that would span eternally for the duration of her existence. Other gods and goddesses would not understand her desire, she knew. Why settle only for one love, they would argue, when deities could enjoy lifetimes with many different playmates, immortal, human or otherwise?_

_But that had never appealed to her. She wanted to give and dedicate herself completely to one god and one alone. Wasn't that what true love was? Being together with a sweetheart, forever, until all time was spent?_

_Kore knew that in order to attain happiness she needed to be absolutely certain about who she chose as a prospective suitor. And so she was puzzled by how her heart could have seemingly settled with such swiftness on Hades, when she knew next to nothing about him. It wasn't just his looks, she told herself fiercely. He just appeared so different to the other gods she had heard so many awful tales about, even though he shared some of their attributes; he was undeniably confident, certain of who he was and made absolutely no attempt at concealing his belief that he was superior to everything and everybody else. Every look screamed contempt, as if he had been raised to believe he was a mighty prince. But at the same time, unlike other young deities, he did not seem to hold an interest in anything around him. He made no attempt to converse, and anything she had heard him say was usually a challenge or insult directed at Apollo._

_Those qualities were unpleasant, but it had been his unexpected words to her, and the tone in which they had been uttered, which had snagged Kore's undivided interest. Hades radiated raw power and masculinity – and yet he was reserved and kept to himself. Despite this, he had offered her his good tidings. He was undoubtedly a contradiction. And Kore had always loved solving puzzles. The very prospect of unravelling the darkly brooding god's mysteries set her pulse racing._

_Maybe that was why she was so inexplicably drawn to him. He was the physical manifestation of everything her mother had ever deemed forbidden to her. He certainly_ _ looked _ _like the kind of god who was followed around by trouble. He was probably no good at all for her._

_She shook her head incredulously. Wasn't she getting ahead of herself? Permitting herself to think such things, when she knew for a fact that her mother would never consent to even meeting Hades! And foolishly assuming that Hades was even interested in her. A god as beautiful as he was could bed any goddess he wanted. Why would he settle for one as inexperienced and sheltered as she was?_

_Her spirits slumped briefly, and the heads of the flowers around her drooped in turn. But a voice in her head then whispered girlishly that Hades had taken her wrist. Had wished her a happy birthday, in his own aloof way. Was that not special? Maybe, just maybe, he_ _ was _ _interested. A tentative smile touched her lips as hope flourished to life within her again._

_She needed to find out more about him. Was he a noble god? Who were his family? And just what was his connection to the Underworld?_

_A flicker of uncertainty trembled through her. Perhaps Hades merely had to lead people down to that dreadful place. He didn't necessarily dwell there._

_But if he did, what would that mean for her? Even as she asked herself the question, she knew the answer. It meant that she would have to forget all about him. She would pass him off as an immature infatuation – even when she was convinced that she would never again meet a deity quite as intense and alluring as Hades was._

_She sighed wistfully once more, whispering her secret wish to the heavens, making sure it was lost amongst the flowers before it could travel up to the sky and fall upon any listening ears._

" _Hades…"_

* * *

The internal turmoil instigated by the word Sakura had sighed into the air was immediate and devastating. The force of Sasuke's heartbeat was enough to plunge his whole body into the violent clutches of chaos as he stared down at her slumbering face, his eyes locked raptly onto her rosy lips. As if awaiting the next whispered offering, or an explanation of the previous one. But Sakura remained soundly asleep. Behind her eyelids, her eyeballs were moving rapidly in their sockets, indicating that she was still dreaming. The Death God scarcely dared to breathe as he reached out to press his right hand upon her forehead. What had she seen? What was she seeing at that very moment? So many questions were hurtling through his mind at light-breaking speed, ricocheting around the most important and pressing demand of all - how could she possibly know that name?

The shock afflicting his body was numbing. What had possessed her to utter it? His thoughts were a jumbled, buzzing cacophony of bewilderment. The sound of a name that had belonged to a past long gone was unexpected, and the level of disturbance within him left Sasuke uncertain of how he was supposed to deal with such a startling revelation. The desire to shake her awake and interrogate her was overwhelming as he almost frantically sought a plausible explanation. What if the ambrosia was responsible? What if it was affecting her so adversely, that it was triggering visions that did not belong to her?

Sasuke swallowed as he came to terms with the only other possible and much more likely explanation. That the wine was, in fact, making Sakura access something that potentially existed within her – but was normally dormant. Something that only appeared when she consumed an intoxicating amount of ambrosia.

Realisations were suddenly clicking into place, pieces of a puzzle he had been trying to assemble ever since he had first laid eyes on her, and Sasuke found himself quite unprepared for the rapidity of their aftermath. Sakura had something inside her that caused her pain, which could be relieved by a very carefully controlled dose of ambrosia. He knew she was more sensitive to ambrosia's effects than humans ordinarily were. And now, after she had swallowed too much, she seemed to be receiving visions that belonged to his past.

What did that mean? What _else_ could it mean that she knew the name Hades? Suddenly, Naruto's words were flooding back to him again, and all the suspicions he had been harbouring about Sakura began pointing to one conclusion and one alone. Something he had previously considered an impossibility given her mortal blood chemistry and shell, and the fact she had grown and been raised a human. He had seen the pictures of her as a child in her bedroom on the surface. And yet she had spoken a name that was far beyond her time.

His palm pressed to her forehead, and he closed his eyes, seeking to access the contents of her mind - only to be answered by a blinding flash of white and a searing pain that caused him to snatch his arm back and clutch at his own temples.

 _What…_ he thought, wincing as the wave of pain flared before rapidly diminishing. _What is this…?_

Even as he asked himself the question, he knew the truth. It only further highlighted the reality that there was much more to Sakura than he had initially allowed himself to believe. The fact that he couldn't see what she was dreaming suggested that something was blocking the connection between their minds.

 _A seal_ , he exhaled, as he stared, wide-eyed and troubled, down at her. A seal had to have been placed on her, the same seal that was responsible for keeping whatever it was inside her, safely contained.

Which meant… which meant Sakura potentially possessed memories that had also been locked away, memories that not even _he_ could tap into. Memories that had been sealed with the intention of keeping even a god's prying mind out.

But what manner of seal could do that? Who had placed it upon her? And _why?_ Why could the eyes of his bloodline not detect evidence of any kind of seal on Sakura?

Sasuke's heart thundered as understanding washed over him like a tsunami wave, too forceful to deny any longer. The seal was invisible to keep whatever it was she had hidden from Madara. Wasn't that what Naruto had essentially spelt out to him? That Sakura had something that needed to be kept secret? Only a very complex and specialised lock could succeed in deterring _that_ god's attention.

As he continued to gaze at her, the death deity realised he had gotten much more than he had bargained for when he'd chosen to take Sakura for his own.

A soft moan escaped her lips, and she seemed to be in discomfort. Sasuke could stand it no longer. He sat on the bed, reached down, and shook her insistently until disorientated and unfocused green eyes cracked through the gap between her eyelids.

"Sakura," he called sharply. "Wake up."

"Unnh…" she responded incoherently, her eyes fluttering shut again. Sasuke noted the deep flush to her cheeks and pressed a palm to her forehead again. She was burning. A typical sign of ambrosia intoxication. He could see her pulse racing erratically in her neck and lowered his hand to the centre of her chest to calm its frenzied rhythm. She was breathing rapidly, as if she couldn't draw enough air into her lungs. Angry at the state she had gotten herself into, the death deity mercilessly gripped both her arms and yanked her up into a sitting position, mentally willing her eyes to open.

They did, and Sakura stared at his face unseeingly for a moment. Then her head sagged to her left and he had to grasp onto her shoulders to stop her from falling back onto the bed again.

"Sakura." He turned her face toward him. "Look at me."

"Mnooo," she whimpered, her eyes trailing upwards. "Goway. Go away. Oh…"

Sasuke gripped her head with both hands and ordered more forcefully, " _Look_ at me. Now."

Her eyes finally turned to him, and she blinked, as if her consciousness was finally coming out from behind a heavy, hazy cover of cloud.

"Wha…?" She blinked again, looking distressed and muddled. "Sa…Sasuke?"

He felt the tension in his shoulders relax slightly as he acknowledged that she wasn't so far gone that she could no longer recognise him. He waited, internally agitated, for her to slowly regain her bearings, monitoring her closely. Her previously unfocused eyes were now suddenly awake and bright, indicating that the ambrosia was still running rampant in her bloodstream. As his hands lowered from her head, he braced himself, prepared for any abrupt alterations in her mood. Those who became drunk on the wine of the gods fluctuated between periods of extreme lethargy and faintness, and unnatural alertness and hyper-activity. There was no predicting what Sakura would do under the influence.

Sakura gradually became aware of the fact that she felt rather strange. Like her entire body was buzzing with an odd sort of energy that made her feel compelled to get up and _move_. She turned her eyes to Sasuke, to find him watching her cautiously. Then she realised that he was sitting on her bed. Her heart began to pound again as little recollections trickled through her brain, snippets of what had happened to her not yet quite forming together to provide a complete picture.

The training dome. Her sword. A goblet in her hand. Sasuke's face, scowling at her. Sasuke's face even closer, warmth around her body. And then…

She couldn't really remember much else. The edginess in her body bubbled inside her chest, and she shifted in her sitting position, resting her weight back on her hands in a manner that was familiar and open. A small part of her whispered that this wasn't right. She never sat so casually in Sasuke's presence. But the voice was drowned out by a louder one that told her she had nothing to worry about. How could she worry when she felt so exhilarated, so in control?

No sooner had she thought that, when an unexpected bout of nausea suddenly overcame her. She drew a deep breath, trying to ward it back.

"What did you see?"

She blinked, turning her attention back to the death deity.

"What?"

"You were dreaming," Sasuke clarified. "What did you see?"

Sakura stared blankly back at him. "I was…?" She shook her head. She couldn't remember dreaming.

"You spoke a name," Sasuke pressed, leaning forward. Then, watching her closely for any trace of a reaction, he stated emphatically, " _Hades._ "

When Sakura merely gazed back at him as if he was talking in another language – which, given the root of the name, Sasuke supposed he was – the Death God felt his frustration flare. Sakura showed no recollection whatsoever of having sighed the name. But he had definitely heard it. He _knew_ that he had. After all, a god's ears heard everything perfectly.

Sakura felt something stir in her mind, a delayed reaction to his words. _Hades._ Where had she heard that before? But the fleeting moment of recognition quickly vanished and all that was left was a dull void in its place.

"Who…?" She shook her head again perplexedly. "I don't know what you're talking abou-"

"Sakura," he clipped, reaching out to clasp her right arm, drawing her body forward toward him again. "You test my patience."

She winced, struggling to disengage his hold on her. But it was useless. His grip was as firm and merciless as iron. Alarmed, and still battling to fight off the sea of nausea that was now threatening to drown her, she exclaimed again, "Sasuke, I really don't _know_ what you're talking about-"

To her dismay, the death deity remained steadfastly unconvinced.

"Do not play games with me," he hissed.

Confusion, hurt and anger splayed inside Sakura, temporarily giving her the strength to shove aside the feeling of being sick to her stomach. _She_ was the one playing games? She almost laughed bitterly at the irony of his words. They seemed to trigger a response in her, one that had been lurking beneath the surface, begging to be unleashed since the day she had first encountered him, after waking up in his world.

He had the nerve to accuse her of such a thing, when deriving his own form of twisted entertainment was all he had been doing since abducting her?

" _I'm_ the one playing games?" she echoed incredulously, raising her eyes to meet his as she continued to tug at her captive arm. Maybe it was the remnants of ambrosia wreaking havoc on her system, or maybe it was something else, which prompted her to fire back boldly, " _You_ dragged me down here, away from my home! You're the one keeping me here. The only person playing games is _you_ , Sasuke!"

Something flashed in his midnight irises at that, and he glared witheringly back, snapping, "If you desire the surface so much, why not leave?"

His heartless, mocking question caused something to sever within her. Her patience, perhaps. He knew perfectly well she didn't know how to exit the Underworld, and they both knew that he would never allow her to escape, even if she did. Wasn't that what the shackles around her ankles were for? To keep tabs on her - like she was some sort of pet, bearing an owner's collar?

She'd had quite enough - enough of being belittled and intimidated, enough of submitting to his every command. Sakura's emotions were atypically aggravated by the alcohol in her system, to the point she could not control the fire fuelling them. Spurned into action, she saw red - quite literally - and surprised Sasuke by succeeding in tearing her arm out of his grasp at last.

Chest heaving, she cried, "Maybe it's time I _did_ go!" The words tumbled out without any thought. She knew they were wrong, that there was a reason why she ought not to have said them, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what the important reason was. And so, with that declaration, she jumped out of bed with a surprising burst of energy and marched straight toward her bedchamber's doors like a fatalistic soldier, meaning to wrench them open and storm out with her dignity securely intact.

Except that wasn't exactly how it happened.

Strong fingers snagged her left wrist, halting her mid-momentum and jerking her back around to look up into swirling crimson eyes. Sakura caught her breath, startled. She had seen those irises a few times, and had learnt from previous experience that their appearance never boded well for her. In the next instant, Sasuke had yanked her forward so that the front of her body collided into his. Sakura's heart hurtled into a frenzied rhythm as a steely left arm wound around her waist. She could feel the muscles coiling with tension, as Sasuke turned that dreadful stare full-force onto her, and snarled in plain rejection, "No."

 _No_? A stream of colourful expletives deployed themselves on the tip of Sakura's tongue, words that would have surely caused Naruto's jaw to drop and Ino to cackle in triumphant glee - words that were long overdue, which did not typically exist in Sakura's polite vocabulary - and she was just about ready to tell Sasuke _exactly_ what she thought about his misplaced sense of ownership and possessiveness - when a fresh assault of dizziness suddenly caused the room to spin violently. The adrenaline coursing through Sakura's veins fizzled immediately out of existence as a tremor overtook her, making her legs buckle beneath her.

"Wha- what's happening to me?" she panted, clutching onto Sasuke for support, when she had been fighting against him just seconds earlier.

Sasuke fumed down at her pink head for a moment, before winding his other arm around her and muttering, "You are intoxicated."

"But I only had a few glasses," Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. Surely she hadn't had more than three or four? Then again, her memory of just how much ambrosia she had consumed was misty at best. "How long does it take to wear off?"

When Sasuke remained silent, Sakura felt a quiver of uncertainty. Had she done herself some permanent damage? Her vision was becoming cloudier and cloudier by the second, and the nausea was mingling with an unpleasant burning sensation in the centre of her chest. She wanted to curl into a ball, but even the thought of moving made her stomach churn.

"Ugh..." she groaned, burying her face instinctively and unthinkingly into the solid wall of Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke scowled in displeasure. The annoying girl had clearly had even more wine than he had initially thought. Ordinary rest would do Sakura no good. He recognised the symptoms of ambrosia inebriation all too well. She would suffer in agony for days before the alcohol finally left her bloodstream. If he allowed her to remain as she was, Sakura would begin to experience fitful episodes and hallucinations. She would essentially be a danger to herself.

He had the power to heal wounds and reverse life-threatening injuries. He could stop the advancement of malicious ailments. Curing an overdose of ambrosia, however, required a special kind of medicinal brew. A potent mixture that only one other who resided in his realm could provide.

Perhaps the old crone could shed some light on all the questions he had racing through his head, too – although Sasuke didn't hold much hope of her enlightening him.

Without another thought, he swept a semi-conscious Sakura up into his arms, and flickered out of sight.

* * *

Hinata twiddled her index fingers anxiously together as she stood before the front door to Naruto's apartment. A quick glance back over her shoulder informed her that Neji was waiting dutifully outside the car, his arms crossed over his chest, ready to spring into action and to her defence in the blink of an eye. Her guardian gave her a single, encouraging nod. Drawing strength from the gesture of solidarity, Hinata turned her attention back to the door. She wondered whether she was doing the right thing, whether her decision to share what they had learned from Sai with Naruto first was the correct one. But she had chosen to once again listen to her instincts, and they had told her to inform Naruto before she disclosed details of Sai's latest vision to the elders.

She rang the doorbell, her heart pounding as she nervously awaited a response. When a minute of silence passed, Hinata pressed the button again, listening carefully for any sound inside. All seemed still. What if Naruto wasn't home? Could she really hold to herself what she now knew until she saw him again?

She looked at Neji again, who raised questioning eyebrows, and was about to inform her seraph that Naruto was probably out when the sudden sound of a lock unbolting made Hinata jump and whirl back around to find a very subdued Naruto staring dully at her.

"Hinata," he greeted quietly.

Great concern flooded through her, as she began softly, "Naruto-kun. There's something I need to tell you- that is… if you are busy, I could perhaps come back-"

Azure eyes shifted and noted the presence of her guardian parked up on the kerbside behind her, before Naruto stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. "Come on in."

Her stomach knotted itself in a hundred places as she stepped inside and heard the door close behind her. The instances in which they had ever been alone – truly alone – were few and far between and were almost always interrupted by the arrival of others. She hoped with Neji on standby, however, that this time they would be permitted to talk in peace. As Naruto followed her into the reception room, Hinata turned worried eyes to him.

"Are…" she began, momentarily faltering as those beautiful eyes rested on her again. "Are you alright, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto, who had returned to his apartment only an hour earlier, sensed her anxiety, and forced himself to plaster a smile onto his face. He didn't want to make her worry. He had always hated making her worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine." At her uncertain look, he insisted, "Really, Hinata. Guess I'm just tired." Eager to change the subject, he prompted, "Have you guys heard anything new?"

Hinata nodded, and Naruto gestured for her to sit down by the low table, before taking his seat on the floor opposite her.

Fidgeting under the focus of his undivided attention, Hinata retold her and Neji's decision to follow Sai and all that they had seen in the park. Then she informed him about the new vision Sai had told them he'd received of Sakura, locked up and dying. All the way throughout her recount, Naruto remained uncharacteristically silent, which increased Hinata's sense of uneasiness. Her instincts were telling her that something definitely wasn't right with Naruto, and it saddened her that he did not seem to feel like he could share his troubles and confide in her. She had no way of knowing that Naruto's silence was his attempt at keeping her from getting involved in the revelations he had found out for himself, for the sake of her own protection.

When she finally finished, Naruto said, "Have you told the others yet?"

"No," she replied, her voice hushed. "I felt… I felt you should know first." Averting her eyes, she added awkwardly, "I-I know how important Sakura is to you-"

Her heart leapt to her throat when warm, gentle fingers suddenly closed around the left hand she had wound around the scented candle placed on the table's top. She had been fiddling with the decorations on the side of the ornament, but her hand immediately fell away as Naruto's took it and said very quietly, "Don't tell them yet."

As he lifted his eyes back to Hinata's face, he saw surprise etched on her beautiful features. He expected her to be confused. After all, he barely understood why he had decided to speak the words himself.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata questioned perplexedly.

Naruto averted his gaze again. "Where's Sai now?"

"We dropped him back at his apartment…" she shook her head and added bewilderedly, "Naruto-kun, shouldn't we let Tsunade-sama know?"

"Sai's visions have been wrong before. Let me speak to Kakashi first." Naruto clarified. Meeting her clear-grey eyes once more, he went on, "Please trust me on this, Hinata. Tell Neji too. There's something I need to be sure about before we let everybody else know. Please." His fingers squeezed hers firmly, as he entreated, "Promise you'll keep this between us for now."

There was no doubt in Hinata's mind that something serious was going on, something that was clearly upsetting Naruto to a great extent. Why else would he ask her to keep the information from Tsunade, who had the right to know about Sakura the most? A fleeting stab of guilt rushed through her. But then her eyes fell to their hands, joined together over the table. They fit so well together – as if they had been forged for one another.

Naruto was asking her to trust him. She knew she could do so with her life. How could she possibly refuse his appeal when she could hear the desperation so clearly in his voice? He had to have good reason to make such a serious request of her.

Biting down on her lower lip, she looked back up at him again, read the silent plea shining through his expressive eyes. And her heart melted, as it always did.

Silently, she nodded her vow.

* * *

The overpowering scent of fermenting potions hung thickly in the air as Sasuke pushed aside the heavy leaf curtain and stepped into the central den of Chiyo's cave. The old crone looked up from her position, bent over the open stone hearth, her eyes crinkling with open interest as she spotted Sakura's motionless form, cradled snugly in the death deity's arms.

"Back so soon, little King?" she warbled. "And with your pretty Flower, I see..."

Disregarding the term of endearment, Sasuke cut straight to the chase. "She is intoxicated."

Chiyo nodded in immediate understanding. "Her mother's daughter, indeed. You are here for a potion to stem her suffering, I suppose?"

"Treat her," Sasuke instructed.

Chiyo offered a crooked, secretive smile and answered slowly, "My services will cost you this time, young Sasuke."

Sasuke opened his mouth to remind her that she resided in his realm, and he was under no obligation to give her anything, when Sakura released another soft, pained moan. Thinking twice, Sasuke glared back at the ancient goddess, and urgency prompted him to quip, "Name your price."

Chiyo stared back at him, her curiosity snagged. The fact that Sasuke was agreeing without so much of an argument suggested to her that he cared for the girl's wellbeing even more than he let on. Taking the time to mull carefully over what she would ask from him in repayment, she gestured to the straw mattress by the wall.

"Lay the child there," she stated, and watched as Sasuke did so, setting Sakura down on the worn blanket. Chiyo keenly noted the unexpected gentleness of his actions and the way the Death God's left hand lingered by the girl's head for a moment, before he stood up and turned to face her again, his eyes like charcoal, glinting hard.

"Well?" he pressed impatiently.

"My terms are that you do not interfere and that you allow me to heal her alone. You will not collect her; I will return her to you at my convenience."

"I will not leave," Sasuke responded sharply, and was answered with an amused chortle.

"Such devotion… but if that is your decision then we have nothing further to discuss, Sasuke."

She could tell from the tension she perceived in the Underworld King's clenched jaw that he was struggling to keep his short temper in check. Agreeing to her request meant that Chiyo would have the opportunity to speak with Sakura in absolute privacy – and Sasuke did not take kindly to the fact that he would not be around to monitor what the old hag might choose to disclose to his captive. Witnessing his evident displeasure, Chiyo chuckled again, a hacking, hoarse sound that seemed to rattle her lungs.

"Ohohohoho! What's this? Afraid of a little conversation between women? Fret not, little King. She will be returned to you, renewed and whole."

But Sasuke wasn't prepared to consent without enforcing his own set of terms. "You will reveal nothing to her."

Chiyo shuffled over to Sakura, and Sasuke moved protectively and automatically in turn, wary of letting her get too close. Despite the crone's reassurances, he did not wholly trust her.

The old hag leaned on the stick in her grasp, the firelight from the hearth dancing across her dark eyes. "You have already gone to great lengths to ensure she cannot learn of the past," she remarked thoughtfully. "One would question what it is you fear her discovering. Or perhaps you fear what it is _you_ will discover, should she learn too much."

For an uncharacteristic instant, Sasuke hesitated, his expression mirroring his inner uncertainty as his gaze darted from the goddess, down to Sakura, before rising back to Chiyo. The implication behind her statement only made the need to unravel the mystery of Sakura all the more imperative. His face grew steely again as he demanded coldly, "What is she?"

Chiyo clucked her tongue disapprovingly, as if about to verbally reprimand a child. "She is one who will wither without light. The longer you keep her here unbound and forbidden, the greater she will suffer."

Sasuke's heart thumped as he considered her words. "She spoke of Hades in sleep."

Chiyo's eyes lowered and she remained cryptically silent, as the death deity continued, "That memory cannot belong to her. She was born mortal. Her blood is mortal."

Even as he was speaking, Sasuke's mind was racing. The possibility of Sakura housing a reincarnated soul had already presented itself to him, but he had almost immediately dismissed it. He would have known. He was the one who facilitated the complex and delicate process of reincarnation, after all, and he was the only deity with the power to authorise it. For reincarnation to occur, a deceased soul had to enter his realm and pass judgement in his throne room before he decided whether or not he would award it a second chance at life. And he was absolutely certain that he had never come across Sakura's soul before. He would have surely remembered if he had. He retained every single detail about every single soul that had ever entered his Kingdom. Nothing ever slipped by his watch.

But then, how else could she have whispered the name? Unless- his breathing stilled as the only other possible explanation struck him with all the sureness of a lightning bolt - unless Sakura was indeed human, but, at some point during her infancy and childhood, had had the remnants of a deity's powers sealed inside her for safe-keeping, by either Tsunade or another elder god. Fragments that were responsible for whatever it was she had dreamt, remnants that an over-indulging consumption of ambrosia triggered into activation inside her.

It was the only other explanation that made sense, and Sasuke was quite unprepared for the anger he experienced as the logic of it began to set into stone. If that was the case, where did Sakura the human end, and where did this parasite deity essence begin? Was the light in Sakura's soul her own, or was the sealed deity fragment responsible for it? How was it possible that he, who had been imbued with the ability to see every soul for what it was worth, was not entirely certain when it came to Sakura?

An unexpected and foreign sensation that could only be likened to nausea settled in the deepest pits of Sasuke's gut as he realised that there was only one sure way for him to discover the truth. By ending the girl's life and extracting her soul from its physical shell. But if he did that, and then resurrected Sakura, who knew what would become of her? Would she be the same? Or would there be unforeseen consequences to tampering with the unknown that slumbered inside her?

Chiyo, who had been watching him very intently, decided that she had spoken enough. "The child is in need of my immediate attention," she grumbled, drawing Sasuke out of his mental cyclone of disturbing revelations. As an afterthought, she added, "She will not be harmed, little King. You have my word."

The finality of her tone made it clear that she would say nothing more on the subject of Sakura. It was just as he had expected, but the fact that Chiyo clearly knew more than she let on and chose to keep quiet about it only aggravated Sasuke's sense of exasperation further. His eyes lingered on the girl's pain-contorted face as Chiyo bent over her. The old crone paused as she perceived his reluctance to abandon Sakura's side, and cast him a silent glance which defiantly communicated that she would not begin until Sasuke left them alone, as she had requested.

Clenching his teeth together, Sasuke remained obstinately in place. He did not want to leave Sakura, but Chiyo would not treat her otherwise, and the only other alternative was to take Sakura back to the palace and let her writhe in an excruciating state of pain for several days. The latter option was utterly unacceptable; he could not allow it, and reasoned that he would have to find out what Chiyo said from Sakura later, and alter her memory if she was told too much.

Irritated that he was being forced to concede for Sakura's sake, Sasuke sent the ancient goddess one last chilly glower, before flickering wordlessly out of sight.

* * *

Sakura was floating in a warm and fuzzy place. The pain had long since vanished, and for a blissful while, she felt at peace. Then the pleasant warmth began to turn to a heat that throbbed achingly deep within her chest, a heat that quickly became unbearable, and caused her eyes to fly open as her lungs heaved to catch oxygen.

"Even now, the ambrosia lingers, fighting to undo what only True Death can reverse," an unfamiliar voice commented from beside her. For an awful minute, a confused Sakura could make out nothing through the bleariness of her vision. Then something sickly sweet was poured into her mouth and she spluttered, trying to cough it out when it caused tiny tingles to surface all over her tongue. But her jaw was clamped shut and held firmly closed by strong, bony fingers, and her head tilted back in a way that compelled her to swallow the strange liquid down. As soon as she did, the hand at her chin fell away and as the concoction travelled down her throat, Sakura found that her sight slowly began to clear.

She blinked groggily as her gaze found the underside of what looked to be the ceiling of a cave, attached to which were unfamiliar-looking, exotic trinkets. Why did her head feel so heavy? She wasn't in any pain, but the sensation of being displaced and out of her element was somewhat disconcerting.

"Sasuke…?" she managed to whisper. Where had he taken her? The last thing she remembered was trying to leave her room, and then… then everything else was an incomprehensible blur.

A laugh that Sakura could only liken to the cackle of an evil old woman reached her ears.

"Eheheheheh! You will be returned to your handsome King before long, my child."

 _Her_ handsome king? Sasuke was in no way her king - or _hers_ at all, for that matter _._ She blinked, and tested that her arms and legs were still in operation by wiggling her fingers and toes. Everything seemed to be working. Slowly, she sat up – and immediately wished she hadn't when the world spun violently on its axis. Her stomach lurched, and she doubled over, groaning.

"Ugh…"

"Young ones nowadays, ever hasty," the voice clucked admonishingly.

Sakura gingerly lifted her head, waiting for the nauseating vertigo to pass. When it finally did, and her vision settled once again, she took in her surroundings in fascinated disbelief. She was in a cosy-sized, circular cave with a fire blazing in the middle of an open stone hearth, above which was suspended an actual cauldron. Steam bubbled from it, evaporating into the air, and her nostrils caught the strong whiff of a strange, head-spinning aroma that smelled of brewing herbs coupled with something else Sakura couldn't quite place. There was another smaller fireplace ahead of her, an open cage attached to the low ceiling, with an unblinking, fluffy owl in it, and, just by the straw mattress she was sitting on, a stack of wooden puppets strewn messily on the dusty ground. Piles upon piles of thick leather-bound books and an assortment of peculiarly shaped glass bottles, jars and wooden bowls also littered the area. A scrawny dog lay sleeping on the other side of the cave. She also glimpsed a cracked stone fountain like structure, from which no water ran. A quick glance behind her revealed a long, willowy curtain which she supposed led out of the bizarre looking space. Then her gaze focused in front of her again.

Where _was_ she? And where had Sasuke gone? Her watering eyes finally adjusted to the lighting and her heart jumped into her throat when she suddenly noticed a figure hunched in a small wooden seat by the smaller fireplace. Above the stranger were twin torches, which threw shadows onto the mysterious entity's face.

"Who are you?" Sakura managed to ask after a few seconds of uncertainty.

"I have had many names, child, and seen many lifetimes. But you may call me Chiyo, Goddess and Protector of the Crossroads."

Sakura was unable to keep an astonished gasp from escaping her lips. She was in the presence of an actual _goddess?_ She didn't dare to move, and kept her eyes fixed on the woman, as she questioned next in a near-whisper, "What is this place?"

"This den is my abode," Chiyo answered, her voice unhurried and gravelly. "Deep in the heart of the Underworld, where I watch the unfolding of all things." Chiyo shifted at last, and turned toward Sakura, whose eyes widened as she found herself gazing up at an aged face that possessed a wealth of deep lines and crinkles, framed by straight grey hair that reached proudly set shoulders. Her features were wise, almost grandmotherly – but her dark eyes were bright and alert, and shone with unnatural keenness. Sakura didn't know why she had the sudden urge to lean down and prostrate before this goddess, who was clad in a thick grey cloak. Instead she remained in place, a multitude of questions bouncing around inside her skull. Why had Sasuke left her alone with this deity?

As if reading her mind, Chiyo stated, "The ambrosia was poisoning your body. Sasuke enlisted my aid to administer a potion to clear the wine from your bloodstream."

"Where is he?" Sakura needed to know. She would not have expected Sasuke to leave her at all, and found his unanticipated absence somewhat unsettling.

Chiyo smiled a crooked smile. "In exchange for my aid, I sent the little King away. Do not fret your pretty little head; you will be returned to his palace, at my convenience."

Sakura's lips parted. Sasuke had been sent _away?_ But nobody sent Sasuke away. He ruled the Underworld, and took orders from nobody else. Unless- she stared at Chiyo. Unless this old goddess was somehow more powerful than he was, and he had been forced to leave in exchange for having her healed?

"You mean… he can't see us now?" Sakura began, a little ray of hope sparking into being within her. Somehow she instinctively felt that this goddess bore no ill will toward her. She didn't know exactly how why - maybe the comfort of seeing another deity, and a female one at that, had something to do with it. "He can't hear us?"

"That is correct," Chiyo nodded. "I have long desired to speak with you, but our handsome King would not otherwise consent to leaving you alone in my presence. I should be grateful for your choosing to consume so much ambrosia – in this way we may talk uninterrupted."

"Thank you," Sakura said earnestly. "Thank you for healing me."

"Do not thank me just yet, young Sakura. I will require repayment from you, in turn."

Sakura's sense of gratitude and relief deflated a little at the words. Nervously, she ventured, "What kind of repayment?"

"Merely the answers to my questions," Chiyo replied. "Those who have lied to me in the past have lost their tongues. Answer me wisely and truthfully, child."

Sakura swallowed. So much for her misplaced sense of not being in any danger. Suddenly she wished that Sasuke _was_ with her. But then she reasoned to herself that as long as she listened carefully and was as honest as she could be, she would be fine.

"I'll be truthful," she promised quietly.

Chiyo nodded, regarding her thoughtfully as she placed her weight on the knobbly stick in her hands. "Then we shall begin with how much you remember."

Sakura shifted her position on the mattress, and shook her head in confusion. This wasn't starting off well. "I'm sorry. How much do I remember about what?"

Chiyo ignored her question and ventured with her own. "Tell me, where were you born?"

Sakura found this an odd question. Surely deities could tell that just by looking at a human? Nevertheless, she offered, "In Konohagakure."

"Who is your mother?"

Sakura's heart ached as she replied, "Tsunade Haruno. She's a senior consultant at Konoha Central Hospital."

"Who is your father?"

Sakura averted her gaze. The subject was touchy one, and she didn't usually like to discuss it, mainly because she knew so little. "I… I don't know who he is. I've never met him. My mother never told me much about him, only that he left us a long time ago. She won't say anything else."

When she looked up again, Chiyo was frowning, almost disapprovingly. Then the look quickly vanished.

"What is your age, child?"

Again, Sakura was struck by the obviousness of the question. "I'm eighteen," she stated, uncertain as to where all these enquiries were leading.

"Hmm," Chiyo shook her head, as if this wasn't what she had wanted to hear. Then, almost to herself, she muttered, "Everything is as it was intended." While a puzzled Sakura was trying to figure out just what that might mean, Chiyo abruptly switched subjects, and what she said next caught Sakura completely off-guard. "You fear Death. And yet you find yourself more and more inexplicably drawn to its King."

Sakura wasn't prepared for the almost violent way her stomach twisted in reaction to the words. What in the world was the old crone _saying?_

"I'm sorry," she began, instantly on the defensive, "I don't think-"

Chiyo continued on as though Sakura had not even spoken. "Do you deny this?"

Sakura opened her mouth to argue that she didn't have to deny what wasn't true to begin with, that Sasuke was a heartless god who did nothing except terrorise her, but she recalled what had happened to dishonest people before, and swallowed thickly. Because the truth was, beneath all the fear, she was curious too – curious and fascinated that he had chosen and wanted _her_. Her heart was racing as she bit down on her lower lip anxiously, forced to confront, at that very second, the multitude of emotions that just one heavy glance from Sasuke evoked in her.

After a minute, she cautiously answered, "Death isn't what I thought it would be like. He's not how I expected a god to be." Battling back the sudden heat in her cheeks, she added, "I just- I want to learn more about what-" she hesitated, before amending, "-who he is." It was futile to attempt pretending otherwise. The reality was that she _did_ want to know about Sasuke's history, who his family had been, and how he had wound up in charge of the Underworld.

"You wish to know of his past." Chiyo mused. "To what end, child?"

The bluntness of the question left Sakura speechless for a moment. At last she shook her head. "I don't… I just want to _understand_. _"_ Looking down at her hands, folded neatly on her lap, she realised that the need to understand was fuelled from the desire to obtain a sense of closure, a justification for his actions and treatment of her. If she understood Sasuke's character better, she could make better sense of everything he had chosen to do in relation to her.

Chiyo's to the point reply caused Sakura's heart to jump to her throat in alarm.

"Such a wish is questionable. Why desire to understand the one you intend to betray?"

Sakura's heart thundered. Her throat suddenly felt terribly dry and the immediate panicked thought that rushed through her head was that if Sasuke had any way of hearing what had just been said, she was as good as dead.

But Chiyo once again read her mind. "The words you speak here cannot be overheard, child. In this den, my power surpasses Sasuke's."

"I don't-" Sakura fumbled, stunned that the goddess before her knew with such certainty of the conspiracy Suigetsu had persuaded her to partake in. If she knew, then wasn't there a strong possibility that Sasuke did, also? After all, didn't gods know everything? But if he did, why hadn't he chosen to confront her or to do anything about it? Or was the plain fact of the matter that Chiyo was able to perceive more than Sasuke could in his own realm? Did it have something to do with her title as Goddess of the Crossroads?

"I don't _want_ to betray him," she whispered fiercely, her pulse galloping at sickening speed. "If I knew for certain that he plans to let me go eventually…" her voice trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say the rest. _If I knew that he planned to let me go eventually, I would never have agreed to Suigetsu's plan._

Sakura lowered her head, her eyes stinging with tears. "I just want to see my mother again. Please… can't you help me?"

Chiyo turned her face to the burning fire behind her.

"I watch the threads of the Fates unwind. I do not interfere with their course."

Sakura sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes widening as stark understanding dawned upon her. This goddess could see the future. She knew precisely what was going to happen. Sakura rose from the straw mattress, and walked around the boiling cauldron. She approached Chiyo, and sat down by her feet, next to the comforting warmth of the fireplace.

"Please," she pleaded. "Please, I _need_ to know. How long is he going to keep me here?"

Chiyo's eyes turned to regard her. After a pause, she answered, "You must choose your own path, Sakura."

The goddess watched as the girl's desperate expression quickly gave way to crestfallen despair. Her face lowered, and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Chiyo stared down at her. Something about the child's depths of hopelessness and dejection tugged at strings of pity slumbering deep within her, and in a moment of rare, maternal compassion, Chiyo reached out a hand and lightly brushed the top of Sakura's silky head.

"Perhaps I may offer you something else to ease your woe."

Sakura looked miserably up, her eyes brimming with tears, which Chiyo could see she was struggling to contain.

The goddess's eyelids drooped and she was silent for a long while, as if she were giving something deep deliberation in her mind. When she spoke again, she turned her face to look into the flickering flames of the fire once more.

"In an age long past, transpired a great conflict and war of power between those who dwelled in the sky, and those who dwelled beneath the surface of the earth. The sky dwellers oversaw the affairs of the living. Those underground commanded the affairs of the dead. The result of their battle gave way to a premature apocalypse, one that threatened the very existence of humankind."

Sakura's eyes widened as her brain slowly digested the deity's words. An unexpected ray of hope kindled to life in her heart and she held her breath, scarcely daring to believe that she was on the verge of being given some much needed clarity.

"Those who dwelled beneath the surface of the earth met an untimely and cruel end. Only one was spared, the youngest of the underground dwellers, left alone in a cold, silent world, devoid of light. On that darkest of days, a prince, unprepared, became king."

Sakura released a trembling breath of disbelief. _Sasuke?_ Was Sasuke the sole survivor to whom Chiyo was referring? She had never once even stopped to consider _how_ Sasuke had become the God of Death, never once contemplated Sasuke's feelings about ruling the Underworld. She had always just assumed that it was a job he had willingly chosen and gladly did, a job that afforded him ultimate supremacy and superiority over all living things. But hearing Chiyo's account of a past that was wholly alien and unknown to her made Sasuke seem more a victim of circumstance than a merciless, unfeeling perpetrator.

Her numbed mind raced to process this new information. Frantically, she tried to reign in the confusion and pandemonium of her thoughts, tried to place structure to the reality-shifting revelations as she came to terms with just how ignorantly she had been raised. Sasuke had apparently been part of a clan that had been in charge of the Underworld. She recalled the red and white uchiwa fan she had seen displayed proudly in his palace and its mighty front gates, and a puzzle piece clicked almost audibly into place in her brain. It was his family's crest. She was absolutely certain of it.

His clan had perished, and he had been left alone to pick up the pieces. To rule, according to Chiyo, way before his time. Feared and loathed by everyone and everything, with only the dead for company.

Sakura swallowed down the bitter lump in her throat. She felt sick. How very bleak and terrible and lonely an existence must it have been? Was that why Sasuke was so brooding and distant? Because he had lost everything he had ever cared about once before already?

Even as she attempted to answer those reflections, more questions sprung forth in her mind. Who had been the driving force behind his family's extermination? And _why?_ Why would deities seek to destroy each other for power? Didn't every god command limitless power anyway? Or had she been completely deluded in her belief of that, too? She suddenly remembered Sasuke's livid reaction to the burning shrine room. It had frightened her at the time, but now she could understand it. Accept it, even. The portrait was likely all he had left of what she supposed had been his most immediate family.

He felt things. Just like she did. Perhaps even more acutely, deep beneath that icy exterior of his. After all, he was a higher being.

Why did that realisation leave her feeling even more perplexed and upset, even more staggered?

Then she dizzily found herself wondering when all of this had even _happened_. Why had only Sasuke been spared? What role had he served before his family's fall? What had become of the sky gods? Why hadn't these events been recorded in history? Why did nobody on the surface speak about it, and why had none of her teachers ever mentioned it in class? Where did _she_ come into all of this, and what did this newfound knowledge alter for her? Did it really change anything? What would Sasuke do if he realised she now knew? How would he react if she tried to talk to him about it? Would he be angry? Her heart trembled. She didn't think she could keep the fact she knew a secret, not when it was already shedding a different light on aspects of Sasuke's personality and forcing her to reanalyse his behaviour toward her. So many questions, and yet she could tell from the way the old goddess was looking at her so solemnly that nothing else would be answered for her. Chiyo had already revealed enough.

"It is time for you to return to him," the goddess stated, raising the stick in her hands.

"No! Wait- please!" Sakura exclaimed desperately, clutching at the tails of the goddess's long cloak in sheer panic, not yet ready to return when such a devastating bomb had been detonated upon her. She felt even worse than she had before Chiyo had given her the unanticipated history lesson. Even more troubled and confused. How was she meant to interact with Sasuke now? What did she do next? Would she meet with the goddess again? "What do I-? What if he asks me about- what should I _do?_ "

"You must make your choice," Chiyo answered, and chuckled at the horror that crossed over Sakura's features. "Eheheheheheh! Yes, your path is an interesting one indeed, little flower. If you listen closely, perhaps you will find that you no longer have cause to fear it."

 _What?_ What in the world did she _mean?_ Sakura opened her mouth to protest, to ask the questions her pounding heart knew only Sasuke could now answer – but Chiyo had struck the base of her stick into the floor. The cave around Sakura was already fading away in a whirlwind of blinding white light, and when she felt the ground fall out from beneath her, her consciousness plummeted along with it.


	30. Chapter XXIX

**Chapter XXIX**

* * *

_Under soft glow of candlelight,_

_Death seeks to steal Spring's heart tonight,_

_The enchanted melody floods her veins,_

_Spurning restraint to flee its reins,_

_Inhibitions consumed by sinful heat,_

_In frenzied madness, will abandon, fleet,_

_Her ears, filled with Death's rendition,_

_Thus begins her fall, into sweet seduction._

_Succumbing to a waltz of senses,_

_With his touch crumble her defences._

* * *

_Sakura._

Odd _,_ thought Sakura fuzzily, that her brain was echoing her own name to her. She felt warm and pleasantly secure, as if enveloped in a protective cocoon. _Hmm_ , she hummed lethargically to herself. It was nice to be able to sleep for a change, and not have to worry about dragging herself out of bed for a morning lecture-

 _Wait a minute. That isn't right._ Confusion began to trickle through the blanket of bliss surrounding her as Sakura fought to recall something through the thick haze, something that felt urgently important, but she couldn't, for the life of her, recall what it was at that very second.

' _Sakura.'_

The voice didn't sound like it was coming from inside her head anymore, and seemed considerably closer. She felt the probing fingers of consciousness brush against the outer fringes of her mind, enticing her out of heavy slumber.

 _Just a little longer_ , she told herself. But the voice calling her name was persistent, and when she felt herself being gently shaken, and when the mist around her rapidly began to dissipate, Sakura reluctantly acknowledged that it was time to wake up.

"Sakura."

Her bleary eyes opened to the soft glow of firelight, and suddenly she understood why she had been feeling so warm. She was half sitting, half lying on a rich, deep crimson rug in front of a black marble fireplace. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was – in one of the grand lounge rooms in Sasuke's palace - and for her displaced senses to register that she wasn't alone. With a start, she realised that the fire wasn't the only thing responsible for the sense of cosiness that lingered over her. Her body was resting in the cradle of Sasuke's arms, her head tucked snugly against the solid wall of his chest. Sakura's pulse began to quicken as she became mindful of his hands, joined together at her waist.

Then, with awful swiftness, everything came crashing down on her as she recalled getting foolishly drunk on ambrosia, making a complete and utter fool of herself before the god who was now holding her, knocking herself out and waking up again briefly, only to lose consciousness – _again_ \- and awaken in a strange old goddess's den; a goddess who had given her some unexpected and thoroughly surprising information pertaining Sasuke – before whisking her back to the death deity's palace.

Sasuke felt the tell-tale tension return to Sakura's body as she finally became fully aware of her surroundings – and of his presence. He had listened to the petitions of a number of souls in the throne room in a bid to detract his thoughts from Chiyo and what she was possibly talking to Sakura about, when he had suddenly sensed the girl's return. After sending the last soul on its way, Sasuke had swept out of the throne room and entered the first of the two western drawing rooms to find Sakura curled on the rug, fast asleep.

Somewhat unsettled by the sight of her looking so vulnerable and so completely out of it, and - though he would never openly admit to it - concerned despite the fact that she seemed to be physically fine, Sasuke had gathered her into his arms and tried, for five minutes with no success, to rouse her. Then, realising with vexation that Chiyo's magic would wear off on its own, he had waited in agitation for her to regain consciousness, calling to her every so often whilst gazing intently down at Sakura's face for the first signs of slumber relinquishing its hold on her. Her body now no longer burned, indicating that she had been cured as Chiyo had promised. He found himself releasing the breath he'd not even been aware he had withheld, when she finally squirmed in the enclosure of his arms.

She was back to her normal self. Good.

"Sasuke," she began, flustered. "I'm fine now. Really."

In reality, Sakura was anything _but_ fine. She was disturbed by how inexplicably safe her body had felt in his sure hold, prior to her full return to wakefulness. And by the realisation that he couldn't be as much of a monster as she had initially believed, given that she had been out cold on several occasions following her getting absolutely _wasted_ on ambrosia – yet Sasuke had not taken advantage of her compromised state even once. Instead, he was holding her chastely, as he had held her when she had been babbling incoherently in his lap in the training dome – with incredible care and surprising gentleness.

After a moment of reluctance, Sasuke's hands separated, allowing Sakura to scoot away from him. But she didn't move as far as he had anticipated she would, and chose, instead, to sit beside him in front of the fireplace. He watched her attentively as she stared into the hearth for a lengthy minute, as if she sought to avoid direct eye contact with him. Or as if she carried a burden that she was too guilty to share. Immediately the death deity was on high alert, his mind racing suspiciously as he wondered just what the damned old crone had disclosed to the girl sitting next to him.

"I'm sorry," Sakura exclaimed at last. "I drank too much, and I must have acted so stupidly-"

A pause. Then Sasuke snorted. "You did," he affirmed nonchalantly, to Sakura's utter mortification. He inclined a dark brow as she pressed her palms against rose-dusted cheeks. What exactly had she said or done? She couldn't remember the finer details, and told herself it was probably for the better that she didn't.

"I don't-" she fumbled embarrassedly. Whatever had come over her, for her to overindulge on alcohol? She had never gotten drunk in her life. "I'm so sorry-"

"Forget it," Sasuke dismissed. Now that he was satisfied Sakura was fit and well once again, this was no longer the subject he wanted to focus on, and the words had fallen from his lips without thought. They seemed to calm her anxiety, however, for her hands slowly lowered and her shoulders relaxed a little. She exhaled, seemed to consider for another long moment, before speaking again, very softly.

"Thank you."

She could see, from the corner of her peripheral vision, that she had caught him somewhat off-guard. Sasuke's eyes widened marginally – before the split-second look of incredulity was promptly replaced with a displeased scowl. He didn't understand her. Why was she expressing _gratitude?_ He had not been the one to heal her.

"Sakura," he began shortly, "I did not-"

"You took me to the goddess Chiyo when I was sick," Sakura cut in. Then she turned her head to meet his gaze at last, and repeated earnestly, "Thank you, Sasuke."

Something flickered across Sasuke's eyes, a cryptic, veiled look that Sakura could not decipher. For a brief moment his eyelids drooped, sooty lashes shielding his gaze from her. Then he looked up again, and a hushed silence fell between them, in which they both found themselves unable to look away from each other.

 _It's the fire,_ Sakura told herself distractedly, even as she felt her heart pounding forcefully in her chest, as if it wanted to break out from inside her. The way the flickering flames threw warm light and dancing shadows across the angled planes of Sasuke's face, and formed tiny pinpoints of golden light in his pupils, was nothing short of hypnotic. It made it near impossible for her to direct her attention anywhere else. She had no idea of knowing that Sasuke was, at that very instant, equally mesmerised by the way the light was rendering her green eyes almost luminescent in their clarity.

A touch, as transient and tenacious as gauze, snapped her abruptly out of her reverie. Sasuke's fingertips were grazing lightly along her jawline, lingering by the soft curve of her chin. Had he moved closer? Or merely leaned toward her? Unnerved, Sakura was just about ready to draw away, to place some much needed breathing space between them, but what he murmured next caused her to freeze in place.

"What has she told you?"

Sakura's stomach twisted violently, and, the spell broken, she jerked her head back, eyes wide as a multitude of thoughts ricocheted about inside her skull. Would he be angry? Would he confront Chiyo? Would they have a brutal showdown of sorts? What choice did she have but to tell him the truth? He certainly seemed to be expecting it, and her sense of apprehension only heightened, when, at her continued silence, Sasuke's irises swirled to vivid crimson. Sakura felt the air flee her lungs as she witnessed three black tomoes spin lazily into existence in those endless bloody depths.

Transfixed by their awful beauty, she whispered, "What _is_ that…?"

She didn't expect an answer, so when she received one, Sakura found herself quite unready.

"Sharingan," Sasuke uttered forebodingly. Leaning even closer toward her, he added emphatically, "There is _nothing_ these eyes cannot see."

 _Sharingan._ The word echoed over and over in her head, like an ominous mantra, and Sakura was overcome with an instinctive fear, born of the memory of those very same eyes hypnotising her once before. A deep-rooted fear that compelled her to open her mouth and answer willingly. She didn't want to find out what else those unnatural eyes were capable of, and was scared stiff of what the Death God would discover - if he chose to probe her mind comprehensively enough. Sakura reasoned that her best form of defence was to stop him before he started.

"You don't have to do that," she said. "I'll tell you." Lowering her own gaze to the rug they were still sitting on, she continued honestly, "The goddess told me about a war that happened long ago. She said something about a battle between gods on the surface and underground." Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Sasuke tense, heard his sharp intake of breath.

"I didn't ask her," Sakura rushed on, glancing anxiously back to find that his expression had become utterly stony. Unable to stop, she waffled nervously, "She just told me. I don't even understand how or why deities would even feel the need to fight each other-"

She waited with baited breath for the Death God's reaction. For a long time he said absolutely nothing, the smothering silence between them punctuated only by the crackling of fire burning heartily in the hearth.

Then, at last, Sasuke responded. "There is much," he clipped stiffly, guardedly, "you do not understand."

Sakura felt her heart physically skip a beat and she had to compose herself to keep her jaw from sagging ungraciously. Sasuke had actually _answered_ her. He hadn't snarled at her to mind her own business or forget about what she had been told. He was listening – and talking back. She was stunned. Was this the moment she had been waiting for? Sakura was not sure why it felt so significant – only that she had to seize it, to make use of it – before it slipped from her grasp.

"I'd like to," she whispered, her fingers intertwined tightly in her lap.

His jaw clenched, and he looked like he was about to say something else. Then he seemed to think better of it. Keeping his eyes fixed stubbornly on the fireplace, he shook his head once.

Sakura hesitated, thrown off course. What did that gesture mean? He didn't want her to understand? He thought her foolish for expressing a wish to be enlightened? It was funny, how easily he succeeded in derailing her. But that was hardly surprising, given that he was an almighty deity – and she was just an ordinary college girl.

"It is dangerous," Sasuke uttered at length, "to know too much."

Sakura swallowed, beleaguered by indecisiveness. But a little voice in her mind pleaded for her to continue. To be undeterred by Sasuke's words and persevere in her efforts to draw more information out of him. After all, though her recollections of earlier were somewhat hazy in places, she knew she had definitely acted bolder than she normally did in his presence - and had made it through unscathed. However, Sakura also knew that she had to proceed with extreme caution. Because Sasuke's temperament, she had learnt, was much like a volatile brew – there was no telling at which point he would combust.

When another hush began to encroach upon them, Sakura began carefully, "Isn't ignorance dangerous too, Sasuke?"

Regarding her askance, he narrowed his eyes, and stated warningly, "Sakura."

The unspoken message behind her name was explicit in its meaning. He wanted her to drop the subject altogether. But Sakura couldn't stop herself from adding, "Chiyo told me that all the underground gods died in this war."

Sasuke looked away again, his hands slowly curling to form fists. When he said nothing, Sakura finished, "Only the youngest of them was spared-"

The death deity's eyes lowered briefly, and he seemed to be wrestling to maintain his patience.

" _Sakura,"_ he ground out through his teeth. _"_ Enough-"

"I already knowit's you, Sasuke. I saw the portrait in the shrine room. I know that was your family."

Sakura was asking for trouble by prying. After all, hadn't she already promised Sasuke before that she would not snoop again? Sasuke had made it clear very early on that he did not take kindly to having his affairs interfered with. As soon as the words had escaped her lips she flinched, anticipating that Sasuke was finally on the verge of erupting.

But, to her great surprise, Sasuke did not erupt. And Sakura was _not_ struck dead for meddling. Instead, the God of Death glowered sullenly at the floor. The slight shift in his demeanour was enough to answer her question. She exhaled, shaking her head in astonishment.

He really _was_ the only deity who had been spared, the prince who had been forced to become a king. The question was, why only Sasuke? And at what cost? What had happened back then? Sakura was overwhelmed by a near-voracious curiosity. Had all the history lessons she had been taught in school been a lie? How could such a major occurrence as a war between mighty immortals have been omitted from the pages of textbooks? It made no sense – and her brain yearned to understand.

She was not granted a chance to ask anything else, however. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was on his feet, glaring at the hearth with enough intensity to almost cause the flames to shrivel into nothingness. His silence was even more disconcerting than the fury Sakura had braced herself to receive. But if she had retained any doubts about whether or not Chiyo's words held merit before, there was no mistaking them now that she had witnessed Sasuke's reaction.

She found herself fleetingly contemplating how terrible his family's passing must have been, that he could not even stand to hear about it. Was this his way of shutting it out? Of rejecting it?

Fearful that he would confront Chiyo, and that she had inadvertently caused more trouble, Sakura opened her mouth to inform him that the goddess had disclosed nothing else to her – but Sasuke got there first. And his tone was so cold, so abrupt, that Sakura could not suppress the shiver that rattled down her spine.

" _It is not_ ," he said cuttingly, " _your place_."

Of course, she had not expected him to want to talk about it. Sasuke liked to keep her in the dark, after all – quite literally. But she was tired of having the wool pulled over her vision. Tired of being suppressed and forced to accept his wishes out of fear of wrecking the progress she was trying to make with him. At that precise second, Sakura starkly realised that she hadn't been making much progress at all. Her strategy to gain his trust was a flawed one, as long as he kept anticipating that she was waiting to spring an escape attempt on him at any moment. For every miniscule step of progress she felt she made – like witnessing Sasuke's reaction to her smile, and genuine gratitude, for example – she was then forced a hundred steps back, to start at square one all over again.

Sakura couldn't stand it anymore. Not when there were now things she felt like she absolutely _needed_ to know, past events which affected the reality she had lived on the surface of the earth. And unless something else gave way, nothing would change. Their patterns of interaction would remain the same – unless she was courageous enough to speak what was really on her mind.

Being docile would spare her his anger – and secure her nothing else. But if she let Sasuke see who she _really_ was – what she really felt and thought about all of this – instead of only showing him the side to her that had always strived to avoid conflict and please others - would he begin to lower his guard around her then?

Maybe she was only deluding herself. Maybe there really was no way of winning in her situation – regardless of whatever she tried to do.

The very real possibility that she was throwing away her time and effort for nothing caused frustration to crest within her, sent it overflowing in her chest and rising into her throat, bubbling to her mouth before finally reaching its peak at the tip of her tongue, where it verbalised into an accusatory response as she rose in turn.

" _You_ brought me here."

Crimson eyes formed irked slits, and Sakura discerned the palpable tension in his clenched jaw and the proud lines of his shoulders. For an instant, it seemed that Sasuke was about to reply, but he seemed to reconsider. Leaving no room for reservations, Sakura went on, " _You_ brought me into your world. I know things now that I never knew even existed before; things that are probably way above me, things that I maybe shouldn't know, but if you really didn't want me to know anything, you wouldn't have shown me parts of your realm. You wouldn't have let me watch you judging those souls."

He was positively glowering at her now. Sakura had to take a deep breath, to steel her nerves all over again, before concluding, "You show me some things but keep me in the dark about others. I'm confused. I don't know what I'm meant to be seeing. And I don't know who you think I am, if you expect me to just sit around and wait-"

He pounced. With such immediacy and intensity that Sakura had to physically restrain herself from stepping away from him when he suddenly closed the distance between them in once swift, fluid stride.

"Then tell me, Sakura," he interjected fiercely. "Tell me _who_ you are."

Sakura was horrified to find herself rendered speechless. Her lips floundered uselessly, and for a second all she could think about was the spell-binding way the firelight reflected in those impaling, garnet eyes.

Then, snapping herself back to attention, she lifted her chin up, and announced, "I'm Sakura Haruno. And I have _feelings._ " Her voice quivering with emotion, she went on with steadily building vehemence, "But you don't even stop to consider that, do you? You don't even think about what it feels like, for your world to be turned upside down, to be taken away from everything you've ever loved and cared about, and to be expected to just deal and accept everything that's-!"

Something wavered transiently across his eyes – a look that lasted for only half a second - and Sakura broke off as sudden realisation struck her like a physical blow.

Sasuke _did_ know what it was like to have everything taken away, to be forced to adjust – because he had lost his family too.

They stared at each other – a fuming Sasuke silently daring her to continue, and a shocked Sakura too distraught to think rationally. Then she shook her head, feeling strangely disconnected. She needed space, to get away from him. She needed to speak to Suigetsu – to put everything into perspective again.

"I've tried," she said resignedly, averting her gaze. "But I can't pretend everything is normal. This _isn't_ normal for me. You're a god. You know that I can't ignore everything I've heard and seen. This – _all_ of this –" she gestured vaguely, "wasn't what I was raised to believe on the surface." Sakura closed her eyes briefly, and ended in a thick whisper, "Everything is so different. I just want to _understand_."

With that, she turned away from him and walked to the door, her heart pounding in fear that the death deity would stop her at any second. But he did not move, and remained in place for a long time after she had departed the room, staring unseeingly into the blazing hearth.

* * *

Shikamaru lifted his eyes to the early evening sky. The sun had already set, and the night looked like it was going to be a clear one. Which doubtlessly meant chilly and frosty conditions again. He sighed, watching in displeasure as his breath vaporised before him.

Sakura had been gone for over a month. And the longer her disappearance dragged on for, the bleaker the outlook for the surface became. Frowning lightly, Shikamaru scoured his mind for the hundredth time in a bid to rationalise the enemy's intentions. Why was Sakura being kept hidden? Why had no demands been made of them in exchange for her safe return? It made no sense. If Sakura was being used as bait, then why the long silence? Just what were Suigetsu and his accomplice - for he surely had to be working in league with someone else – really after?

Sakura was useless in her current state. They would find no extraordinary value and worth in a girl who was essentially human. Not unless they knew her secret. That which had to be concealed from watching eyes in the sky.

He plastered a neutral expression onto his face as he heard the front door behind him open. Ino slipped out, wrapped in a thick, grey blanket. She wore no make-up, which made her appear a lot younger than she really was.

"Shikamaru," she said softly. "Won't you come inside?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "How is your..." he nodded with his head toward the inside of the Yamanaka residence, "…mother?"

Ino glanced behind her, and shrugged. "She never leaves the house. Can you blame her?"

Shikamaru was silent. Ino regarded him a moment, before questioning, "No word?"

He shook his head again, prompting the blonde's shoulders to slump. It was strange, Shikamaru told himself, how different Ino now seemed to the person she had been prior to Sakura's abduction. It was as though her confidence – her life – had evaporated and left nothing but a hollow shell behind.

It was unsettling. He didn't like it. Because it made him realise how vulnerable Ino really was, underneath the siren façade she liked to portray to the world.

"I can't stand it," she whispered. "I can't stand this not knowing. Shikamaru, how can you be so calm all the time? I'm going out of my mind with worry."

Knowing they had to be careful with what they said outdoors, Shikamaru answered coolly, "What use would it be if both of us lost it?"

He rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably when Ino seemed like she was suddenly on the verge of tears.

"I'm useless," she said, her voice wobbling uncharacteristically. "I've always been so useless, when it matters the most-" throat clogging up with emotion, she abruptly broke off.

Shikamaru sighed again. _Women._ They really were troublesome, and vain, spoilt Ino was the most difficult of all.

"I guess I feel a little misled," he stated casually, causing her to glance up at him in confusion, her eyes watering dangerously. Shrugging nonchalantly, he continued, "Someone told me long ago that giving up was for losers. What would all your admirers think if they saw you giving up now?"

She bit down on her lower lip, half-caught between laughing and crying. "Shikamaru," she choked. "You remember that…?"

"Must have heard it somewhere," he made a dismissive gesture, but Ino unexpectedly moved, reaching out from beneath her blanket to grasp his left hand.

Her hands were cold, Shikamaru noted to himself, surprised by how much that fact bothered him. They had always been warm in the past – hadn't they? But he wasn't given much time to dwell on the fact, for Ino had closed the distance between them. Warmth brushed over his right cheek as soft lips pressed lightly against his skin and for a minute all he could smell was the heady, feminine fragrance of her signature perfume.

Then the world seemed to shift a little on its axis when Ino pulled back slightly and, lingering close, whispered sincerely into his ear, "Thank you."

* * *

Sai stared distractedly out of the misty little kitchen window as his hands automatically worked to scrub the dishes in the sink. He found that as long as he kept himself occupied, he could avoid thinking about _her_ too much. Because thinking about her too much only made the guilt inside him worsen, until it was near unbearable.

But sometimes, he could not help himself. Sometimes, against his wishes, the image of Sakura's expressive face would float in his mind's eye, and he would feel sick to his stomach with what he had assisted in doing to her. Because there was no question that Sai was accountable for much of what had happened to Sakura. If he had done the right thing – the brave and loyal thing – and gone straight to Kakashi after encountering Sasuke by the carousel ride, all of the suffering that had followed would not have transpired.

His burdened thoughts scattered when the sound of someone pounding on his front door caused his grip on the bowl in his hands to accidentally slip. The glass cracked and shattered in the sink, and Sai gazed blankly down at it – before turning the hot water tap off. Even with the scalding temperature hitting his skin, he still couldn't feel anything. Because the truth was, he ought to have died a long time ago.

Slowly, he made his way to the front door, peered through the peep-hole – only for his stomach to lurch violently. Naruto was standing on the other side, dressed in a white hoodie with an orange T-shirt underneath, teamed with baggy, khaki-green cargo trousers – and he seemed angry. Behind him with his hands stuffed in his pockets was Kakashi – dressed in more muted grey tones.

Another round of thumping rattled the door, hard enough to cause the sturdy structure to shake in its frame.

"Open up, Sai! We know you're in there!"

Sai hesitated. What possible reasons were there to account for Naruto's bad mood – and for Kakashi to accompany him in tow? Did they know? Telling himself that he was being ridiculously paranoid, Sai forced a passive slate to slip over his face as he unbolted the locks and opened the door to discover that Naruto was in fact even angrier than he had seemed a moment ago.

"Naruto," Sai greeted neutrally. "Kakashi. What brings you both here this even-?"

He choked, not given an opportunity to complete his sentence. Quick as a flash, Naruto lunged through the door, grabbing Sai by the collar of his black turtle-neck jumper whilst Kakashi quickly entered after him, calmly shut the door behind them. A bewildered Sai found himself being hauled into his living room with considerable force and thrown down mercilessly on the floor. Looking up, he met Naruto's furious blue gaze, and turned considerable paler when the blond snarled, "Give me _one reason_ why I shouldn't tear you apart right now!"

"Naruto," Kakashi warned quietly, moving to peer outside the windows, before securing all the blinds shut.

His heart began to pound nauseatingly, but still Sai fought valiantly to retain his cover. "Pardon me," he began politely, "I am not sure I know what this is abou-"

"Like HELL you don't!" Naruto roared, pointing accusingly at him. "Don't play dumbass with me, you bastard! Sakura-chan isn't with Suigetsu, is she? She never has been! You've known that all along, haven't you? _HAVEN'T YOU?!"_

"Naruto!" Kakashi censured more firmly. "Calm down. Remember what we discussed."

But Naruto showed no signs of calming down. His chest was heaving, his hands repeatedly opening and closing to form tight fists, like he was ready to clobber Sai senseless. Kakashi had to physically pull him back and step in front of him to make sure he didn't do anything reckless.

"Sai," the masked older man began steadily. "It would be in your best interests to cooperate with us. There must be a reason why you chose to act as you did. You've only ever been loyal to us in the past. Now is your chance to explain yourself."

"The truth," Naruto's voice shook with rage. "I want _all_ of it!"

Sai's inky gaze moved from one to the other – before he swallowed, and lowered it ashamedly to the ground. How had they found out? A part of him was utterly horrified, urged him to deny it – but the other, more significant part, massively relieved. It meant that he no longer had to continue maintaining his farce of a story. And yet, his entire body was shaking. If Sasuke found out – if Sasuke realised – it was all over. He would not only lose his life – but his beloved brother's afterlife, too.

What were his options? Suddenly, he had no idea what to do. He hadn't prepared himself for such a sudden encounter. He had somehow, misguidedly, believed that he could avoid this much dreaded confrontation.

"I am sorry."

When they simply stared incredulously at him in response, and he offered no more, Naruto echoed, "That's _it?_ You're sorry? _You're sorry_?!"

Kakashi abruptly held out an arm, halting Naruto from advancing too close again.

Sai shook his head. What else could he say? Mentioning Sasuke's name would result in death. "I had to," he began carefully. "I am sorry."

His words were the final detonation that caused Naruto to explode.

"BULLSHIT! You _traitor!_ You've known all along where Sakura-chan really is, and for a whole month you've had us chasing after a bunch of lies-!"

"Sai," Kakashi kneeled down in front of the floored young man. "It isn't like you to do this. We can help you. Just tell us the truth. What Naruto has told me… is it correct?" A flash of pain crossed his visible eye, as he added in a hushed voice, "Is Sakura really in the Underworld?"

Sai's heart was racing so hard and fast, he half wished he would fall into cardiac arrest. There was no way out. Whatever option he chose to take would result in death. He was powerless to help them – and they were powerless to aid him.

Miserably, he did the only thing he could, to preserve his pitiful existence for even a few hours longer. He opened his mouth and extended his tongue as far as he could manage.

Naruto, who had been midway through uttering a fresh stream of insults, caught his breath, his eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets as he came to terms with what he was gaping at. And Kakashi – who had wanted, so very desperately, to believe with every fibre of his being that Naruto's shocking hunch was a ludicrous, misguided one - even when everything the blond had described to him two hours earlier suggested otherwise – felt his heart plummet straight to his feet.

The small seal at the back of Sai's tongue throbbed with potent, malicious magic, the nature of which – and whom it belonged to – utterly unmistakeable.

* * *

Tsunade watched with narrowed eyes as the junior doctor stored his belongings away in one of Konoha Central Hospital's many locker rooms. She had returned to work for a couple of hours since the start of the week, and, in her distracted state, had barely paid attention to the flood of patient updates and new emergency cases nurses and fellow medical staff had swamped onto her. Her mind had been engaged elsewhere entirely. More specifically, on a certain Dr. Kabuto Yakushi, who always began late night shifts on Wednesdays.

As he exited the room in Blue Wing, Tsunade counted two minutes in her head, before shoving the cold coffee in her grasp into a passing young nurse's hands.

"O-oh?" the pretty redhead stuttered in surprise. "Dr. Haruno?"

"Hold that." Tsunade instructed. "And anybody who wants me, I'm busy. Understood?"

"Y-yes, Dr. Haruno. Of course!"

Tsunade stormed straight toward the locker room, and closed the door behind her, swiping it with the master key card which forced it to lock from the inside. Then she walked straight up to Kabuto's locker, her honey eyes narrowing as she regarded the pin-lock that he had attached to it. She did not know the code. But then, she didn't need to know it.

Tapping carefully into the seal placed upon her, Tsunade drew a tiny stream of chakra and channelled it down her right arm. It was more than enough. She yanked the lock and it snapped open, the force she had applied overriding the security of the pin-code. Smirking, she opened the locker door and pulled out Kabuto's navy blue jacket. A quick search through his pockets revealed nothing extraordinary. Clearly he was smart enough to keep his keys and cell phone on him.

Discarding the jacket onto the bench behind her, Tsunade grabbed hold of the navy duffel bag and tipped out its contents – Kabuto's shirt, trousers and belt. His shoes were stored in a separate plastic bag.

 _How very organised_ , Tsunade sneered in disgust. She had never liked the young medic. He had always made her skin crawl, and she knew Sakura had considered him odd, too. She found that his trouser and shirt pockets were also empty, and fumed to herself, believing her search to be a futile one.

That was when her squeezing, angry fingers suddenly felt something. She looked down at the trousers in her hands, and turned them inside out, feeling for what she had been sure her hand had touched just seconds earlier. Nothing. She was just about ready to tear the material to pieces, when she felt it again.

Sucking in a deep breath, she followed a seam in the material and her eyes widened as they made out the shape of something small, hidden secretly in a pocket sewn into the inside of the left trouser leg. It was almost invisible to the naked eye, and she would have overlooked it entirely – had she not, by sheer luck, felt the object contained within.

Something hard and cold. Jagged at one end, square at the other… Her heart leapt, her eyes widening in recognition. A key, her prodding fingers informed her brain with certainty. There was a small key inside.

Without thinking twice, she channelled another miniscule flow of chakra and made a tiny incision in the seam.

* * *

After returning to her room, Sakura had taken a soak in the shell bathtub, in an attempt to replace some much needed order to her thoughts. The steaming, perfumed waters had helped to soothe the lingering agitation in her body. But her mind was still preoccupied when she stepped out and changed into fresh, pink and white lace undergarments. Ume was waiting for her on the other side of the bathroom door, looking excited after having picked out the most striking gown Sakura had ever seen.

"You _must_ wear this dress, Mistress," the little maid chirped. "It will complement your pretty hair ever so well."

Sakura was too busy gawking at the handmade masterpiece to pay much attention to what her attendant was saying. As Ume assisted her into it, and turned her to face the full-length mirror, Sakura exhaled in awe. The silk-chiffon dress was pale pink, embroidered with hundreds of tiny, glittering gold sequins along the gold-trimmed sweetheart neckline. Thousands more sequins adorned the stunning, feminine corset. The dress's short, off the shoulder butterfly sleeves were floaty and semi-transparent, and its softly flowing skirt was full and trailing, consisting of a rippling, glimmering, sequin-dotted outer layer, which parted down the middle to reveal a dusky, slightly darker hued pink skirt underneath. An exquisite, slender chain of gold rested around the flattering waistline, wound three times to accentuate her natural curves.

"This is so beautiful," Sakura said, shaking her head in wonder at her reflection. The gown was fit for a princess, and she felt strangely unworthy of wearing it.

Ume, however, was beaming at the sight of her, tinkering away at one of the jewellery box compartments for matching golden accessories.

"Oh, yes, Mistress! These gowns were spun especially for you by wood nymphs, you know. They are made from the finest of silks."

"I'm still not used to dressing up like this," Sakura stated uneasily, as she lowered herself into the vanity table's seat. She watched in the mirror as Ume smoothed back her freshly dried hair with a jewel-encrusted paddle brush, and drew two strands from the side of her head, expertly securing them in place with a golden flower pin at the back, before attaching delicate pearl strings to the clasp.

"Oh, it is such fun to do so! And even more pleasing to assist you, Mistress," Ume smiled, offering Sakura matching gold and pearl earrings. Not wanting to ruin the maid's enjoyment, Sakura obligingly put them on and sneezed when Ume sprayed perfume onto her neck and dusted a light layer of sweet-smelling powder over her face.

"Forgive me, Mistress," Ume giggled.

"What _is_ that stuff?" Sakura questioned, wrinkling her nose as she stood up again.

"Crushed flower powder, Mistress. It makes your complexion glow."

Sure enough, Sakura's skin was left looking flawlessly radiant. After fastening golden sandals at her feet, Ume stepped back to inspect her work.

"Oh," she clasped her hands together, her eyes shining with delight. "If I may be so bold as to say, you paint a picture of loveliness, Mistress!"

Sakura could not remember ever feeling so feminine and pretty. Ume – just like Chizu - truly was an artist.

"Thanks to you," she reached out, and squeezed the maid's hands affectionately.

Ume's cheeks turned pink with pride. "You are too kind, Mistress," she said shyly.

"No," Sakura answered softly. "It's you who has been kind to me. Thank you."

Ume's shoulders hunched and she smiled again bashfully, before venturing, "Will there be anything else, Mistress?"

Sakura shook her head. "I might take a walk in the gardens a little later on. I'll be sure to call you."

Ume nodded, picked up the straw laundry basket containing the clothes Sakura had changed out of, and with a little curtsy, took her leave. The instant the doors closed behind her, Sakura rushed back to the bathroom and locked herself in the toilet. Hastily filling the sink with water, she called out telepathically, _'Suigetsu!'_

As if he had been anticipating her call, the ocean deity's face immediately materialised on the water's surface. _'Pinky! Finally. I was starting to worry. Well, almost.'_

' _Suigetsu, a lot has happened. I drank too much ambrosia, and-'_

' _Whoa. I have to say it. You're looking smoking hot, Sakura.'_

' _-what?'_ Sakura paused, scowling down at him.

' _Heh. You're even cuter when you frown. You know, sometimes I don't half blame Sasuke for kidnapping you.'_

' _Suigetsu!'_ she glared, appalled, not appreciating the joke the slightest bit. _'Will you listen to me?'_

He held up his hands, his lavender eyes twinkling with mirth. _'I'm listening, I'm listening! Can't a god innocently admire a girl these days, or did Sasuke relegate us all into the league of heartless abductors by default?'_

Ignoring his attempts at flirting, Sakura pressed on, _'I met a goddess called Chiyo, and she said-'_

Suigetsu's expression completely changed to reflect one of alarm. _'Wait -_ _what?_ _Sasuke actually_ _let_ _you meet with her?'_

' _No,'_ Sakura shook her head. _'I was intoxicated, so he took me to her to get the ambrosia out of me.'_

' _And stayed with you – right?'_

' _No,'_ Sakura communicated again. _'She sent him away so she could talk to me.'_

Suigetsu blinked incredulously up at her. _'You're kidding me. That bastard would never stand down. It's not in his best interests to leave you alone with a goddess like Chiyo, either. She sees everything – past, present and future.'_ Shaking his head, he added, _'You must have been really sick.'_

Sakura's eyes widened. _'She really sees everybody's futures?'_

' _Sure she does.'_ Then, looking uncomfortable, the deity questioned, _'So… ah… what exactly did the old crone talk to you about?'_

' _She told me about a war that happened in the past, between sky gods and gods who lived underground.'_

Suigetsu's jaw dropped. _'Huh? She actually told you that?'_

Sakura nodded, leaning forward as she went on, _'She said the underground gods were killed, and only one of them was spared. I figured out it was Sasuke.'_

The ocean deity looked oddly nervous. _'What else did she say?'_

' _That was it.'_ Shaking her head, Sakura exclaimed mentally, _'Suigetsu, what's going on? I don't understand how something as big as that could have really happened and that nobody on the surface seems to know anything about it. Why wasn't I taught this at school?'_

Suigetsu's eyes shifted. _'Have you asked Prince Charming about it?'_

' _When I brought it up, he told me it wasn't my place to know.'_

' _Typical,'_ Suigetsu snorted. _'What a bastard.'_

' _So will you tell me?'_ Sakura conveyed hopefully. _'I need to make sense of this. I'm so confused.'_

' _So am I,'_ Suigetsu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. _'It's not like that old bag to give information so freely. Hmm. Wonder what she's up to?'_

' _Why was there a war? What was it about?'_

Suigetsu was reluctant to indulge her. _'Listen - Sakura. I get that you're curious. And I'd love to give you a little history lesson right now, really I would, but it's dangerous for you to hear it from me. If that bastard catches on that you know more than what Chiyo's already told you, you think he isn't going to wonder how? It won't take him long to add two and two together. He's probably pissed off enough as it is that she's said this much. You've got to be careful here.'_

Sakura drew back, pursing her lips in disappointment. _'So you're not going to tell me either?'_

He held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. _'Hey. It's not that I don't want to, believe me. It's for your own good – and for the good of our plan. Actually, this works out pretty well. It gives you another opening with Sasuke.'_

Sakura turned exasperated eyes up to the gold embellished ceiling. _'Why won't anybody answer me?'_ she internally fumed.

' _Sasuke will – if you play your cards right.'_

She released a breath, and glanced back down at the Sea God. _'How do you know that? He isn't just going to just suddenly open up to me, Suigetsu. It doesn't matter_ _what_ _I do-'_

' _Sure he will. And you know why, Pinky?'_ Here Suigetsu pointed up at her. _'You wouldn't still be here if he didn't want you knowing things. I've been mulling this over, and at first, I really thought he was only after you for your looks.'_

Sakura's cheeks burned at his unashamed bluntness, but Suigetsu was carrying on before she could formulate a response.

' _But you say he hasn't even kissed you yet, which means it can't just be a physical thing. Think about it, Pinky. This isn't just a passing fling. He wants you around – which means - unfortunately for you - you'll be seeing more and learning more about this depressing place.'_

Sakura had thought the exact same thing earlier. She now knew for certain that Sasuke was more than just detachedly interested – after all, he had come close to kissing her after gifting to her the beautiful bracelet she still wore on her wrist – not that Suigetsu needed to know about that. And the longer she stayed, the more precarious her situation became – especially now that an even greater curiosity had been roused within her by Chiyo's apparently uncharacteristic disclosure.

' _Has Karin got the potion yet?'_ she asked anxiously.

' _Karin can't just make a casual social call. She has to choose her moment carefully – without Sasuke noticing. You think it hasn't been hard for me to sit here uselessly in this cell, too? But we've got to time this perfectly.'_

Sakura nodded in understanding. She needed to keep faith in Suigetsu - and that he would return her home, unharmed.

' _Just keep trying with Sasuke. Remember: patience and cunning. The sooner you get him to lower his guard, the sooner we can set things in motion. Stay sharp, Pinky.'_

With those words and a playful wink, his face rippled out of sight.

As Sakura exited the bathroom and her bedchamber, and began to wander through the grand hallways, she found her thoughts turning to her mother. Was she alright? Was she still helping to save lives in the hospital, like Sakura would have wanted her to continue doing, or had she taken time off work? Sakura longed to know how much time had passed since she had gone missing. But more than anything, she longed to be held by her mother again, to be told that everything was going to be alright. Surely her mother would help her make sense of everything that had happened to her. After all, her mother had always been the best person at making her feel better-

A sudden thought relating to her general wellbeing struck her, causing Sakura to come to a stop just before the royal staircase leading to the ground floor of the palace.

The medicine her mother had always given to her when she'd had 'attacks' in the past tasted just like ambrosia – albeit a significantly less potent version. She had thought about that before, but, with everything that had happened, had never really stopped to consider what it might actually mean.

Now she found her mind buzzing with fresh perplexity. Why would the medicine taste and act similar to ambrosia? Was it just some crazy coincidence? Was ambrosia a kind of readily available natural extract on the surface that was commonly used in herbal medicine? Sakura had never heard of it before – but then, she was starting to realise that she hadn't heard of quite a lot of things. And if it really _was_ , by some impossible chance, a weird variant of the wine of the gods, then how in the world had it ever ended up in her mother's possession? And why, oh _why,_ had she never even thought to ask her mother about how it worked?

Sakura's heart had started to pound, and her head hurt from thinking too much. The bare skin on her arms felt prickly – as if someone was sticking tiny pins into her. She suppressed a shudder, and shook her head, willing the unpleasant sensation to pass. That was just another baffling question on her never-ending list that she would have to try posing to Sasuke the next time she saw him – if he wasn't too grumpy to hear her out.

Her feet carried her down the stairs, but instead of heading to the gardens as she had originally intended, she found herself gravitating toward the north-eastern wings of the palace. Distracted by the mountain of musings that were ever increasing in her head, Sakura only became aware that she had reached the ballroom when she found herself staring at a double set of resplendent, sapphire encrusted gold doors, which parted invitingly of their own accord for her.

She was immediately drawn from the turmoil of her troubled thoughts as her eyes feasted on the shimmering, golden, otherworldly sight before her. She stepped inside, gazing out at the sprawling, glimmering area from her position behind the central, enclosed balcony-landing of the porcelain staircase. It truly was the most majestic and spectacular of rooms in terms of architectural excellence – second only to the imposing splendour of Sasuke's throne room. As she took the wide, left side of the staircase and descended onto the ballroom's floor, Sakura found herself dazzled all over again by the Palladian, stained glass balcony windows and doors, and the mesmerising reflections of light captured on the floor's perfectly polished surface. Her ears picked up on the faint, barely-there sound of flutes and exotic chanting, and she wondered where it was coming from. Her head turned as she strained to listen closely – but she couldn't quite locate its origin.

Thinking to herself that it was probably nymphs, singing beyond the balcony doors, who were likely responsible for the slow-paced music, Sakura continued to walk forward until she reached the middle of the enormous room, where she proceeded to spin in a circle, the over-skirt of her gown swishing prettily outwards with her movements, as she turned her face up to admire the beautifully painted ceiling, with its angels and gods and goddesses, behind whom glinted a humongous, gloriously radiant sun.

How many years must it have taken to create such a magnificent piece of art? Who was the original artist? Sakura wished that she knew. But, having no answers, she had to make do with simply admiring the work from a great distance, while desperately rueing the fact that she could not get closer to examine the rich, vibrant panels in more detail.

She remained there, staring up at the idyllic scene for a long time, until the sudden, prickling sensation of being watched caused her head to lower as she cast a spontaneous glance back over her left shoulder.

Sasuke was standing at the enclosed central landing on top of the resplendent staircase, staring directly at her.

Sakura's heart quivered unexpectedly. How long had he been there, watching her? Time seemed to suspend entirely at that moment as they gazed at each other. He had changed his outfit too, was now dressed in gold-stitched black, with a long, gold-satin sash wound elegantly around his neck, its trailing ends falling loosely behind his back. He looked every inch the proud and magnificent king, painted the very picture of sinful, sultry seduction. Then time resumed, and he was all at once moving toward her with dangerous, predator-like grace, his gait unhurried and graceful.

The mysterious music that seemed to be playing out of thin air suddenly altered in its tone and mood, and with the shift, her heart began to pound harder, faster. Sasuke had reached the bottom of the stairs and was advancing with intent, his smoky, heavy-lashed dark eyes fixed purposefully onto her. Like black holes, sucking out all light and drawing her in. That smouldering, obsidian stare, coupled with the now sensual and exotic tune that was lilting in the air around them, was enough to cause alarm sirens to blare deafeningly in Sakura's head, and her feet carried her instinctively back with every step he took closer.

She didn't know _what_ exactly it was about the way he was looking at her that made her feel the urgent need to retain distance between them. Perhaps it was the disconcerting aura of resolve that was radiating from his tall, arresting form, so different to the anger that had been there when she had left him earlier. The static silence hanging heavily between them was smothering, electrifying - and so was the near unbearable tension plaguing every nerve ending in Sakura's body.

But Sasuke had evidently arrived with very specific actions in mind. The heels of his sandals struck strongly upon the polished surface of the ballroom floor as he increased his pace, the resolute, no-nonsense expression on his face making it clear that he had absolutely no intention of allowing her to elude him this time. She clutched tightly, nervously onto the flowing skirt of her gown, and tensed when, in three swift, fluid strides, Sasuke narrowed the gap between them. And Sakura felt that her heart was ready to leap straight out of her mouth when, abruptly, and with merciless force, the death deity's left arm snaked around her waist, and he jerked her forward against him.

She gulped back a startled gasp as the front of her body collided into his, when the arm around her waist held her closely in position.

"Sasuke," she began bewilderedly, finding herself unable to keep up with his mercurial shifts in mood as his right hand grasped and lifted her left one, cool fingers intertwining firmly between hers. "What are you-?"

But the phantom, violin-driven melody was playing more strongly now, becoming even more entrancing and compelling when a distant and sweet, breathy female voice began singing, her foreign words accompanied by sensuous string instruments. As if on cue, Sasuke began moving slowly forward in time to the music and, as Sakura's right hand gripped reflexively onto his left shoulder to steady herself, her stumped brain finally registered what he was doing.

Dancing. She was _dancing_ – in Death's arms. Sakura did not have the opportunity to consider just _how_ her feet seemed to intuitively know the steps to his waltz. The bangles around her ankles, maybe – or perhaps it was the mysterious music, which seemed to be seeping directly into her bloodstream, taking control of her senses and withering away any resistance, until all she could concentrate on was Sasuke and the irresistible allure of the seductive melody around them.

He held her close - much closer than what was socially acceptable – and yet Sakura was powerless to pull away. For his eyes had ensnared her once again, eyes that were as beautiful and brilliant as black diamonds. And in many ways, she realised, that was precisely what Sasuke was – a proud, regal black diamond, impervious to time and wear and everything else on the surface. But what about underneath it? Sakura could feel her thoughts coming undone. She had never held anybody's eyes for so long - and his gaze was so swelteringly intense. It was difficult to remember being frustrated with him before, when he was looking at her like that now.

They continued to waltz in perfect synchronisation, and Sakura was certain that he could feel her treacherous heart pounding against him. The organ had no reason to race so agitatedly – and yet, despite her mind's desperate attempts to regulate its frantic rhythm, it continued to thunder stubbornly within her. Her cheeks felt warm, her whole body strangely on edge as they twirled together in the centre of the ballroom floor.

Overcome by the urgent need to say something – because if she didn't, those sinful eyes would surely succeed in stealing away the very strength from her bones – Sakura blurted, "I didn't think you could dance."

A blink – and then one corner of Sasuke's sensuous lips curved back at that, and Sakura could feel her eyes widening. _God._ When he smirked wickedly like that, _sexy_ wasn't even an adequate enough word to describe its tantalising effect.

"I am a god," he replied matter-of-factly – and that was enough to explain everything. Before Sakura could say anything else, the arm around her waist loosened, and she found herself being rolled out for a gently whirling spin. Keeping his hold on her left hand, Sasuke drew her back against him, and wound his other arm around her stomach. Sakura released a shaky breath as she was overwhelmed by the heat of his body as he swayed with her from side to side. When she felt a puff of warm air against her left ear, Sakura couldn't stop the irrepressible shudder from shooting down through her body.

"Cold, Sakura…?" his lips intoned silkily, a hint of knowing smugness in his voice. They both knew very well that the air temperature around them had absolutely nothing to do with the way she had involuntarily trembled in his hold.

Sakura's tongue had joined her heart on the traitor bandwagon, and her brain seemed worryingly eager to follow suite. Suddenly she couldn't think straight. She forgot how to speak when she felt the tip of his aristocratic nose nuzzle into her hair and heard him inhale deeply. When his right hand released hers and trailed with near agonising unhurriedness down the slender curve of her waist, Sakura felt like every part of her was caught between devastating electricity and intolerable fire. She didn't know what to do to get away from the head spinning sensations his touches were eliciting. And what terrified her most of all was that a part of her, at that very moment, wasn't even fully certain that it _wanted_ to get away.

The enthralling female voice was singing on, and with every passing second, Sakura's confusion grew and grew. The floor before her was glimmering, the lights glittering in her eyes, enchanting her vision. She only distantly realised that Sasuke had pushed her hair to one side when she felt the tip of his nose tracing lightly over the left column of her neck. Her body was no longer just quivering on the outside. Inside her, an earthquake was shifting plates, giving way to devastating ruin.

What were these alien feelings? She had felt similar things before in isolation, whenever he had come too close and touched her – but never so profoundly. And she had always succeeded in shoving them away. Now she couldn't even grasp them.

"What…" she whispered thickly, unthinkingly. "What are you doing…?"

' _You fear this_ ,' came the answer in her mind, and for an awful instant, Sakura could not distinguish whether the voice belonged to her, or to the death deity, '… _because it is unfamiliar to you.'_

Before she could attempt to comprehensively process the meaning behind the words, Sasuke had tugged her back around to face him, and crushed her possessively close again. But instead of tensing, her body seemed to melt against his. The return of eye-contact hit Sakura like a sizzling lightning bolt and once more she was unable to look elsewhere. Sasuke's feet slid forward as he continued to dictate the pace of the waltz. He led on and she followed, finding the precision, the authority and the dominance of his actions almost too much to keep up with. Her pulse hurtled even faster when, without warning, he shifted direction, causing them both to pirouette quickly in position, before reverting back to an alluringly slow rhythm of movement.

Sakura's left hand – a deserter like almost every other part of her at this point – slipped further up his shoulder as he tilted her backwards and to the side, supporting her in place for several heartbeats before abruptly jerking her up against him again. Her left arm had hooked around his neck when he had raised her, and remained in place, bringing them even more intimately together.

The Death God's eyes travelled over her captivated features. She was a vision of loveliness, the gold and pink hues of her figure-flattering gown accentuating her natural colourings. Something ached deep inside him at the sight of her rose-flushed cheeks. She didn't even _know_ how desirable, how very beautiful she was. Because nobody had ever made her feel that way – like the young woman he had watched her bloom into. Instead she was untouched, innocent – and he could see how visibly bewildered and thrown she was by the feelings that were blossoming within her - like a tentatively budding flower after a lengthy, harsh winter - in response to his proximity.

Sasuke's heart thudded. Sakura was leaning against him, her soft, slight body pressing into him, allowing him to guide her. At last, she was permitting his touch. She had made no move to push him away, not even once. Her irises, rendered darker by the inexplicable fire she could feel burning the blood in her veins, were fixed on his face, bright and glazed, as if she were caught up in a spell. But he had woven no enchantment upon her. He had not needed to.

Sensing a window of opportunity for which he had been waiting far too long to come around, the death deity brought the dance to a graceful end, winding Sakura out for one final, slow twirl, before reeling her smoothly back into him. Keeping one arm laced around her waist, Sasuke lifted his right hand, his fingers caressing the silken skin of her softly curving jawline, his gaze flickering to her moist, pink lips. So plump. So inviting. And he was positively ravenous to taste her.

"Sakura…" he murmured, keeping his eyes locked intently onto her, ready to detect the first signs of fear or rejection – and to alter his intentions accordingly. Her hands were closed into loose fists at his chest, and she looked uncertain, dazed – as if she were rapidly trying to come to terms with just _what_ it was that had passed between them. Her eyes fluttered shut as her lungs heaved in an attempt to gulp down oxygen. Because it suddenly felt like there wasn't enough of a supply to her brain, and it was taking every fibre of willpower just to remain upright.

The feel of soft, warm lips brushing against her jawline caused an explosion of light - which Sakura could only recognise at that second as pure panic - to flash behind her eyes. Her eyelids flew open, her heart galloping at life-threatening speed as Sasuke's lips continued to trace a light, fiery trail along her skin, leaving it scorched, blistering. She inhaled sharply, and he felt the tension return to her body as she suddenly stiffened against him.

Gritting his teeth as he was forced, once again, to withdraw at the final moment, Sasuke instead brought his lips to her right ear, and, after taking a few seconds to crush down the overwhelming urge to kiss her senseless against her wishes - whispered, "Close your eyes."

Sakura exhaled in alarm, her spine tingling as the fingers of his right hand caressed a path down her back, before coming to a snug rest at its base.

" _What?_ Why?"

"We're leaving," Sasuke finished cryptically, and Sakura's shock was swallowed up as a whistling, blinding funnel of blue-white light abruptly surrounded them at the death deity's will, whisking the world around her rapidly out of existence.


	31. Chapter XXX

**Chapter XXX**

* * *

_Take my hand,_

_And we'll away,_

_To magical places,_

_And flowered glades,_

_Follow me through,_

_The sacred groves,_

_Where no living human,_

_May make their abode,_

_To stately mountains,_

_Where rivers flow,_

_Through ghostly plains,_

_And caverns that glow,_

_Until you come upon,_

_The blessed fields,_

_Where no mortals go,_

_And secrets yield._

* * *

The unsettling sensation of floating lingered after the funnel of light dispelled, leaving Sakura feeling lightheaded and unsteady. When the world finally stopped revolving enough for her bearings to readjust, she found herself blinking bewilderedly at the sight of four shadowy horses before her, saddled and waiting at attention. One of the magnificent steeds tilted its head back to direct a contemptuous, crimson-eyed glare her way. Sakura gulped as realisation dawned upon her. Sasuke had transported them to his chariot – which meant he was about to take her on another stomach churning, heart pounding ride. Then she became aware of the death deity's hands, which had released her the moment he had sensed her recover, taking hold of the reins, effectively padlocking her in the enclosure of his arms.

Involuntarily, Sakura glanced down at herself. Somehow, somewhere between being whisked out of the ballroom and to the stable area, she had acquired a richly-woven silver cloak. When had Sasuke even managed to obtain and secure it around her shoulders? She was not given the chance to solve that particular mystery, however, for Sasuke was already spurning the smoke-snorting horses forward. The sudden jerk of the carriage's movement caused Sakura to knock back into the Death God, and her heart leapt in alarm. She didn't feel ready for another adrenaline rush, and was not certain she could handle further emotional turbulence. Her mind was still reeling from the blisteringly intimate dance they had shared, and all the head spinning feelings it had unexpectedly elicited, and her jawline still tingled in memory of how his lips had brushed sensuously over her skin.

"Sasuke," she began, unnerved by how quickly things were, quite literally, moving. The stallions had swerved and were swiftly gaining pace, taking a different route to the one Sasuke had guided them along the previous time; one that wound around the palace's perimeter and exited at its front. "Wait- where are we going?"

"You'll see," he replied evasively – and then Sakura was forced to clamp her mouth shut as the air began whistling past them. In what felt like a matter of seconds, the chariot had careened through the palace's glowing, colossal front gates and plunged into the misty haze beyond, before breaking out into another gloomy cavern.

Sakura's watering eyes struggled to make anything out around them as the horses continued to gallop forward at blinding speed, causing their surroundings to stream by in shapeless blurs. She gripped tightly onto the front of the chariot, grateful that Sasuke had seemingly taken at least a little mercy on her overloaded senses this time by not commanding his beasts of burden to fly.

She lost count of how many twists and turns they took and how many torch-lit tunnels they traversed through before the stallions finally seemed to slow down. The ground texture beneath the chariot's sturdy wheels had changed, felt less gravelly. Sakura quickly realised why. They were travelling over dull grassland – and the roof of the cavern had long since vanished behind them, replaced by a limitless, midnight-blue, star scattered sky – complete with – to Sakura's utter astonishment, an actual full moon.

"Is that real?" she questioned uncertainly, tilting her face upwards.

"No," Sasuke answered. "It is an illusion that exists to bring comfort to the souls who dwell here."

The steeds cantered onwards at a leisurely pace. They were moving toward something that was glowing eerily in the horizon, something Sakura couldn't quite identify from their distance.

"What _is_ that?" she wondered aloud curiously, squinting to see more clearly ahead. As the carriage ventured closer, the unexceptional ground beneath them blended into a new landscape, and her eyes widened at the sight that met them. Stretching out before them was a vast, rolling field, with long, slender, grey-green blades of grass that shone beneath the phantom moonlight and rustled in the mild, cool breeze. Sakura sucked the air in, delighting in the welcome change it presented from the cold dampness of the enclosed, inner caverns. Littering the plains were thousands upon thousands of luminous, ghostly white, and pale-amethyst hued flowers. Asphodels, Sakura quickly identified, gazing around them in astonishment as the horses slowed further to a gentle trot. But these blooms were larger and unlike any she had ever seen on the surface.

"The Meadows of Asphodel," Sasuke's voice spoke close behind her, "where ordinary and indifferent souls take rest."

His right hand released its hold on the reins and he reached up, brushing his fingertips lightly over Sakura's eyes before drawing them away again. She gasped as her vision suddenly began to make out insubstantial, semi-transparent figures walking all over the endless fields. Souls. They seemed to be fading in and out of existence. Their faces were expressionless, their movements unhurried. Mechanical.

"What's wrong with them?" Sakura asked, spotting souls of all ages lumbering around in what appeared to be aimless and arbitrary directions.

Sasuke tugged at his steeds to halt and glanced indifferently down at a cluster of stationary spirits, before stating, "All who enter Asphodel leave behind their past identities. They have no memories, nothing to tie them to their previous lives. They exist in neutrality."

"Can't they see each other?" Sakura had noticed the disturbing way the delicate figures seemed to be completely ignoring one other. "Don't they talk?"

"Each soul has a task it believes it must perform," the Death God expanded. "And so it keeps to itself to complete it. But this is also an illusion, to keep them occupied. In reality, they simply wander."

It seemed dreadfully cruel, even with the provided explanation. Sakura felt her eyes sting with pity and her throat close over with compassion as she saw a particularly young boy sway past them. So this was some kind of limbo, the place where people who had committed good and bad deeds in equal measures were sent to dwell after they died; in a hushed, hauntingly beautiful and ethereal meadow, made to believe that they had been assigned an important focus that required undertaking at once – but were, unknowingly, only under the illusion that they were performing it in their heads. In actuality, they spent their time strolling around amidst the asphodel flowers, oblivious to everything and everyone around them.

"They don't eat?" She couldn't quite grasp the concept of wandering ceaselessly without any form of relief.

"Their souls are sustained by the flowers."

"And they never rest?"

"They are already dead."

Sakura shook her head incredulously. How lonely and terrible a fate it seemed! To be bound to such a place – forever.

"But…" she whispered, "that's awful…"

"Their actions in life dictated their fate," Sasuke reminded her unsympathetically.

Sakura didn't know what else to say to that. She supposed it was better than being flung into the fiery pits of hell – if that was indeed what hell was even like - and fell quiet as the dark horses began to trot forward again. But just as they set off, Sakura suddenly caught sight of a pale face amongst the swarm of sceptres surrounding them – and her breath hitched sharply in disbelief. She twisted around to glance behind the chariot, her heart all at once thumping. The soul altered its course, allowing her to glimpse its features more clearly – and then she was leaning over the side of the carriage, struck with a profound sense of grief.

"Mr. Arakawa!" she exclaimed in stunned dismay, glancing at Sasuke before gesturing wildly toward the spirit. "That's Mr. Arakawa!"

Her body was moving instinctively. Even when, deep inside, she already knew it was futile – the man's soul could neither see nor hear her – she still tried to push past Sasuke, to step down onto the field and rush to what remained of her former patient. Because it was difficult to accept that he was there at all, when she had not even been by his side to witness him draw his final breath – when she didn't even know when and how, exactly, he had passed. Tears were burning in her eyes, but Sasuke's strong arms prevented her from dismounting the chariot.

"I need to see him," she said anxiously. "Please, just give me a minute-"

"No, Sakura." She was too upset to pick up the uncharacteristic gentleness of the death deity's tone. "You must not disturb his rest."

"Please!" she pleaded, horrified to find her vision blurring as tears began to spill. Struggling to track the retreating soul's movements, she continued senselessly, "He's my patient – I promised his wife I'd look after him, I _promised_ -"

A hand rested lightly on her left shoulder.

"He is dead."

The words hit her like an icy bucket of water, flung right in her face. She knew it already, of course, had known it the instant she had spied the soul. Sasuke's statement just made the reality all the more irreversible and final. Sakura exhaled, and the chariot stopped again, as the death deity allowed her a few minutes to absorb the news. Mr. Arakawa's spirit had wandered off, and Sakura stared miserably down at her hands, clutching tightly onto the side of the carriage.

After a long silence, she said thickly, "When did he…" she struggled to make herself articulate the words. "When did he pass?"

Sasuke averted his gaze. Distressed that he wasn't going to tell her, Sakura turned to face him fully, and reached out to clutch onto the front of his black tunic.

"Please, Sasuke," she met his eyes directly. "I need to know."

His attention shifted to the small, delicate fingers gripping tightly onto the fabric over his chest. Then he looked into her face, and, after another brief pause, conceded, "Several hours ago."

Sakura swallowed, and bowed her head as a fresh stream of tears fell. Sasuke remained silent while she grieved, making no move to disengage the hand that was still holding onto him. Instead he waited. But when it took longer than he anticipated for her to recollect herself, the death deity was overcome with the foreign and inexplicable need to stem her tears. Because seeing them bothered him for reasons he could not comprehend.

"He passed in sleep," he spoke automatically, without thinking. "Nothing more could have been done."

Sakura's eyes widened as those ten words sank into her ears, and she didn't know what was more shocking; the fact that Sasuke had inadvertently offered some form of comfort – or the instantaneous effect his words had on her. Knowing that she couldn't have done anything more and that her patient had not suffered when he had died somehow made it easier to accept that Mr. Arakawa was gone.

She wiped at her eyes. A part of her was still stricken that she had not been there, after dedicating months of care to the man. Sasuke was responsible for that – but she believed the deity when he'd said that there was nothing else she could have done to save Mr. Arakawa. He had been terminally ill. If she had been there to witness his death, Sakura knew she would have beaten herself up about it a lot more. And if she really wanted to really be a doctor, she would have to get used to the fact that not everybody could be saved – as much as she hated to face up to the unpleasant but unavoidable truth.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why do people have to get sick? Why did gods create illnesses and suffering?"

Sasuke gave her a measuring look, as if he were debating whether or not to answer. Finally, he conceded, "They did not."

Sakura shook her head at him. "I don't understand."

His gaze shifted to the souls wandering past the chariot. "Curiosity. Greed. Sickness was spread through mortal actions." Seeing her become even more perplexed, Sasuke added, "Humans are self-destructive, Sakura."

Something flared across her features. A hint of anger – and Sasuke's interest was immediately snagged as she released his top and gestured around them. "Mr. Arakawa was a good man. He looked after himself! He never hurt anybody. How was his illness _his_ fault?"

Even as she was saying it, Sakura found herself wondering just how good he had to have really been, if he had ended up in the place where indifferent and ordinary souls took rest. It was unnerving, to think that she had really known so little about Mr. Arakawa and the kind of life he had led behind closed doors, prior to submitting to terminal illness. Sasuke, in stark contrast, obviously knew every secret, every detail – and had judged accordingly.

"The actions of his predecessors have caused mortal bodies to weaken over time and become less resilient," said Sasuke.

Sakura opened her mouth to argue that it wasn't fair, that gods ought to have stepped in at some point in the timeline to mend the damage caused – but the more she weighed Sasuke's words, the more she realised that she had no right to question him on the matter. He was the deity of death. The matters of the living were clearly none of his concern, and he had already told her that gods were not responsible for allowing sickness to spread. It was human avarice and curiosity that had permitted diseases to multiply. Suddenly, it all made horrible sense to Sakura. New bacteria and mutating viruses were being discovered all the time. People were over-reliant on medication, medication that often had adverse effects on the body. Only a fool could deny it. The surface life that she had lived carried much suffering and strife. The wars, the constant conflicts over power, countries fighting it out to hoard the greatest amount of resources, humans killing each other in cold blood and destroying nature… Sasuke was right. Every mortal was born with free will, and the tendency of people to self-destruct was well documented throughout history.

A light touch at her left cheek prompted her lowered, saddened eyes to lift to the Death God again.

"All humans are curious," he said quietly, his fingertips lingering pointedly in place as he held her gaze. Something stirred inside Sakura. She knew he was referring to her own desire to obtain more knowledge about him and the Underworld. Her anger waned, and she averted her head, prompting Sasuke's hand to retract.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled dejectedly at length, apologising for her earlier outburst. "I just- it's a shock. I looked after him for so long, and I wanted to be there when-" She bit her lower lip to stop the remainder of the sentence from emerging. Hesitating, she altered, "Will he be alright here?"

Sasuke nodded, and Sakura inhaled deeply - before turning back around to face the front of the chariot. She didn't want to stay in the eerie fields any longer.

"Can we go on?" she asked softly.

Sensing her need to leave, Sasuke tugged immediately on the reins. Releasing deafening neighs, the steeds galloped onwards, bearing toward the right. The lumbering shapes of souls became ghostly streaks as the chariot tore through the vast meadow. Sakura briefly closed her eyes, losing herself to the sensation of the wind rippling through her hair, and the lingering sorrow of learning Mr. Arakawa's fate. At least he was in no more pain, she told herself. At least he would be able to rest in Asphodel, where he could feel no regrets. It was more upsetting for those who lived on and clung to the past, she acknowledged, than for the blissfully ignorant souls themselves.

The plains seemed like they went on forever, until the carriage finally neared a wide river that glistened brilliantly in the spectral moonlight. Sakura was taken by its incredible clarity, and pointed toward it.

"What is that?" she asked Sasuke, over the howling of air and the pounding of iron hooves.

"A small section of Lethe," the death deity murmured, angling the reins to slow the steeds briefly down again. "The River of Forgetfulness."

If what she was seeing was small, Sakura had no idea how immense the river had to be in its total volume and area.

"Forgetfulness?" she echoed. The way the surface of the water shimmered was hypnotising. Sakura had a strange and baffling urge to get out of the carriage and inspect it more closely – but Sasuke's steadfast arms around her made it apparent that he had no intention of allowing her to dismount.

"All who drink from its waters forget their past lives."

Water that induced amnesia… what next?

Sakura exhaled dubiously. "That really works? How much do they have to drink to forget?"

"A mouthful for every year lived."

Was that how the souls who dwelled in the Asphodel Meadows forgot about their earthly lives, then? Did they have to drink from this river prior to entering? Sakura's question lodged in her throat when she glimpsed an enormous and elaborately carved grey boat travelling slowly downstream, to their left. She had never seen it before. It drew to a silent stop by the riverbank and she watched, fascinated, as a flood of souls floated out and landed onto the shores of Asphodel. Immediately they began to roam deeper into the fields. The boat then pulled away to continue its silent journey downstream.

It all seemed remarkably organised – and extraordinarily surreal.

The chariot was moving again, straight toward the water's edge. To Sakura's astonishment, a glowing, arched silver bridge formed over the river's surface as the horses touched down, allowing them to pass freely over, before the temporary crossing vanished instantly behind them. Then they were travelling on the other side of the river, and the grass here was remarkably different. Instead of being an ashen, pale grey-green, the tips of the lush, healthy green blades glinted with tiny specks of gold, and luminous butterflies of various hues flittered prettily about. Sakura wasn't given a chance to dwell on how wonderful that was, though, for Sasuke was urging his steeds onwards towards looming, jagged white structures overhead. Sakura's eyes fell upon intermittent, milky trees which began appearing in the landscape ahead of them, becoming denser and clustering to form a luminous band of forest as they drew nearer.

She was overwhelmed by an incredible sense of life as graceful, exotic birds squawked and flapped by them, their feathers lustrous and unnaturally glossy. Regal stags with solid gold antlers lifted their heads from the grass, their large, dark eyes keenly tracking the chariot's route. Sakura gasped in surprised delight, a little of her previous woe diminishing, when she spotted does with their young, also grazing. Her mind struggled to process that she was seeing surface animals at all. They resembled deer she had seen in wildlife parks – yet somehow they were different, too. There were golden flecks in their coats, and their gazes were brighter. How she longed to reach out and touch a little fawn! But the carriage was fast approaching the magnificent mountain range, which extended further than the eye could see on both sides. Sakura found herself gaping at the concept of underground mountains, and how they could equal the majesty of surface peaks. The chariot entered into the gleaming forest that grew directly before it. The twinkling trees around them passed in a glittering blur as the horses thundered through the enchanted woodland, following a silvery path on the ground, which brought them right up to the beautifully carved mouth of the underpass leading beneath the mountains.

The chariot drew to a smooth, rolling stop before a pair of colossal, ivory doors, bearing the red and white fan insignia, formed from what looked to be thousands of tiny glimmering diamonds and garnets. Sasuke stepped out of the carriage and assisted Sakura down, before telepathically instructing his horses to wait in place. Sakura turned her attention to the impressive doors and ran her fingers lightly over the swirling silver, leafy designs adorning it.

Then, with her eyes fixed on the crest, she remarked, "That emblem. It's the same one in your palace."

Sasuke glanced up at it, then at the back of her pale coral head. And he hesitated despite himself. After she had left him back at the palace, he had mulled broodingly over her words, and, irritated that she had gotten to him once again, had made his way to the restored shrine room, where he had stood before the portrait hung on the back wall, as if the silent faces painted on the canvas could provide him with the answers he so desperately sought. He had remained there for a long time, carefully contemplating which actions to take next.

He had already decided that confronting Chiyo about the reasons behind her unanticipated disclosure to Sakura would prove to be a useless waste of valuable time – as much as he wanted to know just _what_ the old hag was playing at by revealing things so uncharacteristically. Then it had occurred to him that Sakura was actually beginning to question _why_ she had been raised in ignorance – and that worked to his advantage, provided him with a way of potentially getting her to reconsider whether she wanted to leave his Kingdom at all.

If he told her the truth, where others had told her only lies, surely she would grow to trust him more and willingly lower her defences to him? It was already happening - slowly but gradually. His touch was starting to affect her – and Sakura was becoming increasingly aware of it, too. He had seen visible proof on more than one occasion.

But if he revealed things about her own upbringing – and the real nature of those she considered closest to her – he would also be required to share things about his own past in turn. Because, whether he liked it or not, they were all tied by what had happened back then.

It was largely the reason why he had not decided to raise the issue with her earlier. He was still uncertain of much he was prepared to reveal to Sakura, how much he really wanted her to know about him. What would it change between them, if he chose to enlighten her? Would she be more open? More understanding? Or would she reject the things he told her pertaining to her mother and the others? Frustration had clawed inside his chest, wearing his already tried patience precariously thin. What if it changed _nothing?_

Eras of being alone in the shadows, with only the bitterness, hatred and regret of his memories for company had hardened Sasuke's heart to black stone, and made him suspicious and untrusting of everyone and everything. Those negative feelings reflexively extended to Sakura, too – despite his conflicting desire for closeness with her. Even when she had done little wrong – her yearning for the surface was not a crime; it was to be expected. He couldn't make her forget what had been a fundamental part of her existence for eighteen years prior to her abduction. But pushing her away and shunning her every time she asked too much, he had begrudgingly acknowledged, was perhaps not the best way of making her less eager to leave his side, either.

And so he had arrived at the unavoidable conclusion. Permitting Sakura to gain more knowledge would mean that he would have to assign a measure of trust and faith in her – trust and faith that she could handle secrets not intended to be known by mortals - and would not abuse them. It would be difficult for him to lower his guard when he had forgotten how to do it – when his memories of individuals he had trusted in the past were tarnished by the twisted, poisonous blade of betrayal.

The death deity's eyes had then come to rest on a crimson pair of irises in the painting, and he had swallowed back the resentment in his throat.

There were some things he knew he could never tell her. But perhaps, in time, he could show her. And when he had happened to come upon her in the ballroom, where he had been powerless to look away from her beauty and mesmerised by the light she exuded, Sasuke had made up his mind, once and for all. He would acquiesce to her wishes to learn more. He would take her to the place where all souls were revealed for what they were truly worth, and allow her to see things no other living mortal had ever been permitted to see – and then he would take his payment. He would bind her to him and his realm and use any ruse necessary to get her to willingly ingest the Food of the Dead.

Sasuke blinked out of his recollections, and decided that he would disclose fragments – and gauge Sakura's reactions closely. If she proved loyal and worthy, he would give her more. If she did not…

Severing the remainder of the dark thought, he uttered, "Uchiha."

Sakura frowned lightly at the door in front of her. "Huh?"

After another lengthy pause, Sasuke said emphatically, "The crest."

Sakura glance over her shoulder at him in confusion – that was what the emblem was called? But she already knew it was a fan – _oh._ Her brain did a double-take, causing her eyes to widen as she looked back at the insignia. Sasuke had just said _Uchiha_ \- _not_ uchiwa.

Her lips parted. Had he just... had he just given her his family's name?

Uchiha. _Sasuke Uchiha._

It sounded so… _right,_ somehow _._ Imperial and imposing. And for a god who was as reserved as Sasuke was, who never divulged anything about himself, Sakura realised it was a ground-breaking revelation.

She was struck by the fact that deities kept family names, too. It seemed like such a normal, human concept. But then, why wouldn't they? She had already learnt that they possessed mothers and fathers. And they had created humans in their likeness, after all.

"Sasuke-" She began to turn to him, but he was already brushing past her, the heavy doors opening at his silent command. Without hesitating, she followed after him, taking an immediate set of pale grey marble steps that led them straight down into another cave-like structure. It glowed with ethereal silver light and sparkled with millions of tiny, precious stones. Diamonds, Sakura suddenly recognised, gazing around them in ill-concealed wonderment. The walls and low roof above them glittered with incredible light, and her eyes were utterly captivated.

Was this one of the diamond caverns Sasuke had mentioned to her before? She trailed silently after the death deity, too awed to speak lest the enchanting vision around her dispelled. Eventually the rocky passage widened and they reached another marble staircase, with two golden torches stationed at its base – except these steps climbed upwards. Each set of six steps was separated by a small, twin-torch illuminated landing, which continued up to the next set.

When they finally reached the top and stepped out into a much more spacious, circular cavern, Sakura released another thrilled gasp.

Diamonds twinkled in the dimness around them like playful stars. Everywhere she looked, everywhere she turned – the place was brimming with them. Pale-blue waterfalls gushed down the centre of the far left and right walls. But as impressive and otherworldly as the sight was, it blanched in comparison to what Sasuke was leading her toward next.

A stunning, white-marble breezeway had been erected in the middle of the ginormous cavern, acting as a bridge which provided safe passage over the yawning, plummeting chasm surrounding it. It boasted a total of sixteen fluted, perfectly aligned Corinthian columns, their intricate capitals decorated with slender golden leaves and glimmering, silver stars. A protective parapet enclosed the sides of the bridge, formed from exquisitely carved, swirling balustrades. A gently arching roof crowned the striking structure, its underside richly painted to reflect a gorgeous, diamond-strewn midnight sky.

As Sakura stepped onto the breezeway, she felt the air flee her lungs. It provided a perfect view of the waterfalls, and she didn't know which way to look first. She drifted instinctively to the right, and came to a stop in the middle of the bridge between two widely spaced columns, where she rested her hands on the flat surface coping of the balustrade enclosure, which reached half-way up her stomach.

Slowly, Sakura released the breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding. The view was spectacular; the Underworld, she was finding, kept pleasantly surprising her. Time seemed to suspend then, as she gazed out at the sparkling waterfall, losing herself to the moment and the soothing sound of cascading water. Sasuke stood beside her, his body angled slightly toward her as he stared at the vision of splendour before them, briefly allowing himself to submit to the memory of the last time he had stood in the very same spot, next to a different, darker haired female – and, despite his best attempts at preventing it, felt a familiar, twinging ache tugging deep inside him.

For a long time they looked on in silence – but it was not an uncomfortable one.

"It's so beautiful," said Sakura softly. Withdrawing from her distracted state at last, she glanced involuntarily at Sasuke, who looked like he was lost in his own contemplations. And she was overcome, at that moment, by how very solemn and distant he looked. What was he thinking? Then she became aware of how close they were standing – and how oddly at ease both of their postures were. It was strange, Sakura thought, directing her gaze back to the waterfall, but for just a little while, she had forgotten that she was standing next to Death at all.

Sakura raised a hand and ran her fingers over the grooved column directly to her left. "This bridge is magnificent. Did you build it?"

A pause. And then the short response, "No."

"Oh," said Sakura, following one indentation with her index finger. She searched her mind for something else to say – anything to stop another silence from falling between them – but it was difficult to sustain a conversation alone. Just as she was beginning to despair when quiet began to infringe upon them once more, Sasuke surprised her by speaking again, and his voice had lost its flat edge.

"It was a gift." Another lengthy pause, before he added even more quietly, "For the Underworld's last Queen."

Sakura's finger froze in position. Then she blinked, and looked back at the death deity. Sasuke's eyes were no longer on her. They were gazing down at the flat coping – and his left hand had lifted to rest lightly on it. She couldn't read the expression on his face. But something about his shift in posture caused something to stir deep inside her.

"Your mother," the near-whispered words tumbled from Sakura's lips before she could even process them. Somehow she knew it with certainty. Had the previous King – Sasuke's father – made this for his Queen? The notion was a terribly romantic one, and made earthly gestures between sweethearts, like flowers and chocolates, appear wanting in comparison.

She found herself pondering whether Sasuke had stood next to his mother in the same position they were standing in now. And what it meant that he had chosen to allow her the honour of walking on the bridge, too. That was when she saw it. Something she would have missed altogether had she blinked at that moment - the sudden tension that weighed on Sasuke's brow, which vanished almost immediately, replaced by an expression of utter indifference. His silence only confirmed Sakura's words, but she wasn't given the opportunity to say anything else. Wordlessly, Sasuke stepped away from the balustrade, indicating that it was time to leave – much to Sakura's disappointment.

"Come," he clipped. With one final, wistful glance back at the waterfall – for she would have loved to stay longer - Sakura obediently followed him, and all she could wonder was, how close had Sasuke been to his mother?

The other side of the breezeway brought them to an identical set of steps that led down to yet another wide, diamond encrusted tunnel, which eventually expanded to form a larger underground structure consisting of rocky walls that glowed with alternating hues of light blue and turquoise, and housed a rippling, crystal clear pool in its centre. A long stone bridge allowed safe passage over it, and as they walked toward it, Sakura felt her curiosity and anticipation heighten. Where was Sasuke taking her next? She was eager to find out.

' _Maiden.'_

Sakura halted abruptly when she heard a sudden whisper in her head. She glanced behind her, but there was nothing there. Shrugging it off as a figment of her overstimulated imagination, she made to follow after Sasuke, who had reached the bridge – when she heard it once again.

' _Maiden…'_

"What?" she exclaimed aloud. Sasuke stopped, and turned to glance back at her with an eye-brow questioningly raised. When only silence governed, a sheepish Sakura gestured vaguely into the air. "Nothing. I thought I heard something."

Sasuke scowled and then motioned with his head for her to follow him. No sooner had he turned away again, Sakura heard the whispers once more. At first she couldn't make out what they were saying. But the more closely she listened, the more the words being uttered – and the voices speaking them - became intelligible.

Breathy, female tones, hissing yet oddly riveting, rich and echoing. Some were singing sensuously, whilst others gently insisted that she listen to them. Sakura slowed on the bridge as a peculiar sensation suddenly began to crawl over her, causing her skin to prickle as if she were standing beside a giant, ionising magnet. And the more she focused on what the sweet voices were saying, the faster her heart began to pound.

' _Hear ussss…'_

' _Desssire…'_

' _You desssire…'_

' _A king of kingssss…'_

 _What…?_ Sakura thought, alarm rooting her to the spot, her head snapping around in an attempt to source the sounds. _Who's saying that…?_

But the voices did not respond to her question. Instead they whispered and hummed seductively on.

' _The lasssst of hisss kind…'_

' _He will crown you in leavessss of gold…'_

' _And clothe you in gowns of silk…'_

' _Hear ussss, maiden.'_

' _Hear your calling…'_

' _Give in… give in to the darknesssss…'_

' _For Death desiressss you…'_

' _And you desssire Death…'_

' _Give in… give in…'_

' _Give in to the sweetesssst pleasssure…'_

The echoes were incessant, buzzing. Sakura's initial horror was quickly washed away as the whispers and phantom singing continued, seeping into her blood and becoming more potent until they overrode all logical thought processes and took absolute command of her senses. Her brain was overcome and her vision began to warp and tunnel in, until all she could see was the Uchiha emblem stitched onto Sasuke's back. And that was when it hit her - like an unstoppable hurricane. A profound and inexplicable need that she could not fathom, that gripped her in a vice-like hold that left her entire body quivering but unable to escape.

She _wanted_ him. The acknowledgement smacked into her like a crippling blow to the chest, leaving her breathless, devastated. She couldn't comprehend the abrupt intensity of such a need, but at that moment, she had never wanted anything as much as Sasuke.

' _Yesss…'_

Throaty giggles reverberated all around her.

' _Yesss…'_

' _You want him…'_

' _You need him…'_

' _Go to him…'_

' _Closer… closer…'_

' _This way…'_

More velvety laughter, coaxing her into looking away from Sasuke and toward the rippling pool. She saw golden eyes, peering through from underneath. Beautiful, pale faces, long wisps of hair belonging to inhuman, mischievous entities.

Sensing that Sakura had fallen behind again, Sasuke turned in annoyance – to find her staring unseeingly into the water. With no manner of warning whatsoever, she swayed unsteadily on her feet – and toppled straight over the side of the bridge. The death deity's eyes widened in alarm and he uncharacteristically faltered, caught wholly off-guard by her dazed state.

"Sakura-!"

He flash-stepped forward, grabbing her trailing left arm before she could plummet into the liquid depths below. Yanking her backward and falling onto the bridge with her locked safely in his arms, he began to hiss, "What are you-" and froze at the feel of delicate hands creeping slowly and tentatively up his shoulders. Glazed green eyes clashed with onyx, and Sasuke's breath hitched when her fingers began to wade into his raven hair. There was a look in her irises that he had never seen before, one that set his pulse hurtling. Sakura was breathing rapidly, looking afraid and pained and oddly willing all at once.

"I…" she started to whisper. It seemed like she couldn't manage anything else, like she was struggling to speak at all.

There was no clarity in her face. Something had ensnared her. Sasuke's head whipped around, and he had to resist the incredible temptation to succumb to the insistent tugging of Sakura's hands, which were trying to turn his face back toward her – even when he wanted nothing more than to crush her to him and devour her lips. But not when she was not in control of her own mind. He glimpsed impish, retreating faces in the waters, and glared furiously down at them.

Underworld sirens, he realised, who roamed from pool to pool and whose serenading attempts at seduction went unheard by gods, had called to Sakura. They were the most malicious incarnations of sirens and fed off lustful emotions, and – unlike their surface counterparts – did not limit their appetites to male victims alone. What bewitching words had they whispered? From the clouded look in Sakura's eyes, and the way she was clinging onto him so breathlessly, Sasuke didn't need to guess.

He opened his mouth to snap at them to leave Sakura be, but when her head suddenly tilted, he was immediately distracted by her proximity and how delectably soft she felt pressed against him.

The breathy laughter and singing were continuing in her mind, a sinful symphony of sensuality that urged her to jerk Sasuke's head around forcefully and do what her body was now convinced it had been wanting to do for a very, very long time. But a small part of Sakura's consciousness still lingered in the vacuum that had taken over her brain, and was watching on in abject horror at what her treacherous hands were doing. It was protesting at the closeness, even when the other voices were drowning it out, telling her that it felt pleasurable to be held by Sasuke. She could feel the hardness of his muscles around her, and his warmth made her want to stop resisting, to yield and relax…

 _No_ , she thought, fighting to break out of the mental cage that she had been flung into. It was as though her body had taken over her mind, was acting on auto-pilot, of its own accord. _No_. She struggled and wrestled and mentally screamed to regain control. But every time she tried, she was forced back by overwhelmingly domineering feelings of yearning. Sasuke had turned his head back, and his eyes were on her lips. As if caught in a trance. She could feel his heart pounding as much as she knew he could feel hers. Tension plagued his brow, as if he were having a tremendously difficult time trying to detach her arms from him. As if he didn't really want to push her away. She became distantly aware of his hands, and how tightly they were now gripping onto her cloak.

"Sakura…" his voice broke out as little more than a strained whisper.

He wasn't even trying to remove her anymore. The urge to tilt her face up toward him and to yank his head down was overpowering-

 _Stop!_ Sakura panicked, and with a mighty surge of mental strength, roared at her arms to retract. _STOP!_ To her utter astonishment and great relief, her limbs obeyed – and the sinful spell, along with the lingering voices, instantly dispelled. With a jolt she jerked back, pushing at Sasuke to release her.

He did – just about - but his jaw was clenched, and his hands had closed to form tight fists. For a long moment they sat awkwardly, inclined away from one another. Sakura could feel her cheeks burning, and half-wished she could die at that very moment. Her blush further increased when she realised that Sasuke could probably hear such a wish – since it related to death. Her suspicion was only exacerbated when he tossed an unreadable, dark glance her way.

What had _happened?_ She had a nagging suspicion that sirens, or similar water-based creatures, were responsible – she remembered falling under their melodious spell before. Hadn't the Death God warned her once before about not heeding their call? But hadn't Sasuke killed all the sirens in the Underworld? Unless the ones she had heard were a different species. Suddenly she didn't care what kind of monsters they had been. She knew from the tenseness of Sasuke's reaction that he'd had no hand in what had happened – which made the unexpected eagerness of her body's response all the more terrifying. She shuddered to think what might have transpired had she somehow not managed to summon the willpower to boot the intruding voices out of her head.

It had been a spell, Sakura told herself fiercely, even when her heart-rate refused to settle. The voices had temporarily taken over her mind and _made_ her do it. She had allowed the creatures to weave a web over her senses. Next time – not that she would ever allow herself to be caught unprepared again - she would be ready.

Finally, the death deity rose to his feet. "Get up," he ordered stiffly, making a point of avoiding further eye-contact.

Shakily she did so, and followed after him, kicking a stray stone indignantly into the water as she fumed down at the now unoccupied depths. _Perfect._ As if she needed any more reasons to act uneasily in the death deity's presence. She remained absolutely silent as they walked on, her body tense, expecting another unpleasant trap to spring itself onto her. Was everything in the Underworld plotting to make a complete fool of her? But the irritation she could feel coiling from Sasuke's form was like a warning to any other inquisitive, supernatural spirits and creatures lurking about. It emphatically told them to back off, and Sakura wisely paced herself, allowing a greater distance to fall between them. She was troubled, however, by just how long it took to banish lingering sensations of jitteriness from her body.

At length they came to another long set of straight, marble steps leading upwards. Sakura climbed after the death deity, and when they reached the top and stepped into yet another spacious, strangely breezy cavern, Sakura's eyes widened in wonder once again, her previous embarrassment dwindling as her thoughts were firmly directed elsewhere. Flowered, butterfly-populated, silvery vines covered the walls, and ahead of them, heralding the exit to the underground passages, was a heavy curtain made of leaves, through which glinted…

Sakura's breath lodged in her throat. Something gold was shining through the vines. It almost looked like… it almost looked like sunlight! Thrown, she glanced uncertainly at Sasuke, to find the death deity regarding her intently. His shoulders had relaxed again, as if walking at a distance from her had helped to clear his own mind from the discomfort of what had befallen them in the siren-populated cave.

"The fields ahead are sacred," he stated pointedly.

Sakura nodded, not quite sure why her heart was starting to pound again. Maybe it was the way Sasuke was looking at her – as if he were coming to some sort of fundamental decision. Or maybe a part of her was afraid of what she was on the verge of seeing – something that was surely forbidden to the living's eyes.

After a brief interlude of silence, the Death God walked forward and stopped before the leafy curtain. Blinking, he extended his left hand back to her. The breeze that rippled through the gaps in the vines was fresh and fragrantly sweet. It called to Sakura's senses, whispering of wonderful secrets that lay in waiting beyond, enticing her closer. Compelled, she moved, reaching out to place her right hand in Sasuke's. It was impossible to ignore how his touch made her skin tingle, and she was thankful for an excuse not to dwell on it when he pulled her gently forward, the flowered curtain parting effortlessly at his command – and what Sakura saw beyond it surpassed anything she had looked upon in the Underworld yet.

Light. Golden light, incredible and so blinding that at first she squinted, her vision overcome by its sheer brilliance. When everything finally adjusted, she forgot all about breathing.

Green fields, lush and brimming with life, rolled out farther than her eyes could see. Hilltops loomed in the horizon, and the entire plain was littered with fruit-abundant trees and endless varieties of flowers, over which fluttered luminous butterflies. The sky was a beautiful, limitless, cloudless blue. Rainbow coloured birds with shimmering wings streaked through the air, singing melodiously, and the sound of laughter echoed distantly somewhere ahead of them.

"Oh," Sakura exhaled weakly, her brain struggling to process what she was seeing. It outdid any type of field she had ever seen on the surface. Everything was so much more vivid, so utterly and delightfully perfect. It was like… it was like she had just stepped straight into paradise.

"What _is_ this place?" she dared to whisper. When they had stepped through the underpass's exit, her fingers had closed around Sasuke's hand in a subconscious gesture that sought to anchor her to the only thing that seemed remotely real at that moment. Catching herself, Sakura allowed her digits to loosen again – and the death god saved her any further discomposure by relinquishing his hold.

"The Elysian Fields," he replied. "Where the righteous dwell after death."

So it really _was_ paradise. Sakura turned her face up to the sky. A brilliant sphere shone high up within it, mimicking the sun in brightness. But she already knew it wasn't really the sun. It couldn't be. It was no doubt another illusion, just as the moon had been in Asphodel – but it didn't change the fact that the warmth radiating from it felt so very _real._ And it made her yearning heart realise just how much she had been missing the surface. She wanted to bask in it, to feel the imitation heat soaking through her pores, into her sun-starved cells.

It was difficult to believe that she wasn't back on land, when her eyes were communicating to her brain otherwise. Clogged with emotion, Sakura drifted from Sasuke's side and ventured forward, her fingers trailing through the long blades of grass as she inhaled the wonderful scents and gazed out at the impossibly rich landscape before her.

 _This is…_ she thought, overawed and shamed by how very unworthy she felt to even tread in such a place. And yet Sasuke had permitted her to enter heaven.

Her pulse escalated further at the undeniable connotations of being allowed such a privilege.

All at once the laughter sounded closer, and she glanced back, catching her breath again as she glimpsed figures that seemed so tangible and real, running up behind her. People of all ages passed her, their faces glowing with blessed light, smiling joyously in the imposter-sunshine. They were clothed in white and gold, flowing gowns and light tunics, bare-footed, wearing garlands of flowers around their necks and heads. Some were playing instruments – wooden flutes and small harp-like string instruments, whilst others were carrying flowing ribbons of various hues, attached to slender wooden sticks.

Sakura blinked in surprise when she felt a firm tug at her cloak, causing the fabric to slip away. Before she could wonder how it had happened, a laughing blonde-haired child suddenly snagged her right hand, her little fingers closing firmly and tugging Sakura forward with surprising strength. Sakura tossed an alarmed glance back at Sasuke, to find more figures reverently bowing their heads as they passed the Death God. He met her gaze and nodded once, in silent permission for her to follow the running child's course.

She did, an emotion bubbling in her heart that she had not felt for a long time. Something warm and fuzzy and gold. Happiness, she realised, as the hazel-eyed child drew to a stop and picked a yellow narcissus flower, holding it up to Sakura with a jubilant smile on her cherub-like features.

"Maiden! Maiden!" Voices chanted around her. She turned to find more children surrounding her, little boys and girls who were eagerly holding out bundles of flowers. Each infantile face was sweeter than the other, and Sakura felt her eyes watering. How was it that she could feel them? Weren't they spirits too?

"For me?" she whispered, bending down to allow an adorable, brown, curly-haired little boy to string a flower garland around her neck.

He grinned shyly back, said something in a language she could not understand, and with a wave, bounded off toward a smiling woman.

His mother? Something about the way the woman was standing amongst the flowers tugged at something deep within Sakura. She thought of her own mother, and her throat choked over further. Then the little boy and the lady were gone.

After offering their gifts, the remainder of the children scattered, and a light brush of fingertips at her left elbow drew Sakura's attention back to Sasuke, who had caught up to her. He read the unspoken question in her eyes, and explained, "The righteous have their bodies restored and live on eternally in these fields – in perfected forms of the shells they vacated at death."

It made sense. Sakura shook her head in awe as she looked around again. "This place is so beautiful. I could never-" she broke off, suddenly realising what it was she had been about to say. _I could never be good enough to make it here._ Ducking her head guiltily, she allowed her eyes to fall to the fantastic array of blooms growing around her.

"Can I-" she hesitated again. "Please may I stay here for a while? Just a little. I know it's not the surface, but…" her voice trailed off, and she felt stupid for asking. She didn't even deserve to be standing in paradise. Surely she was just being greedy, wanting to stay for longer in a place where she decidedly did not belong?

But Sasuke seemed to understand her need to remain in bright light, for he nodded his consent, and was caught off guard when Sakura did something he had not been expecting. She gave him a smile so achingly lovely that he felt his heart physically skip a beat – an alien sensation that unsettled him greatly – and in that very instant, he saw the true extent of just how much she was missing her home.

It caused a strange and foreign bitterness he did not like to deposit itself at the back of his throat.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, quietly – before turning away to stroll through the grass. He followed her, taking sentry by the shade of the tree Sakura chose to stop under. As she settled down beneath it, and proceeded to contentedly arrange flowers around her, he sat a carefully measured distance from her, far enough to give her space, but close enough to keep an eye on what she was doing.

An odd feeling began to creep over him as he watched her. She drew him in like nothing else ever had, and how he _wanted_ her. She was revelling in the warmth that beamed down from the illusionary sphere in the sky – but she could not possibly know that her presence, her closeness, had the same effect on him. It was perplexing and maddening and yet she was like an intoxicating drug, to which he was hopelessly addicted. He never tired of her, for gazing upon her was like looking at a burst of light that illuminated the cold gloominess of the Underworld. He craved for everything about her. He wanted her radiance, her warmth, her energy, and whatever else it was she harboured within her. He wanted it all. And he hoped he was on the verge of understanding exactly why she compelled him so, at last.

They only had one more river to cross before they entered the Blessed Isles. Sasuke felt his pulse beginning to quicken. What would the light of Elysium reveal to him? What would he see? What if he saw nothing at all?

Sakura was creating her own pretty garland out of the flowers she had been gifted, humming to herself as her deft fingers worked to lace flowers stems together.

What exactly was he _expecting_ to see? The most disconcerting thing was, for all his godly wisdom, he was still uncertain.

Sasuke was staring again. Sakura could feel the heat of his gaze, and did her best to bear it. It was probably a good idea to make conversation, she told herself. They couldn't very well remain sitting in silence. And since he had clearly considered her earlier words and consented to show her more of his world – and to share small fragments about himself – Sakura knew it was the least she could do to return the gesture.

"I always thought that heaven was in the sky. It's weird, how wrong I've been about so many things." Sakura paused as she created a small incision with the nail of her thumb and inserted another flower stem through another. She wanted so much to ask Sasuke about why she had never been taught the history and timeline he hailed from – but was afraid she would be pressing for too much information, too soon. She had to play her cards carefully, and the wisest move would be to keep the focus away from posing Sasuke with any further personal questions.

"It… pleases you."

She blinked at the words, spoken slowly, as if testing for her response and her heart gave an unexpected flutter. Was Sasuke seeking her opinion or approval, in his roundabout way, or was he simply stating what he had observed to be a fact?

"Yes," she answered softly. Paradise – The Elysian Fields – pleased her very much. How could it not? Distractedly, she went on, "If I had a little garden that was even remotely like this, I'd be very happy." Her fingers paused again in their work as she processed what she had just said. "I mean," she altered hastily, "it's not like anything can ever compare to this place. I really can't believe I'm actually sitting here."

 _I'm babbling. Just shut up now_ , Sakura scolded herself. She had no way of knowing that Sasuke didn't want her to be quiet. In fact, quite the opposite was true; without him even acknowledging it, he wanted her to keep talking, to listen to the soothing sweetness of her voice.

And he had been listening particularly attentively to her disclosure of a desire to have her own garden like it.

"I've always liked flowers," Sakura, as usual, did not heed her own advice, and continued to talk idly on. Did Sasuke even want to know more about her? He had certainly never bothered to ask. But it occurred to her that it was not the death deity's style to do such a thing, anyway. Maybe he did want to know – and had been waiting for her to offer. Encouraged by this train of thought, she expanded, "I wanted to be a florist, once." Examining what she had created so far, she wrinkled her nose, and pouted in recollection, "But my mother always told me I was far too clever to settle for that. She said it hadn't ever brought anyone any good in the past. I never understood that. Ino's parents make lots of money, selling flowers to clients."

"…" Sasuke watched her hands. Her precision and skill suggested expertise in weaving wreathes, and he had seen her do it often on the surface. How had she first gotten into flowers? Curious to know, but far too proud to ask, he turned his face away, staring grimly at the idyllic scenes around them. Unlike Sakura, he was accustomed to the Elysian Fields, and their beauty did not faze him.

"Sasuke?" Her voice drew his attention back to her. "What's it like? Being a god?"

The death deity pondered the question. He had never really considered what it was like – he fulfilled the duty that had been prematurely passed down to him with little thought and feeling. It had become second-nature to him. When he had first ascended the Underworld's throne, he had been anything but willing – but time's flow had resulted in him accepting and bearing the fate of his father and forefathers.

Still, Sakura's innocent query gave him pause. What was it like, being immortal? He had lived throughout the ages, seen the world change more times than he liked to remember, and judged an innumerable amount of souls. He had kept company alone, in the shades, keeping out of the affairs of the living, bound to his kingdom and forbidden to venture to the surface for extended periods, unless his visit related to the dead – although he had manipulated the sanctions placed upon him when it came to Sakura. He had been feared and worshipped and then forgotten, relegated from god to angel to a mere inevitable concept in the minds of mortals.

What was it like, living forever, doing the same thing day in, day out, losing all track of time and how much of it passed, until everything became monochrome and one forgot just what it was like to actually _live?_ Because Sasuke did not live for himself - he lived as the King of the afterlife. His role afforded him great powers – but he could never escape the responsibility that came with it.

"It is endless."

Sakura glanced at him. He was gazing at an unspecified point ahead of him, and there was something different about his tone. She could not quite put her finger on what. When he did not expand, she prompted, "But it must be great. You never worry about getting sick or dying. You get to live forever. You can do anything."

She didn't see one corner of his mouth – the side of his profile not exposed to her – tilt in bitter irony at her words. Sasuke was not about to admit to her that he could not quite do _everything_ he wanted – not when his existence was tied to the dead. Sakura's perception was based on common human misconception.

"Hn," was all he offered in response, folding his arms meaningfully across his chest. Many deities had envied mortals in the past – because while they lived comparably short lives, their existences were full and emotionally gratifying. In contrast, immortal beings were prone to becoming desensitised over the ages – because they knew everything there was to know and had experienced all there was to experience.

Interpreting his dismissive scoff for godly arrogance, Sakura let the attempt at conversation slide and settled for working in silence. But she kept sneaking little glances at him as she continued to lace dark blue and purple blooms together, noting how he seemed to be scowling aloofly at the gorgeous scenery around them, as if thoroughly unimpressed. She fought back the sudden urge to giggle. How could anybody possibly be miserable in heaven?

The tinkling sound of giggles prompted her to look up and find a group of five girls dressed in floaty white, gossamer dresses, approaching them. They appeared to be aged roughly between thirteen and seventeen years old, and were holding even more wreathes of flowers in their hands, consisting of sunny yellows and oranges and rich reds. Tentatively, they stopped a safe distance before Sasuke, and curtsied low. When the death deity simply stared coolly back at them, they held out their offerings, speaking nervously once again in a language Sakura could not understand. She could tell, however, from the way the youngest of the four girls lingered back that they were afraid to even approach the Underworld's King. And with good reason. They had to have great courage, she thought amusedly to herself, to attempt to give a god as stoic as Sasuke was colourful blooms to wear.

Sasuke closed his eyes and turned his face dismissively away, indicating that their gifts were of no interest to him. Sakura saw the way the girls' faces fell in dejection and disappointment. Something about the way the smallest of the girls looked like she was on the verge of crying spurned her to frown at the Death God. Why was he cold-shouldering them, when they clearly only desired to please him?

Uncertainly, the tallest of the girls, a pretty, curly-haired redhead, looked to Sakura instead. After whispering to her friends, she shifted over, but continued to glance fearfully toward Sasuke, who was watching her movements with eagle-eyes, ready to pounce if she tried anything he did not agree with. But the brown-eyed girl innocently held out the garlands to Sakura, and gave her an anxious smile, uttering something incomprehensible again.

"I don't know what you're saying, but thank you," Sakura smiled back at her, hoping that the girl could somehow understand her. The redhead's features lifted, as if she did – then she grew aware of Sasuke's hard stare again, and darted back to join her friends. With another wave of curtsies, the girls turned and skipped away, the youngest throwing back a saddened glance over her shoulder before disappearing quickly out of sight.

Sakura looked down at the lovingly assembled wreaths in her hands – and shook her head.

"They were only trying to be nice, Sasuke. You didn't have to scare them off."

He tilted his head back haughtily at that, and closed his eyes – presumably to signal that he was not interested in what _she_ had to say at that moment, either.

"Hn."

 _Hn?_ What did that vague utterance even _mean?_ Irritated that he was acting like such a spoiled jerk, Sakura found herself moving on instinct. She got up, closed the distance between them in four fluid strides, and, fuelled by a spontaneous burst of emotion, deposited one of the pretty yellow and orange garlands around his neck.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and he froze as his mind processed what she had just done. Then he looked down at the flowers, as if they were nonsensical monstrosities hanging around his shoulders, rather than fragrant blossoms – before proceeding to direct a chilling glare up at Sakura, who was standing with her hands on her hips and a look of displeasure on her features. But the unconcealed, absolute disgust on Sasuke's face stirred within Sakura an unexpected urge to laugh – and she couldn't help herself from bursting into a fit of giggles. The flowers were such an outrageous contrast to his darkly handsome looks.

When his glower only intensified, and he yanked the floral chain off his neck with revulsion and flung it straight back at her, Sakura only laughed harder. Perhaps it was a little bout of hysteria, birthed from her overloaded senses, which impelled her to gasp, "That- that suited you!"

Irked, the death deity rose to his feet, shooting hateful daggers at the remaining garlands in her hands. He had half a mind to make them wither in her grasp. But the sight of her laughing was something of an anger-dampener. She was so… so _annoying_. And even more so when she smiled and laughed and did all the infuriating things that made something twinge inexplicably inside him.

"Wha-?" Sakura broke off bewilderedly at the feel of a sudden, forceful pull at her neck. Sasuke had taken both sides of one garland in his right hand and jerked her close, lowering his face so that it was inches from hers. She faltered, her amusement quickly waning, as she stared up at him in wide-eyed surprise. It didn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out that Sasuke did _not_ like to be laughed at, but she had not expected him to get so grumpy about it, either.

His narrowed eyes met hers – before an insidious and smug smirk graced his lips at the swift change in her expression.

"Still laughing, Sakura…?"

She pursed her lips and arched her body away from him, trying to get some space – but he would not allow it. With minimal effort, he tugged her forward, using the flower chain against her. Winding his left arm around her waist, he uttered, "We're finished here."

Then everything seemed to flash before her eyes, and for a chaotic moment, Sakura did not know what was happening. She only became aware that Sasuke had transported them to a new location when her feet touched solid ground again, and she dizzily looked up to find a pair of gigantic, elaborate golden gates, nestled between two towering, ivory walls that tapered off to join with white, pristine mountains.

What she glimpsed beyond the glowing bars sent the air packing from her lungs once more.


	32. Chapter XXXI

**Chapter XXXI**

* * *

_And there,_

_In glow of blessed light,_

_Revealed to him,_

_In passing flight,_

_A glimpse of truth,_

_That gold-spun thread,_

_Raining calamity,_

_Upon Death's head._

* * *

Sakura had not thought it was physically possible for a place to surpass the wondrous beauty of the Elysian Fields, from which Sasuke had just whisked them. But what she found herself gazing upon as the colossal gates silently parted made her realise just how dense and mistaken she had been.

To call the landscape stunning was a gross understatement. The sunshine flooding cheerfully down from the blissful, jewel-blue sky seemed different, more vivid, somehow. Everywhere it touched glistened. Endless acres of rich, verdant, flower-strewn fields and rolling, sprawling valleys filled Sakura's vision, and for a few minutes she was completely overwhelmed by the natural splendour stretching out before her. Blades of grass swaying lazily in the fragrant breeze glinted gold, and even the slender trees littering the expanse of the field seemed to shimmer with an ethereal glow.

Sakura swallowed down a lump in her throat as Sasuke stepped over the gate threshold, turning to cast an expectant glance back at her.

She shook her head, feeling oddly nervous and anxious all at once. It suddenly seemed difficult to speak. "I can't go in there."

The death deity stared blankly at her for a long moment, before directing his gaze toward the heavenly scenery in front of them again. Then his dark eyes returned pointedly to Sakura. This was it. He had brought her to the most sacred isles in his realm – the place where souls shined with their true worth, where no mortal was permitted to tread. There could be and would be no turning back, now.

Without a word, he extended his left hand.

Sakura gulped again, her eyes stinging unexpectedly. Sasuke understood. _Of course_ he did. He was a god and could read the apprehension she knew was written all over her face. He was aware that she didn't feel anywhere near worthy enough to set foot into the divine meadow, comprehended that she was utterly daunted by the staggering, untainted perfection of what could only be described as ultimate paradise.

Yet his waiting hand symbolised his unspoken permission to enter. Sasuke was showing her this place because he wished to, because he believed she could handle it – and Sakura had to reassure herself that as long as he was taking her into it himself, she was doing nothing wrong.

Hesitantly, she put her palm into his, and with a pounding heart, crossed the threshold after him. The second she did, the intoxicatingly sweet scent of a wonderful combination of flowers filled her nose, and Sakura inhaled deeply, her lungs delighting in just how crisply pure and clear the air seemed. Its fragrance was so strong that it overpowered the garlands she still wore around her neck.

She then became aware of a pair of eyes fixed on her, and glanced up to find Sasuke staring. Hard. Thrown by the intensity of his gaze, Sakura tensed.

"What?" she blurted out. Why was he looking at her like that? Had he changed his mind about letting her enter?

He blinked, but offered no verbal response. Instead he led her by the hand, his fingers neither firm nor loose in their hold – simply guiding. When Sakura grew uncomfortable and tried to pry herself free, she was met with a warning scowl.

"Do not stray," Sasuke instructed.

The meaning behind his words was transparent; she had to stay close to him – for what she assumed was her own wellbeing. Sakura averted her eyes, but did not try to tug her hand loose again, even though her skin was prickling from the contact.

As they drifted along, she allowed the long grass ends to tickle the fingertips of her trailing left hand, and her head turned as she heard achingly lovely voices, singing somewhere in the distance. Was that the sound of harp strings, too? She caught sight of pristine white structures dotting the area around them in all directions; majestic, fluted columns forming porticos, heralding entrances into what Sakura guessed were actual dwelling places. Various, elegantly carved, spectacular roofed bridges boasting the same colonnade styles further emphasised the striking scenery of their environment. Golden vines brimming with exotic blooms coiled around the columns, providing fabulous bursts of colour against imperial ivory.

They crossed over a pillared bridge, beneath which flowed a sparkling river. Sakura's lips parted in surprise when she spotted a group of people, young and old, reclining idly by the river bank's edge below. Unlike those she had spied in the Elysian Fields, their clothes were not restricted to white and gold alone – they were dressed in brightly coloured tunics and gowns, in materials that looked luxuriously rich and expensive. They were smiling and at ease, and Sakura was struck by the incredible clarity in their faces – they seemed to be glowing with an almost hallowed light. Even their hair and eye colours were unnaturally bright.

She slowed down, suddenly realising that there were much less people in the new area they had ventured into. Once her mind had gotten over the initial shock, and when she felt an impatient tug on her hand, Sakura commented questioningly, "The people here seem different?"

"These are the Blessed Isles of Elysium," answered Sasuke. "The greatest paradise reserved for heroes and those chosen by the gods."

She glanced back at the now laughing people in amazement. It was no wonder, then, that the light radiating from within them was so tangible. But what did a human have to do, what trials did they need to endure, in order to become a hero, or be chosen by a god?

A thought struck her then, as her eyes darted back to her hand, clasped in the death deity's. Was she allowed to see this wonderful heaven, this _Elysium_ , because she herself had been 'chosen' by Sasuke?

The notion was an unsettling one.

Eager to divert the flow of her troubling musings, Sakura pushed the question out of her mind and allowed him to lead her through a compressed cluster of elegant trees, gazing in wide-eyed awe at the gold-tinged leaves and vines rustling in the dancing wind above her. The exotic, unfamiliar fruits hanging from the branches looked ripe and delicious, prompting Sakura's mouth to water.

Pearly, tinkling laughter echoed around them, and Sakura's head turned as she tried to locate its source. She caught a glimpse of slender figures in shimmering silver, sheer gowns, skipping between the trees, beautiful young women with flowers woven in their rippling, silken locks. Curious, large, inhumanly luminous eyes peeked playfully at her from behind tree trunks, and she heard whispers and giggles as some of the women pointed at her, speaking once again in a language she could not comprehend. There were young men too, Sakura realised with a start – handsome, tunic-clad youths with bright eyes and softly curling hair. One of them offered her a smile so charming that Sakura found herself suddenly captivated, drawn in by eyes that seemed to hypnotically shift colours in the sunlight…

Not looking where she was going, she stumbled over an unseen vine knotted deep in the grass.

"Sakura," a sharp voice snapped her out of the brief spell, and a steely arm was quick to steady her.

"Huh?" she flushed, embarrassed to have been caught gawping at the unearthly attractive young men, who had immediately made themselves scarce the second Sasuke had spoken.

The Underworld King's smoky irises seared disapprovingly down at her. "Watch your step," he censured.

Sakura clenched her teeth. _Get a grip, Haruno!_ She internally chastised herself, once the death deity had turned his attention away from her. _You'd think you'd never seen a guy before, and they're not even anywhere_ _near_ _as gorgeous as Sasuke is, anyway-_

She felt the heat in her cheeks immediately intensify at her mind's treacherous acknowledgement, then relief when Sasuke relinquished her hand at last, permitting her to move freely once again. They followed a grassy path along another crystal clear stream, and Sakura saw yet more feminine figures, giggling and splashing water about as they bathed. Some of the girls were dressed in short, revealing gossamer tunics, and sat upon large rocks, wringing the water out of their hair whilst they hummed; others had only their long tresses to cover their modesty.

 _Water nymphs_ , Sakura guessed. They were too ethereal to be human, and she thought that only nymphs could be so at ease with washing so openly.

Butterflies with shiny wings fluttered prettily around them, shedding magical dust. Sakura, clutching the flowing skirt of her gown, snuck a discreet glance at Sasuke, expecting him to have at least spared a look in the direction of the exceptionally beautiful young women as he led the way over stepping stones in the stream. But the God of Death was pressing onwards, his eyes set resolutely ahead, even when the nymphs lowered their heads in reverential greeting to him. As they passed, one of the silver-haired nymphs lifted her head and winked playfully at Sakura, and her watching friends giggled.

Unnerved, Sakura quickened her pace to catch up to Sasuke.

The stream wound down a gentle slope in the ground, and the forest gradually opened up and led them into a fragrant, flowered, pergola-decorated orchard, bursting with what Sakura was certain was enough fruit to feed almost half of her village. Again her mouth watered. Sasuke seemed to read her mind this time though, for he directed a stern, pointed look over his shoulder at her.

"Touch nothing."

Sakura gestured imploringly toward a fleshy, ripe fruit that looked like a spectacular, gigantic purple fig. It looked and smelt _so_ good. Surely just a bite wouldn't hurt? "Can't I try those ones?"

Sasuke's expression remained stony. "No."

She pouted unhappily. "Not even one-?"

"No."

"But they look so delicious…" her voice trailed hopelessly off. The death deity was already moving dismissively on.

She huffed, muttering unhappily under her breath, but her bad mood was soon forgotten as she took to admiring the curtains of cream orchid flowers adorning the many wooden pergolas stationed about the orchard. It was difficult for her overloaded senses to absorb Elysium's perfection, how idyllic and dreamlike and utterly enchanting its fields were. Otherworldly birds with spectacularly colourful feathers sang melodiously, and Sakura watched enviously as they pecked freely at fruits of their choice.

Sasuke cast a surreptitious glance back at the trailing girl, his inner frustration growing by the second. Nothing could hide in Elysium, and yet his eyes had still not perceived the answers he so desperately sought in Sakura. Her inner light was still there, the same alluring warmth that had always drawn him irresistibly in like a moth to a flame – but all he could see was what he had always seen – a pure soul, untainted, almost infant-like in its innocence, as if cleansed of any sin-

Abruptly, he stopped, now staring openly at a smiling Sakura as she bent to examine a joyful yellow bloom on the ground. Her soul possessed a remarkably similar clarity to the blessed inhabitants of the greatest of heavens, those who were chosen by the gods. How had he failed to make the glaringly obvious comparison before? Even as he asked himself the question, Sasuke knew the answer. In the long gone past, Elysium had been supervised by other members of his Clan. He had barely ever set foot in the Blessed Isles, and had never seen a cause to do so, not when there were so many other areas in his Kingdom that required greater attention. Elysium was a place without conflict, where those fortunate enough to enter into it lived in peace and blissful tranquillity. His intervention was not needed in these harmonious fields. But now that he was there, the similarity was unmistakeable.

And yet… there was a markedly different quality to her, too. One he still could not quite pinpoint with his finger. Sakura's complexion, he noted, was definitely brighter here, as well. But he could see nothing of the seal he had suspected had been placed upon her. And nothing of a special essence, either. _Why?_ His eyes had the power to uncover everything – wasn't that the reason why his family had been so well suited to ruling the Underworld? What kind of cursed, complex spell had been cast upon Sakura, that her secrets remained concealed from him even in the holiest of places?

Or perhaps, he thought suddenly to himself, the deeper they ventured into Elysium, and the more time they spent in its light, the more he would be able to see.

When her green eyes lifted to find him watching her, Sasuke abruptly turned. Sakura rose from her kneeling position next to a group of flowers, and clasped her hands behind her back as she trailed leisurely after him.

"How do heroes enter here?" she wondered aloud. "Do they die saving somebody?"

"That is one way."

Sakura considered this. "Is everyone who saves someone else considered a hero?"

"No," Sasuke stated.

"Then why do heroes come here, and not go to the Elysian Fields?" Sakura pressed. "What's the difference?"

It was a valid question, and although he would never openly admit it, Sasuke was pleased that she was asking. It demonstrated that Sakura wanted to distinguish between the heavens – and the criteria souls had to meet in order to enter into the correct place.

Turning his head slightly to the right to indicate that he had acknowledged her query, he said, "The heroes here have performed greater services in honour of the gods."

"What kinds of services?"

"Acts of true courage," the death deity informed her.

What constituted an act of true courage? To Sakura, it was something as simple as defending those who were less fortunate.

"Like giving your life, so that somebody else can live?" she asked.

"For the right reasons," Sasuke told her pointedly.

"Reasons that please the gods?"

"Yes."

As Sakura was contemplating this, something occurred to her, and she was speaking before she had even really stopped to weigh the words.

"Is it an act of true courage, to be unafraid of death?"

Sasuke halted, and after a few seconds of silence, turned to cast an assessing look over his shoulder at her. Slowly, he walked back to Sakura, until he stood within arm's reach, his stormy gaze trailing searchingly over her face.

Then, wordlessly, he reached out, his hand just shy of touching her.

Sakura compelled herself to stand very, very still.

His eyes locked with hers, as his fingertips grazed her chin, before falling away. "You still fear it."

Sakura was puzzled when she felt her pulse beginning to quicken. His words had been delivered as a statement, but he seemed to be waiting for an answer - as if it had been a question.

But Sasuke was right. She had always feared death. Death, decay, darkness, and being alone. And when she had first met its governor, she had been even more terrified. A part of her still very much feared him.

Sakura acknowledged that a large reason why she feared Sasuke was the power he commanded. The awful, absolute power to still beating hearts with a mere thought. At a mere whim. The power to judge and send souls to their final destinations. In many ways, he was the final reckoning for all mortal beings. What humans chose to do with their lives… it was Sasuke who kept records on them, who measured and decided their worth.

But that wasn't all, and Sakura knew it. She feared what would happen if Suigetsu's plan didn't succeed. She feared what it meant that her skin seemed to thrum with an ever increasingly-potent electrifying current, whenever Sasuke came near and touched her.

She chewed anxiously down on her lower lip. What she really wanted to tell him was that now she had seen the heavens, it petrified her to think what Hell looked like. A quiver of apprehension filled her. Was it wise to go along with Suigetsu's schemes? What if she angered Sasuke enough for him to damn her soul to the fiery pits of eternal torment?

Perhaps it was the terror of that possibility, and the need to be reassured, or perhaps it was the keen way in which Sasuke seemed to be peering straight into her thought processes, that resulted in Sakura blurting out what was on her mind. "I'm scared of what will happen to me."

A dark eyebrow lifted questioningly at her words. Embarrassed, but aware that it was too late for her to withdraw what she intended to say, Sakura looked down and added awkwardly, "I'm here now because you want me to be. But if that changes… if you then don't want me around after-" she fumbled and broke off under the weight of his silent stare. _God._ Why had she even bothered to open her stupid mouth? She could hear how disjointed and nonsensical she sounded.

A feather-light touch at her jaw startled Sakura into looking up again to meet the death god's probing eyes. He had stepped closer, and a cool fingertip was tracing up her skin, following the gentle curve of her cheekbone. Sasuke's focus shifted to watch his digit's movements thoughtfully – and for an intense minute, he seemed to be studying every single detail in her face.

He spoke casually. Unhurriedly. He angled his head, lowering it so that his ember hot eyes were boring into hers. "After what, Sakura…?"

"After…" Sakura began, oddly breathless and agitated all of a sudden. A part of her was indignant. Furious, even. He knew _exactly_ what she was alluding to – the fact that he was purposefully causing her to become flustered only served to further emphasise his arrogance. And so did the smug, barely-there half-smirk on his lips.

For a horrifying instant, Sakura had trouble looking away from that sinfully wicked mouth. Her heartbeat was thundering. Why did those lips seem so unexpectedly inviting under closer scrutiny?

"Well?" the death deity prompted, and she was terribly conscious of his fingertips as they tucked a lock of hair carefully behind her left ear. "Sakura…?"

She needed space. His proximity was stifling and head-spinning all at once. He was patronising her, mocking her, and it struck a bitter chord deep within Sakura. How much of a child did he consider her, if he thought that she wasn't anticipating that he would soon tire and lose interest in her, and throw her away, the way she'd understood from Suigetsu that gods had done to mortals in the past? It wasn't like she was the most riveting and complex person in the universe. She was just ordinary, geeky, sugar-food loving, medicine-obsessed Sakura. And if Sasuke ever obtained what she now knew for certain he wanted from her… if he took the _everything_ he had told her he desired…

She felt sick to her stomach at the thought and at what consequences would doubtlessly follow, what they would mean for her. It spurned her to angrily burst out, "After you don't want me here, and I _do_ die."

A deafening silence followed her exclamation, punctuated only by the melodious tweeting of birds in the trees around them and the rustling of the grass and trees in the breeze.

Finally, Sasuke broke it, stepping forward so that they were even closer. "That is not," he uttered silkily, "your fate."

She faltered, confused, caught off guard. What did he mean? Did Sasuke have the power to see her future, too? Shakily, she dared, knowing that she was being selfish and likely breaking some divine rule, knowing she had no right to demand to know what her future would be, "Then what is?"

Her breath hitched in her throat when his arm slipped around her waist, and he tugged her against him.

"You ask the forbidden, Sakura," he breathed into her ear. "Such knowledge does not come without a price."

She was painfully aware of her heart, pounding against his front, and knew he could feel it, too. _Stop_ , she ordered herself. _Don't listen. Don't ask anything else about it. I'll decide my fate. It has nothing to do with-_

The remainder of her thought dispersed, when Sasuke murmured again, "Close your eyes."

But paradise was already spinning before she got the chance.

* * *

The silver saloon rolled slowly and quietly down the lamp-lit, residential road before drawing to a smooth stop. Honey eyes slowly took in the sight of the trees generously lining both sides of the street. Instead of blooming as nature intended during springtime, what little leaves scattered about the boughs looked sickly, their edges curling and brown.

Global warming, the weather reporters were claiming. But Tsunade knew better.

A gentle touch on her arm made her conscious of just how hard she had been gripping the steering wheel. Hard enough to break – were she at full capability.

"Tsunade-sama?" a gentle voice called to her, like light piercing through the bitterness of her thoughts.

"I've always told you not to call me that," Tsunade muttered, flicking an irritated glance at the dark-haired woman who sat in the passenger seat. "Aren't we sisters?"

Shizune smiled apologetically. "It has become something of a habit, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "One I'm not sure why I tolerate."

"We are sisters," Shizune responded lightly, her voice laced with ill-concealed amusement.

"Hmph." The blonde shook her head, but Shizune could see the tiny smile playing on her beloved friend's lips. Then they both turned their focus to more serious matters, as Shizune nodded out the window to their far right.

"So this is the place?"

"Yes," Tsunade nodded. Her gaze narrowed as she took in the immaculately tidy exterior of Kabuto's house. She was ready to bet her last bottle of ambrosia that the interior was every bit as clinical and spotless. Snorting derisively, she remarked, "We certainly don't pay him enough for a house like that."

"It does seem odd," Shizune agreed, as Tsunade pulled something out of her dark green trench coat pocket and unwound the material surrounding the object to display a small key.

"What do you think it's for?" Shizune whispered.

Tsunade frowned and shook her head. "It could be anything. But my hunches have never been wrong before. That weasel is up to something." Her eyes returned to glare in the direction of the junior doctor's house. "I can feel it," she added with conviction.

"The lights are on," Shizune noted what they could both see.

Undeterred, Tsunade's left hand closed tightly around the key. "I'll come back when he's on shift," she vowed. She would find out what the key was for – and what Kabuto was up to, once and for all.

A silence. Then a hand was laid softly upon her angry fist, and Tsunade had to blink back the tears of frustration and misery that threatened to overwhelm her vision.

"We'll come back together," said Shizune softly, "as we have always been."

* * *

When the world finally stopped rotating and feelings of light-headedness diminished, Sakura looked around her – only to gasp in astonished delight. Sasuke had transported them to yet another spacious cavern – and one that looked like it had rainbows bursting inside it. Pretty rays of light danced around them, and decorative crystal structures protruded from the walls and ground. Light glinted off rock, reflecting many colours, leaving Sakura's eyes dazzled by a magical spectrum.

"Amazing…" she breathed, unable to help herself from extending a hand to touch one of the magnificent, finely cut crystals. It was cold, sharp and hard - definitely genuine.

The death deity moved to one of the walls. "This way," he ordered.

"Where are we?" Sakura questioned, looking around her in puzzled wonderment. She wanted to spend longer exploring the area, but Sasuke clearly had other ideas.

"At one of the paths that lead to the Forbidden Gardens."

That sounded ill-omened, thought Sakura nervously to herself.

Sasuke waited for her to join him. He wasn't sure how the garden's inhabitants would receive Sakura – it was, after all, one of the most secretive of places in his realm, and prohibited to mortals of any kind. In ages past, mortals had believed the gardens to exist at the very edges of the world. They had not been entirely wrong. The gardens lay in the western-most borders of his realm, the path to which could only be accessed through Elysium. The route was far beyond the boundaries of the ordinary living, and what the gardens contained was sacred to the gods.

"Isn't this a dead end?" Sakura's voice diverted his ponderings.

In response, Sasuke reached out and pressed the palm of his right hand against the crystal wall. Sakura's jaw dropped as she watched a silver trail of light blaze to form an arch shape in the wall. The section rumbled back and retracted to reveal a long, narrow, grassy underground passage. Delicate vines hung from the rocky ceiling and thicker, greener ones grew from the walls. The smell of dampness filled the air.

"Keep up," commanded Sasuke, and began to lead down the path. Sakura jumped when the crystal wall slid back into place behind them, and a flitter of trepidation whispered through her at the realisation that she was alone with Sasuke in such a claustrophobic place.

 _Stop thinking like that_ , she reprimanded herself, disturbed to find herself so aware of his presence once again.

When she heard rustling and an odd creaking behind her, Sakura glanced over her shoulder and blanched as she witnessed the vines on the walls overgrowing with thorns and tangling behind her, as if to cut off the route from which they had come. So that was why Sasuke had told her to keep pace with him. If she fell behind, she would be ensnared and suffocated.

She hurried forward until she was just a single footfall behind Death God, but she could still hear the path swallowing up at her back. To her relief, the passage ahead soon began to open before them, until it spilled out into a wide, circular cavern. Sakura looked back to find the passage they had just come out from completely blocked by jagged vines and knotted, curling leaves. She gulped, but Sasuke returned her attention to his tall form as he moved toward the middle of the cavern.

There were many openings in the rocky walls around them, providing entrances to unknown places. Sasuke's sight, however, was set firmly on the one directly ahead of them. A floaty curtain of flowered vines concealed what was beyond it, but Sakura could see golden light filtering through.

She began to follow, when the death deity abruptly held up a halting hand, and sharply instructed, "Wait."

Sakura paused, frowning in confusion. Her irritation at the bluntness of the order turned to uncertainty when Sasuke abruptly drew Kusanagi out of its sheath.

"What are you doing?" she asked uneasily. Sasuke did not reply, instead stood very still as if he was listening intently to something.

"Sasuke-?"

"Keep still."

"What?" Sakura shifted, resting her hands on her hips. "Why-?" her breath hitched in her throat when, without warning, a bone-rattling, ear-splitting roar suddenly reverberated all around them. It chilled the very blood in Sakura's veins, and she covered her ears, stunned and immediately terrified. But it was the wrong thing to do, for she didn't hear Sasuke calling her name, and the next thing she knew, a great ball of fire was hurtling straight toward her.

Her body froze over, shocked into inaction by how surreal the flaming sphere looked.

_Is that really a-?_

Her dumbfounded thought was lost when a hard arm wound around her waist and she was hauled back, out of the hell-ball's destructive path. Sakura lost her balance and toppled to the floor in Sasuke's arms. Onyx eyes locked with hers, as another roar caused bits of debris to crumble and fall from the roof of the cavern.

Sasuke inwardly cursed. The dragon guarding the precious treasures contained within the gardens had obviously sensed a mortal's arrival at the entrance and left its usual post, coiled around a great tree, to remove what it perceived to be a threat to the sanctity of its lair.

' _Sakura,'_ Sasuke's voice telepathically communicated to her, as the ground trembled beneath the devastating weight of beastly footfalls. _'A dragon guards the Hesperide Gardens.'_

Sakura gaped at him in dismay. _'A_ _what?_ _'_

' _Do not meet its gaze-'_ he broke off, for Sakura's eyes had already lifted to look upon the towering mass of pure muscle looming over the death deity's shoulders. He watched as her eyes became as wide as saucers, and she lifted an unsteady hand to point behind him, her quivering mouth incapable of forming coherent words.

He supposed it had to be shocking, to see a living, breathing dragon in the flesh for the first time.

"Tch," Sasuke released a sound of irritation under his breath. How inconvenient, to be confronted before they had even entered the gardens. The dragon, named Ladon, only answered to another goddess's commands. Simply ordering it not to harm Sakura would not be enough. Sasuke knew that he would first have to immobilise the creature and place it under an illusion, in order to remove all risks of danger to Sakura.

The serpentine dragon was humungous, awful – yet deadly beautiful. A fantastical, magnificent creation, more striking than she could have ever imagined - and Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away from it. She found herself dreadfully mesmerised by the deep, vivid green, lustrous scales that covered the entire length of its colossal body. It possessed ember-red eyes that made Sakura feel like her body was aflame just by looking into them. It growled, and smoke burst from its nostrils with every exhalation. Golden circlets pierced its ears and a huge, golden chain adorned its gracefully curving neck, bearing a massive circular pendant with a whirlpool-like insignia carved into it. Sakura found herself staring at the symbol. It seemed almost familiar. She was certain she had seen it somewhere before…

Her thoughts violently derailed when she saw the size of the dragon's mighty, thrashing tail and the sheer length of its claws. They were alarmingly sharp. Flesh-puncturing sharp. And the dragon was looking directly at her – like she was its next morsel of meat. Sakura swallowed, her heart hammering against her ribcage.

Ladon finally seemed to notice Sasuke, for it paused in its advance, as if waiting to gauge the situation.

"Remember your training."

Sakura's eyes darted anxiously back to the death deity.

"I- _what?!_ " she blurted, her mouth hanging. Had she heard correctly? Had Sasuke lost his mind? Was he actually suggesting that they take on that monster – and _she_ should attempt to fight it, too? "Can't you just order that thing away?"

In response, Sasuke produced three smoky spheres in his right hand. Veiling orbs, Sakura recognised from one of their previous training sessions.

He _had_ to be joking. But Sakura reminded herself that Sasuke did not joke. He was as serious as the dragon that was glowering murderously down at them.

"Ladon answers to another," he explained nonchalantly, depositing the spheres casually into Sakura's unwilling hands. As if fighting a dragon was a completely normal and civilised thing to do.

"Wha-?" Sakura couldn't quite get her head around a creature in the Underworld _not_ obeying Sasuke's command. "You mean it'll attack _you,_ too?"

Sasuke tilted her head and gave her a condescending look that brought horror raining down on Sakura.

"You brought me here to fight a _dragon?_ I'm not- I can't- it'll kill me!" she panicked. How could he place her into such a perilous position? Didn't Sasuke realise that facing a ginormous monster was a thousand leagues beyond what little and basic training she had received? She couldn't believe it, and blathered, "I don't have a sword- I'm not ready! I can't even _run_ in this dress-"

She was cut off by the sound of fabric shredding and looked down in shock to find that the end of her gorgeous gown had been sliced away, leaving an uneven skirt at the back, and a shorter length that grazed above her knees at the front.

She turned startled eyes to Sasuke, whose gaze had been lingering on her shapely and now exposed bare legs.

"Sasuke-!"

But he didn't wait for her to protest any further. The death deity rose unhurriedly to face the beast, brandishing a glinting Kusanagi in his left hand.

' _She is with me,'_ he mentally communicated to Ladon. _'I permit her to enter.'_

The dragon snarled its disapproval, displaying razor sharp teeth.

' _You will not harm her,'_ Sasuke ordered, glaring coldly up at the creature. It growled again in displeasure, and responded by doing something that caused Sakura to shriek fearfully behind him. The dragon's head divided into two. Then four. Then eight. Then sixteen…

She scrambled away, until her back touched a rocky wall, staring in abject horror, clutching the spheres tightly to her chest.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. When the heads reached one hundred, he knew the monster would be at its full power. And while Ladon would ignore and attempt to bypass him, the death deity knew it would stop at nothing until it obliterated Sakura.

It was not his intention to slay the creature. That, Sasuke could do relatively easily. He needed instead to disable it, whilst keeping it away from Sakura – and that would be much more challenging.

He moved fluidly forward, his focus on the beast's mighty legs. Ladon released another ground quaking roar and four of its hissing heads extended, straight toward a horror-stricken Sakura. Instead of her body locking over as she had feared, life-preserving adrenaline finally kicked in and she flung herself out of the incoming heads' path. She realised a second later that there had been no urgent need to move. A bolt of electricity had already impaled each neck and sent the heads recoiling.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat as her eyes struggled to keep track of Sasuke's rapid movements. He was so fast, so sure and graceful in his bearing, and effortlessly evaded every attempt the dragon made to repel him away. He made the fight look more like an elegant, deadly dance. Lightning screeched from his blade and jagged upwards and outwards to strike eight more heads in quick succession.

However, the malicious heads kept sprouting, until Sakura was certain the count had reached about fifty. How many heads did it _have?_ She had read about similar dragons in mythical stories in the past, but to see one with her very eyes was as sickening as it was awe-inspiring. Half of the dragon's heads were looking her way, while the others were busy trying to keep a swift Sasuke at bay.

Her hands tightened on the veiling orbs. He had given them to her not because he needed her assistance – Sakura had no doubt that Sasuke could single-handedly fell the gargantuan beast on his own with little trouble – but as an opportunity for her to put what he had already taught her into practise. It was a chance for Sakura to show that she wasn't just a helpless damsel in distress – even if terror was doing a good job of making her feel very much like one.

Seven more heads shot out in her direction, and Sakura's right hand moved out of instinct. She hurtled a sphere to the ground and it exploded, shrouding her form from the dragon's seeking eyes. Its heads released a unified hiss, and the sound was almost enough to still Sakura's heartbeat. Keeping close to the walls of the cavern, she dashed away from the creature. When she heard whistling wind behind her, she didn't hesitate to throw a second orb, and knew she had stalled the dragon further when its heads growled angrily again.

Adrenaline was coursing through her veins now, and along with the fear was a strange sense of exhilaration that she did not understand. Was this what warriors felt in the midst of a real battle? Sakura continued to run, when a head suddenly flew through the smoke and smashed into the wall directly in front of her, its jagged teeth snapping as it briefly caught in the rock-face. Sakura stumbled to an abrupt stop and choked on a scream as collapsing debris flew onto her, and threw her final orb straight at the enormous head. She then ducked under its writhing neck and raced around the perimeter of the cavern until the veil cleared and she could see Sasuke, his piercing crimson irises tracking her closely.

Ladon's heads suddenly coiled and it reared back, its eyes glowing hatefully. The heads were still multiplying, Sakura noted in revulsion. The creature was no longer beautiful, but a hellish abomination spawned from the most disturbing of nightmares. Then, what was about to happen next hit her, and she knew she would be powerless to do anything to stop it. The smoke billowing out of the dragon's nostrils was increasing alarmingly. It was preparing to shoot scorching streams of flame from its seventy-something jowls – directly at her.

Sakura gasped breathlessly, and froze to the spot in mindless panic. Her heart was careering at cardiac-arrest inducing speed. This was it. Sasuke was too far from her. He was too busy dealing with the hordes of snarling teeth that were trying to get at him-

A blur of darkness flickered before her eyes as the death deity materialised before her. His lowered eyelids lifted, and when Sakura heard his voice, it was chillingly cold.

_"Susano'o."_

With ear-splitting roars, the dragon's heads fired, and flame hurtled toward them. Sakura cried out, grabbed onto the trailing ends of Sasuke's cloak – a purely senseless gesture stemming from a reflexive desire to pull him away from danger too – but what happened next caused the air to abandon her lungs.

A humungous barrier encircled them, taking the form of a semi-transparent, gigantic skeletal head and ribcage, which throbbed with dark, purple-blue energy. Sakura's tresses shot upwards from the force of the gust that accompanied it, and she clung tightly onto Sasuke as the skeletal frame began to sprout muscle and tendons, before a coating of armour enveloped it entirely, completing the form of a glowing, masked warrior, wielding a massive sword and shield.

The combined balls of flame struck the barrier, and Sakura expected to feel the devastating heat. Instead all she felt was incredible coolness, and the kiss of wind. She looked around her, at the rushing energy that was causing every nerve cell on her skin to prickle. Such a maliciously cold aura… her heart pounded. Sasuke had effectively created an impenetrable shield around them – but its deadly power was petrifying.

"This ends now," the death deity uttered ominously, raising Kusanagi. The screech of a thousand birds filled the air and as he moved forward, the barrier extended, so that Sakura remained within it. The phantom-like warrior released a great echoing battle cry and drew back its sword in turn. What happened next was literally a confusing blur. Sakura saw lightning flash, thin, metallic-looking strings whipping in the air, the dragon's heads snapping and lunging – and then a blinding explosion that forced her to shield her eyes. The ground rumbled and shook, and she lost her balance, falling to her knees.

When the ruckus and smoky dust had cleared, she found herself staring at a fallen dragon, its limbs ensnared by the same strings she had glimpsed earlier. Its many heads had disappeared, and all that remained was the original, its muzzle securely clamped by the glowing threads too.

Sasuke was kneeling next to the head, the palm of his right hand placed against it. The dragon's eyes, fixed on the death deity, widened – and then began to close sleepily. It released one final, low growl before growing completely still.

The luminous barrier around Sakura disintegrated as suddenly as it had appeared, disappearing in a rush of howling wind. For a long moment all she could hear was the pounding of her heart and the rushing of blood in her ears. Then she became aware of the fact that Sasuke still had not moved. With unsteady legs, she got up and hurried toward him.

"Sasuke?" she reached him, hesitated, and then lightly touched his left shoulder.

To her astonishment, he was breathing deeply – as if the battle had actually made him exert himself.

He stood up, sheathing his sword again as he stepped back from the slumbering dragon. He gave her an assessing once-over, checking for any injuries, and when he found none, began to turn away.

"Wait a minute," Sakura tore her gaze away from Ladon, her mind racing to catch up with the reality of what she had just experienced. " _Wait!_ "

The death deity shot her an indifferent look. She wondered how he could just walk away like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, when they had just battled an enormous _dragon._

"That barrier – how did you – what _was_ that? And why did that dragon attack us?"

"The gardens are sacred."

"But this is your territory," Sakura frowned. "Everything in the Underworld answers to you, doesn't it?"

Sasuke's eyes moved briefly back to the fallen beast. "Ladon is not of the Underworld," he stated matter-of-factly.

His eyes returned to her, and he continued, "I told you to remember your training." Sakura bristled, assuming that he was about to criticise her.

"Sasuke," she began to defend. "I've never even _seen_ a dragon before-"

"You did," he interjected, his eyes lowering pointedly to her legs. Sakura's cheeks burned indignantly when they lingered. Was he being genuine or sarcastic? His gaze, charcoal once more, then lifted to meet hers. They stared at each other in silence.

Then Sasuke broke the contact, and nodded toward the flowered curtain to their far right. "Come."

She swallowed. Her body was still shaky after the adrenaline rush. Obligingly she followed him, ruffling remnants of debris out of her hair. She certainly wasn't going to stay in the cavern with a dragon that could wake up at any moment.

Sasuke pushed the vined curtain aside, and the sight beyond it made Sakura leave the stress of the dragon battle behind her as they stepped into a delightful, impeccably kept garden, littered with a multitude of trees bearing delicious fruits. Butterflies and birds fluttered about and the evening sky was a marvellous canvas of rich gold, strewn with pale pink and orange hues. Sakura inhaled deeply, relieved to smell fresh air once again. To their left were orchards and pretty pergolas, to their right, a stone bridge bearing passage over glistening rivers that led to flowered glades.

It was beautiful. Everything seemed to shimmer with life, too. But Sakura wondered why this particular area was special enough to warrant having its own guardian dragon, and turned her face inquiringly to Sasuke.

"What did you say this garden was called?"

"The Garden of the Hesperides."

"What are those?"

"Nymphs stationed here by the Queen of the Sky Gods."

Sakura was fascinated. "Who is she?"

Sasuke shook his head. "She is no more."

"Oh," Sakura's shoulders slumped in disappointment. Then she shrugged and clasped her hands behind her back. "May I look around?"

He nodded, and Sakura moved forward, smiling in the mellow, setting sunlight, allowing her body to fully relax at last. The warmth felt so very real – and at that precise moment, it was enough for her. Sasuke remained behind, permitting her space, but staying close enough to move to her side in an instant, if the need arose.

"So the sun sets in Elysium?" she asked, lifting her gaze up to the brilliant, blazing sky.

"Yes. But the sunset in these gardens is eternal," was Sasuke's reply as he trailed leisurely after her, his eyes taking in the wondrous details around them. He could not remember the last time he had set foot here. More specifically, his thoughts briefly darkened, he did not wish to recall that particular memory.

"It's beautiful," Sakura said softly. As she walked, she felt an odd yet pleasant lightness creeping from her toes, up through the rest of her body. It was the sunlight here, she realised. It was soothing, and removed the aches of the cavern scuffle. She heard the tranquil sound of water trickling over rock and sweet voices serenading in the distance. She was drawn to the singing, and strolled toward it, until she arrived at a cluster of willow-like trees with shimmering green-gold leaves, where she came to a stop, gasping in surprise when three exceptionally pretty dryads peered curiously at her from behind glistening trunks. They were clothed in short dresses that appeared to be made entirely of flowers and leaves. Tiny, faint veins of green were visible beneath their skin, and their eyes were large emeralds.

Instead of joining her, Sasuke stayed back, waiting to see how the tree spirits chose to interact with the girl. One of them, a dark-blonde haired dryad, moved fluidly to Sakura, tilting her head interestedly as she offered a shy smile. Sakura hesitated, momentarily uncertain. But something about their lovely faces and flowery scents was so reassuring. They seemed kind. Friendly. And she felt a strange ease in their presence – unlike some of the other unnervingly beautiful nymphs she had already encountered in Sasuke's world.

Another brown-haired dryad gestured toward her dress and began to speak to her companions. Sasuke resisted the urge to snort contemptuously. How typical, he thought, as he watched the other tree spirits' eyes lighten up eagerly. They wanted to repair Sakura's torn gown – as it was in their nature to repair what was damaged.

The third dryad, who had flaming red hair, cast an imploring look his way. All three curtsied low and the redhead murmured her request politely. Sakura glanced back at the death deity in bemusement.

"What's she saying?"

But Sasuke's inky gaze lingered on the sweet-featured, red-haired dryad. After a moment of consideration, he offered a single nod.

They were delighted with his consent, and immediately grasped Sakura's hands, chattering excitedly and tugging at her to follow them into the cluster of curtained trees.

Sakura struggled to look back at him, bewildered. Then she allowed them to pull her along, when his voice communicated, ' _They wish to mend your dress.'_

The dryads led her deeper into the trees, before coming to a stop by a shallow river. They fussed and pulled at the tattered fabric of her skirt, clucking their tongues disapprovingly. They marvelled over her hair colour with childlike wonder and talked animatedly amongst themselves. Sakura desperately wished she knew what they were saying. Then the blonde smiled and pushed Sakura gently down to sit on the grass. She turned back to her companions and Sakura watched, intrigued, as they appeared to busy themselves collecting something from the trees and flowers around them. They then returned to her, holding thin, dewy balls of threads in their hands, nodding enthusiastically to each other.

The brown-haired dryad pointed at her skirt, and Sakura was alarmed when the redhead moved to untie the lace at the back of her gown.

"Huh?" she spun and folded her arms defensively across her chest. "No. No _way._ I'm not undressing. My dress is fine, thank you."

They either didn't understand what she was saying or were absolutely determined to repair the damage the death deity's sword had done.

"No!" Sakura protested. In a quieter voice, she whispered nervously, "I can't! Sasuke is right back there!"

Three pairs of emerald green eyes blinked at her, before exchanging glances with each other – and then the tree spirits burst into melodious giggles.

Sakura's eyes darted from face to face in confusion. "What's so funny?" she demanded, not holding onto much hope that they would understand or actually tell her.

They merely offered her mysterious smiles – and the next thing she knew, she had been stripped of her gown, and left only in her undergarments. And so a blushing Sakura sat hunched on the grass, wrapping her arms self-consciously around herself in a futile attempt to preserve her decency. Part of her was terrified that Sasuke would slink out from between the trees around them – even when another part was oddly certain that he was still waiting where she had left him. But fascination soon overtook her discomfort as she found herself mesmerised by the dryads' dexterous hands. They wove the thread expertly and within a matter of minutes had restored the dress to its former glory.

As they smilingly helped her back into it, Sakura marvelled at their work, spun around to test the material's flow. It was perfect, as if it has never been ripped to begin with. When she turned back, she found that the three dryads had mysteriously vanished into thin air.

Where had they gone? And how was she supposed to find her way back to Sasuke? Sakura stood uncertainly for a minute, and then shrugged to herself. She would just continue walking, until the Death God caught up to her. Having a few precious minutes to herself would surely help to calm her mind.

She walked between the trees, touching their barks and sighing at the contentment she felt deep within her. At the same time, she was filled with a terrible sadness. It made her think too much of the surface. And Sasuke was showing her places she could never hope to enter into – regardless of what he claimed her fate was.

Eventually she glimpsed an opening ahead, and stepped into a large, circular, flower-strewn glade, surrounding prettily by trees on all sides – and gasped once again in astonishment. In the middle was a humungous tree, with a lustrous, gold bark and green-gold leaves. It was brimming with a wealth of ripe, pure gold apples. They looked enticingly sweet and succulent, and Sakura's mouth watered in response to the overwhelmingly fragrant scent of the fruit. She had to blink rapidly just to check that she wasn't dreaming.

That was when she noticed three dazzlingly beautiful, willowy young women slumbering upon mossy mounds at the base of the spectacular tree. They were fair haired and ivory-skinned, and wore long shift-like dresses that were white. There were flowers in their hair and one of them held a golden harp in her hand. Another was cupping a half-eaten golden apple in her slender hands.

Sakura's stomach growled. It looked so tantalisingly appetising. She just wanted one bite. Just a little-

 _No_ , a voice said firmly in her head. Sasuke told you not to eat anything. _Don't you think there has to be a reason why he-?_

Her eyes widened when they suddenly caught sight of an apple on the grass close to one of the pretty women, and her thought immediately derailed.

 _I just want to look at it_ , she told herself, as she lowered herself to creep toward it. _Just a closer look. The skin looks so shiny…_

One of the fair-haired women stirred – and with a gasp, sat upright, amethyst eyes tracking onto an approaching Sakura. She blinked, as if in disbelief.

" _Korē_ _!"_ she exclaimed, pointing. Roused by her call, her sisters awoke, the doziness immediately vanishing from their keen gazes.

Sakura halted in place, staring senselessly back at them. She wasn't certain whether to turn around and flee – or to grab the apple and make a dash for the shielded safety of the surrounding willowy trees. Were these the Hesperides Sasuke had mentioned earlier? They were the loveliest nymphs she had seen yet, their hair like liquid sunlight, rippling down beyond their curvaceous hips.

" _Korē_ _!"_ Her sisters echoed sweetly, excitedly. _"_ _Korē_ _._ _Korē_ _!"_

 _What are they saying?_ Sakura wondered perplexedly to herself. What was a _Kore?_

Then one of them slipped lithely off the mossy mound and with a flourish of her left hand held out an apple to her, smiling enticingly at Sakura. When Sakura simply gaped at her, the Hesperide gestured insistently with the apple.

"You… want me to take it?" Sakura shook her head in puzzlement. Her conscience was screaming at her to heed Sasuke's warning. Hadn't bad things already happened to her whenever she had disobeyed him before?

But the allure of temptation was too strong to ignore. The apple was whole, and looked so tantalisingly delicious…

The watching nymphs nodded encouragingly.

The apple was deposited into her hands, and when Sakura felt its solid weight and coolness in her palm, temptation won the one-sided battle inside her. She couldn't believe how fragrant the fruit smelled, and inhaled its scent deeply.

The Hesperide that had given the apple to her giggled, and whispered to her sisters. Sakura barely paid them any attention. She was too enchanted by the lustrous sheen of the fruit's golden coat.

 _I'll take it to Sasuke_ , she told herself distractedly, as she turned away from the magnificent tree and the mischievously giggling nymphs. Stepping beneath the shaded canopy of the surrounding trees, Sakura made plans to present the fruit to the death deity, and ask him about its curious shine… but she managed only four steps before her teeth bit into the sweetest apple she had ever tasted.

* * *

She was taking too long. Far too long. Sasuke scowled, turning his face up to the evening sunlight spilling through the gaps in the vines hanging between branches high above him.

Surely the dryads had repaired her dress. Even if they had chosen to spin her up a new one, they would have finished by now. He considered waiting a little longer – but patience had never been his strongest trait. And so he could not help himself from reaching out with his mind, engaging the direct connection the bangles at her ankles provided between them-

An image flashed before his eyes, causing his breath to still. Pale pink tresses, fanned out on lush green grass. A creamy, slender hand. Closed eyelids.

In a heartbeat, the Death God vanished. When he materialised at his destination, he stared at the sight that met his eyes, half-caught between anger and disbelief. How in the Underworld had she ended up here? Had the dryads left her, or led her? How had she made it to the heart of the garden, without being chased away by the Hesperides?

The fair-haired, cooing nymphs who had been surrounding his target, stroking her hair and humming, gasped as they noted the death deity stalking forward, and immediately scattered, fleeing back toward the sanctuary of the sacred apple tree.

Telling himself that he could always interrogate them later, Sasuke edged forward, cautiously, warily, his thumping heart accelerating with every step he took closer toward Sakura. She was sprawled out on the grass, like an achingly lovely flower nymph that had succumbed to the Hesperides' sweet serenade of slumber - but Sasuke instinctively knew the sleep that had befallen her was anything but ordinary. He could sense the curiously inquisitive, bright gazes of the other nature spirits that dwelled in the enchanted garden watching him with great interest, but paid them no heed. His attention was fully fixated on Sakura, on the light he could see glimmering hypnotically within her soul. A faintly golden sheen had now settled upon her complexion, and the death deity found himself unable to tear his eyes away from her. His heart pounded. Something was inexplicably but definitely different about her. Was this the moment of truth? The second the pebble dropped at last? He could not ignore his divine intuition, which was whispering to him that something was surely on the verge of changing - forever.

He knelt down on the grass beside her. Tentatively – as if fearful of what would happen when he touched her, he reached out with his right hand, meaning to brush an index finger lightly to her cheek – when abruptly, Sakura sat up. He jerked back slightly, surprised, a purely reflexive action, and caught his breath sharply when her eyes suddenly opened and locked directly with his.

Sasuke froze. Their colour was no longer apple-green alone. Instead, her irises were tinged with tiny sparks of gold – barely visible, but definitely there. Her cheeks were flushed, and she seemed breathless. And that wasn't the only thing that was off about her.

The formerly stable, radiant aura inside her was now flittering fitfully, like a caged, agitated bird desperate to break free from within the confines of her ribcage. He stared at her in open bewilderment. Was his vision playing tricks on him, or was that inner light starting to glow out of her body, too?

What was _happening?_  
  
"Sakura-" he began in confusion, and broke off when, without warning, she sprang up nimbly to her feet, with an energy and grace he had not witnessed in her before. Something fell out of her left hand, something that had been previously concealed from his sight.

A large, tantalisingly juicy golden apple – with approximately a quarter of it missing.

The Death God's gaze widened as realisation struck him like a bolt of lightning. The damned Hesperides had actually offered the girl an _apple?_ It wasn't like them to do such a reckless thing – after all, despite their mischievous nature as nymphs they were guardians of the tree and had been created with the sole intention of keeping the fruit out of the grasp of mortals. And for Sakura to be foolish enough to ingest it… after he had already strictly ordered her not to eat or drink anything in Elysium!

A playful giggle tugged his focus back onto Sakura, just in time to watch her dart away from him, shedding the garlands around her neck, her essence flaring brightly as she delved deeper into the magical garden. Her movements were lithe and faster than usual – but that was only to be expected, given what she had partly ingested.

With an exasperated sigh, the death deity turned frustrated eyes up to the canopy above him – before turning around to give chase.


	33. Chapter XXXII

**Chapter XXXII**

* * *

_Herald the coming,_

_The impending dawn,_

_In which fragments are cast,_

_To the ground as stones,_

_Spelling a name,_

_Unspoken, unknown,_

_Shrouded by time's veil,_

_Forgotten, forgone.  
_

* * *

Never before had she felt so alive. So alert and brimming with energy. It was as though liquid sunlight had been injected straight into her veins and her entire body was thrumming from the euphoria of it. She felt exhilarated, free – like an incredible weight had been dislodged from deep within her chest. And her legs – how light and wonderfully agile they were beneath her!

Smilingly, Sakura flitted through the trees, moving with a grace and elegance she had never before experienced. It was as liberating as it was completely alien – and yet it seemed oddly familiar. As if she was certain that she had once been able to run this swiftly, in a long ago past – but could not quite remember exactly at which point in her history she had done so.

Her lungs inhaled the sweet, fresh scent of grass and trees and flowers, and her senses rejoiced. This was what it meant to be truly free. To feel the breeze rippling through her hair, to smell the earth around her. To be one with nature.

How she had missed it.

The vigour racing through her blood spurned her forward. She didn't know precisely where she was heading. She didn't have a destination in mind. All she knew was that she could not possibly keep still when she felt so delightfully lively. The world around her seemed to be glowing and shimmering much more vividly, as if she were gazing at it through new, finely focused lenses – and, strangely, she felt like she was glowing, too.

And yet, amidst the joyful warmth that had flooded her body, Sakura still heard the whispers of uncertainty in the deepest catacombs of her mind, pleading with her to stop fleeing.

Her conscience was once again fighting a losing battle, however, as she tossed all caution to the wind. At the moment, she didn't care that she was being pursued by Death. In fact, she was confident that she could lose him.

Surely she had done it before, long ago?

 _What…?_ Sakura asked herself in puzzlement at the thought, as trees and undergrowth streaked by her. _What am I thinking? I've never beaten Sasuke in a race._

The harder she tried to remember, the more nausea seemed to rise up, like a menacing wave that threatened to overcome the pleasurable bubble of elation that had settled over her.

So Sakura stopped thinking about it and instead focused on how cool the grass felt beneath her feet. She had long since discarded her sandals. Who had even invented such silly items of clothing? She certainly had no need for them.

She heard the gentle rustling of leaves behind her and the smile dancing on her lips broke into an exuberant grin. He was trying to catch her. She would make sure he could not, and felt a strange thrill at the prospect of irking him as a result.

Pink glinted between the trees ahead of him. She was quick. Sasuke had not quite expected her to be so nimble on her feet and was once again left to ponder how sensitive Sakura seemed to be to foods that possessed the ability to imbue humans with the power of the gods. She had certainly not ingested enough of the apple for its immortality-gifting properties to affect her so profoundly. She wasn't as fast as a goddess – but she was definitely faster than she had been as a human.

It didn't match up. Just as he had witnessed with the ambrosia, Sakura was exhibiting reactions that did not fall in line with the norm. Further proof, which he now no longer required, that there was more to her than met the eye.

He wove through the trees after her, half-tempted to engage the bangles at her ankles and bring an abrupt end to Sakura's childish game of chase. But the curiosity to see where she was leading them was greater, and so he chose to follow.

The light flaring from her form now was anything but ordinary. It was too bright. Too unstable. His thoughts raced. Was this the essence Naruto had referred to? Was this what had to remain hidden? How had the apple caused Sakura's aura to morph into something else entirely, when she had only taken a few bites?

 _Because she is not wholly mortal_ , Sasuke now knew with dead certainty. All the signs and clues he had amassed about her pointed to the conclusion. Her blood was undeniably that of a mortal – and yet her soul was seemingly not. What, then, did that make her? Even a demi-goddess would possess at least some traces of immortality in her veins. Yet Sakura did not have Tsunade's blood. She had nothing.

He sped up and lessened the gap between them – only to watch her spring onto a rock, before propelling herself lithely onto the boughs of a tree. He stopped, momentarily surprised and caught in admiration of the beauty and confidence of her movements – before scowling impatiently up at her.

"Sakura. Stop this."

She peered at him, looking unconcerned by his irritation. "Why?" she questioned, her voice reverberating clearly around them. To Sasuke's ears, it was akin to the sweetest of nectar. "I belong in the trees." Stroking the bark of the great tree she had taken refuge in, she added fondly, distractedly, as if caught in a sudden memory, "They are a home to me."

The death deity's eyebrows drew together slightly at that. What kind of nonsense was she rambling about, now?

Slinking forward like a sleek black panther, his eyes locked onto her, he gestured with a hand, indicating that he wanted her back with him on level ground.

"Come down."

Sakura's apple-green eyes met his and she folded her arms obstinately. "No."

Sasuke's eyebrows lifted at her flat refusal.

"I like it up here," she added. Then, without warning, she leapt from the bough and onto another – as if tree jumping was something she did on a daily basis.

Sasuke watched, speechless, until she disappeared once again from his field of vision. What had gotten into her?

In a heartbeat he alighted onto the branch Sakura had just departed and leapt gracefully after her, expecting to catch sight of her coral head at any moment. After a few minutes, in which there was no sign of her, Sasuke began to realise that she had to be speeding up. As if the effects of the golden apple were growing. There was no other possible explanation.

The trees streamed by in a blur as he engaged the connection between them and continued to track her. She had moved to the left. He manoeuvred fluidly in the same direction, over and under branches, through tangles of leaves and hanging, flowered vines, until he sensed that she had taken to the ground again. Instead of joining her, he remained stealthily concealed in the trees, his movements purposeful and precise as he accelerated. At last he spotted Sakura, and was momentarily caught again by the sight of her sprinting like a young, sprightly doe, her beautiful hair rippling behind her like a dusky waterfall.

He ran along the length of the bough and slipped onto a lower one, his eyes never leaving her, until he drew up parallel to her in the trees. But just as he prepared to flash step in place directly beside her, a thin curtain of hanging leaves cloaked his vision and once he had passed it, Sasuke found that Sakura had vanished from sight, leaving the death deity somewhat bemused.

His eyes darted left and right, seeking her out in the undergrowth. He could not see her – and suddenly, much to his shock, he could not sense her either. It was as though something was suddenly interfering with the connection between them – and was giving him confusing signals.

' _Sakura,'_ he called telepathically to her. _'Enough. Come out.'_

Birdsong and the rustling of grass in the pleasant breeze were the only sounds to respond to him. Sasuke waited, scowling, his impatience and uncertainty mounting with every second. What had happened? Only he had the power to remove the bangles at her ankles. How was it that he could no longer trace her through them? Returning to lower ground, he moved noiselessly, waiting for Sakura to give away her whereabouts. For a lengthy few minutes, nothing happened.

"I can see the fields from up here."

He froze, his eyes widening in surprise. She was above him? But he had not even heard or seen her take to the trees again. He turned his face to find her sitting prettily on a high branch, her legs swinging leisurely over the edges. The bangles were still very much intact. As he drew closer, Sasuke noticed that her feet were brushing against slender vines that were hanging off the branch. Some of them seemed to be hiding her calves – no, he realised a second later – the vines were wound around her legs.

Did that have something to do with why he had been momentarily unable to locate her?

"Sakura-" he began again.

"Who is that?"

He fell silent at her interjection, gazing up at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

Her face angled in his general direction, but her eyes remained focused far ahead of her.

"That name you keep calling?"

It was disturbing, to be caught by surprise so often. Sasuke was not accustomed to it – and he did not like it one bit. After all, it went against all of his godly principles. Was she playing some sort of game with him? But no – he already knew her question was sincere. She sounded distracted – yet genuinely confused.

"It is-" he paused, struck by the ludicrousness of the situation. What had the damned apple done to her? The Hesperides had a lot of explaining to do. "Your name," he finished.

Now her gaze did move to him and she looked muddled.

"My... name...?" she echoed perplexedly. Then she shook her head, as if dismissing the thought out of her mind. A brief silence lingered between them, in which Sakura's expression seemed to glaze over, and she murmured as if to herself, "That's right... Hades... he always liked those trees..."

Her words were soft, barely audible – but they rang deafeningly and torturously in the death deity's ears. As if they sought to taunt him.

Something lurched unexpectedly in his stomach as he stared up at her, and for the second time in a matter of minutes, Sasuke was stunned.

She had said it again. A name that had long been discarded. The name by which mortals had worshipped him in ages long past. As if she was familiar with it – as if somewhere, deep inside of her, she possessed knowledge of it.

Quick to mask the turbulence of his internal reaction, Sasuke questioned tensely, "How do you know that name?"

Sakura did not seem to hear him and looked like her mind was drifting elsewhere. Sasuke inched closer to the base of the tree, slowly, so as not to startle her. The thunderous force of his heartbeat disconcerted him, and a part of him bitterly acknowledged that it had been a very, _very_ long time since anybody had been able to throw him as much as Sakura could, so effortlessly.

Noiselessly, Sasuke alighted behind her, but did not move to touch her, wary that she might take off again at any instant. His gaze fixed onto the back of her head, and he watched the way the breeze stirred her silken locks of hair. Was it his imagination that even her hair suddenly appeared to be a slightly deeper hue of pink?

"How do you know of Hades?" he asked again, much more quietly. His heart pounded; a combination of anticipation and cursed uncertainty. Would he receive a coherent response this time?

Sakura blinked, as his voice directly behind her caused her to draw out of her reverie.

"Hmm?" she hummed absent-mindedly. What was Sasuke talking about? The name sounded vaguely familiar; hadn't he spoken it to her before? She tried to remember, but the more she tried, the more her head throbbed. She decided that she couldn't focus on his question. Not when she could see such blissfully beautiful fields rolling out beyond the shielded enclosure of the gardens ahead of her. The fields were calling to her. The urge to go there was overpowering, and so was the sudden need to move.

Bothered by her silence, the death deity reached out, meaning to take her right shoulder and turn her around to face him – when Sakura abruptly sprung forward, hopping lithely from the bough and back down to the grassland below, leaving Sasuke's fingers grasping at nothing but air.

He stood for a long moment, a troubled frown weighing on his features, before giving chase once again.

* * *

The forest-like cluster of trees was growing sparser. Sakura drove eagerly forward at the realisation that she was quickly approaching the clearing ahead. Soon she reached the edge of the grove and burst triumphantly out into the endless fields. Her eyes met a blazing, sunset strewn sky – so much more vivid than anything she had ever seen on the surface. She questioned how that was even possible. Then she remembered that she was in paradise. Laughing joyously, she clutched onto the skirt of her gown and waded into the swaying fringes of grass, delighting at the feel of the strands tickling her ankles. The breeze was causing a wonderful array of petals to scatter into the air, making everything around her all the more fragrant. Sakura spun and twirled, extending her arms, tilting her face up to the beautiful sky. The waning sun's light on her skin was so warm.

These feelings… the oneness with nature… the way her body seemed to feed off the natural essence around her… it was like she had been craving it - even when she did not understand how, or why.

Then, as suddenly as the unnatural energy had come to her, it began to drain. As Sakura continued to whirl, she felt a sharp, painful stab deep within her chest, and gasped as her head throbbed unexpectedly, causing her to see stars briefly. All at once, she felt dreadfully exhausted. Like a puppet with its strings clipped, she collapsed limply onto the grass. The sky high above her rotated, and the phantom sunshine's light was now overpowering, paining her vision. She lay sprawled, breathless, disorientated.

 _What's happening to me…?_ She had just been feeling so alive. Now it was as though the life had been sucked out of her veins. Like she had run an endless mile marathon, or climbed a colossal mountain. But even panicking about it seemed to require too much energy. She was overwhelmed by nausea and tried to get up when she felt her heart palpitating irregularly inside her. However, moving was impossible when her limbs were like dead weights around her. She couldn't summon the energy to wriggle a single finger, let alone shift her legs.

 _Sa- Sasuke…_ she thought dizzily, as the vertigo grow stronger, prompting her to release an agonised groan. Where was he? Her body felt like it was on fire, and yet she was also suddenly dreadfully cold. The pain in her chest was gradually waning, but her head still felt as though nails were being driven straight into her skull.

Heaviness began to settle over her, making the simple task of keeping her eyes open a laborious chore. Her eyelids fluttered shut, the fiery sky ebbing as she slipped into the respite of unconsciousness.

* * *

_The night was a clear one. Not a single cloud obscured the sky. As he strolled leisurely through the forest, Hades released a light, exasperated sigh. Thanatos had sent him on another soul-rounding hunt. He did not understand what the purpose of these exercises was, when Thanatos had the power to amass the spirits himself in half the time. After all, his older brother was true Death. He had only to think it, and an unfortunate mortal's heart would cease its feeble beating. Hades's job as youngest in the family, apart from running errands, was simply to maintain order at Acheron's banks and ensure that the Ferryman received his payment. Yet Thanatos would often deposit the Helm of Darkness into his hands and instruct him to 'train' himself in the gathering of a specified number of souls in a specific time frame._

_Hades frowned to himself. He saw no point in imposing a time limit, not when he had gotten so damned quick at collecting spirits. Sometimes he wondered if Thanatos assigned him such superfluous tasks deliberately in order to get rid of him for a few hours. He and Hypnos_ _had_ _been awfully scarce in the Underworld as of late, and on the few occasions when Hades_ _did_ _spy Death and his inseparable companion Sleep, they were uncharacteristically quiet. Well, Hades thought, a tiny smirk gracing his lips, vocal Hypnos was, anyway. His brother had never been one to engage in idle chatter._

_He had found the specified mortals and sent them on their way, as instructed, with two hours left to spare. Two hours to the time Thanatos had requested to meet him at the mouth of the Underworld. That left him two hours to do… what?_

_Idly, Hades wondered what the idiot of all idiots, Apollo, was doing at this time of night. He moved gracefully, dressed in midnight blue, with a long black cloak wrapped around his shoulders. A reflection of the darkness from which he originated. He was a whisper, a shadow, invisible to both mortal and deity eyes. The helmet on his head, the prized possession of his Clan, ensured that not even the mighty Zeus could see him._

_He did not go up often to the surface during the day, although he enjoyed the stillness and quietness that befell the upper world at night. Sometimes he would take a walk after sunset alone. Although he feigned disinterest in Apollo's presence, he was curious about how different the surface was to his home. But he did not like the noisiness and light that accompanied day, and so he avoided visiting the upper world then, unless it was absolutely necessary. On those occasions, Apollo was usually quick to find him. By Tartarus, he had never encountered such a loud and senseless god. It was a wonder that such an important role had been assigned to him, but Apollo_ _was_ _Zeus's son, after all._

_If he was lucky, Thanatos would occasionally walk with him in comfortable silence, patiently bearing his questions and quietly telling him stories of the world above them. Sometimes, Hypnos would join them, cracking sarcastic and witty jokes, while making empty threats to Thanatos that he would one day impose a deep sleep on Hades as punishment if he didn't get any quicker at avoiding his attempts to grab him in a headlock._

_Hades knew that Hypnos was the only other his brother tolerated. They were always together, so inseparable that they were considered by ignorant surface folk to be masked twins. Sometimes Hades envied the time Hypnos got to spend with Thanatos. But he knew it was largely due to the nature of their roles – Sleep and Death had always shared a close bond._

_Those pleasant instances of camaraderie were growing fewer and farther in their frequency. Hades scowled as he stepped over a fallen log. Perhaps he would return home early. What did it matter whether he-_

_His thought trailed off, as a glimmer of light to his right suddenly caught his eye. Having nothing more urgent to direct his focus elsewhere, he abruptly changed course, slinking stealthily in its direction, weaving noiselessly through the undergrowth until he came to a clearing that opened up to a pretty little glade. Keeping behind a tree, he peered curiously out into it._

_A slender figure was standing with her back to him, clad in a light, white gossamer gown, with a thin, plaited golden girdle wrapped above a softly curving waist. Her hair was like a pale silken river, falling past her hips, but it was the light exuding from her and glimmering in her outstretched hands that captured his attention - and held it fast._

_He watched, transfixed, as the dull grass around the maiden's legs rustled and straightened, as if it were being infused with fresh life. Flowers uncurled and with a pretty burst of soft green light, sprung joyously into full bloom. Leaves that had been crisp and dry were hydrated and glistened with renewed shine. Vines hanging between the trees on the other side of the clearing grew thicker, stronger. Soon, the entire area was brimming with life. Even the tree shielding him seemed to exhale – as if the presence of the goddess standing in the glade had breathed new vigour into it._

_Hades's eyes darted back to find that she had started swaying gracefully. He watched her hips move alluringly in time to the sweet tune she was humming, and when she suddenly twirled, he was struck with recognition – and was troubled by the unfamiliar, unexpected jolt deep within his chest._

_That face. He knew it. That peculiarly-shaded hair. By Tartarus. He recognised her._

_The grass was curling gently around her calves, as if feeding directly off the blinding essence that was radiating from her. One after another, flowers shyly uncurled their petals, releasing an incredibly sweet scent. He stared at her, wide-eyed. What was this strange gift? Why were the blooms leaning toward her – as if she was their sun? As if she was Spring itself?_

_He had never seen anything like it. The warmth and light glowing from her – for a terrible, frightening moment, he could not tear his treacherous, dazzled eyes from her light imbued form. It was wondrous, enchanting – and foreign to him all at once. He was so accustomed to the darkness, that he did not know how to process such brilliance. What he had witnessed was the polar opposite to death – his Clan's domain._

_Unthinkingly, he rested a hand on the tree before him – and the instant he did, Kore gasped, and froze. Her head whipped around to look directly his way, and Hades tensed, caught by surprise. It was not possible – she could not see him when he wore the Helm upon his head. And yet her luminous, gold-tinged green eyes were staring straight at him._

" _Who is it?" her voice, as soft and honey-like as he remembered it to be, demanded._

_Hades scowled – and that was when realisation hit him and he glared accusingly at the renewed tree before him. He supposed it made sense that the gift this goddess possessed allowed her to somehow communicate with the flora she so evidently nourished._

" _You had better show yourself," she added, her voice quivering with uncertainty, "before I inform my mother."_

_Was he supposed to be afraid? Fighting back a snort of disdain, Hades saw no point in keeping himself concealed. He had nothing to hide. Reaching up, he lifted the helmet from his head and attached it to his belt – before stepping out from around the tree._

_He had the satisfaction of seeing her look startled. A slender hand flew to her rosy lips, as she gasp, "Y-you!"_

_He raised a dark brow in response. Several heartbeats passed in which they both regarded each other with caution. She glanced around them, looking oddly nervous. Then, with a suppleness and swiftness that caught Hades quite off guard, Kore suddenly darted away, slipping deeper into the quiet forest like a sprightly deer seeking to escape from her predator._

_He stared bewilderedly after her. Well, here was something new and thoroughly refreshing – a girl running away from him, instead of flinging herself at his feet. How intriguing. Hades was pursuing her before he had really stopped to consider his actions. He was doing it on a whim, he told himself, because he had time to spare. Because he had never met a deity with such riveting gifts. Because, although he would never admit it, his curiosity had been snagged and he wanted to watch her create life again. It wouldn't take long to capture the young maiden. After all, there were few immortals who could match him in speed. A doe-eyed, naïve little goddess would cause him little trouble._

_But Kore proved to be faster than he had initially anticipated, for he quickly lost sight of her slender form in the undergrowth. It was as though the trees themselves were trying to obstruct his path with their low boughs and endless curtains of leaves. Soon he came to a stop at another small clearing, and listened intently. Silence. Then something crackled in the branches high above him, but when he tilted his gaze upward he found only a squawking blue bird, angling its head quizzically at him._

_Still listening closely, Hades spoke, somehow certain that she was lingering nearby – even if he could neither see or hear her._

_"I am unarmed," he stated, holding his hands away from the blade at his waist, indicating that he had absolutely no intention of using it. He waited, and when nothing happened after another minute, he added, "You shan't be harmed."_

_Another minute passed. Just when Hades was beginning to think that she might have actually managed what few other immortals had ever managed to do and eluded him, he heard a gentle rustle behind him, and turned to find the goddess peering at him from around a tree trunk._

_The moonlight that filtered through the leafy canopy above them cast a flattering silver glow upon her features. Yes, on closer scrutiny she was definitely the same goddess he had met in Apollo's company – but somehow she seemed even more delicate than he recalled. She radiated purity and light. Her eyes were large and long-lashed, and her childish, button nose and rosy lips made him internally question her age. Her silky, flowing hair was the same striking shade of coral pink, spilling down like a glorious river behind her. It kept falling into her heart-shaped faced, and she kept pushing it automatically back behind her right ear._

_It was only when she spoke that Hades realised with a start that he had been staring quite openly at her._

_"Please leave this forest. My mother will return with Lady Hestia at any moment, and I am not to speak to anyone."_

_Hades folded his arms across his chest, signalling that he wasn't about to go anywhere._

_Kore gripped tightly onto the bark of the tree. Her heart was beating fast, and she was not enough of a fool to attempt to deny why. The enigmatic Hades was standing right there in front of her, clad in dark blue and black and looking as sinfully handsome as he always did – perhaps even more so under cover of darkness. He seemed to wear the night like a second skin. His lustrous charcoal eyes glinted in the moonlight, piercing into her, and the incredible aura of raw power and masculinity radiating from his tall, arresting form was enough to set her entire body on edge. Why had he been prowling around her mother's fields to begin with? How had nobody spotted him? How long had he been watching her create flowers, and why had he chosen to follow her?_

_A part of her whispered that she ought to run. He certainly looked like untameable trouble. Another voice pleaded with her to stay, was overcome with curiosity. She wanted to gaze at that face for longer. What was he like? Was he really as cold, arrogant and indifferent as he appeared? She had never really spoken to him alone – Apollo had interrupted her attempt to do so the previous time. Would he interact differently now that the Sun God was not with them?_

_Her thoughts were diverted away from her musings when Hades spoke again, his voice like black velvet, enveloping her ears in luxurious darkness._

_"Hn. How childish," he remarked, and allowed himself a moment of smugness when he saw her blink in surprise - before bristling indignantly._

_"I- I beg your pardon?" she stuttered._

_"Do you always flee to your mother?" he taunted._

_Kore's lips parted and she frowned. She did always listen to her mother, unconditionally – but she most certainly didn't want a god like Hades to think she was nothing more than an over-protected, pampered little fledgling._

_"My mother acts only to protect me," she defended._

_"So you are a child," he mocked._

_"I am not a child."_

_"Hn," he turned his face dismissively away._

_Horrified that he did not seem to believe her, Kore insisted, "I am not!"_

_Immediately, searing eyes locked back onto her. "Prove it," he challenged._

_Kore faltered, regarding him uncertainly. What was he planning?_

_Hades gestured nonchalantly with his head. "Come closer," he dared her._

_She automatically shook her head and made to take a step away._

_The dark-haired god regarded her coolly, before mocking flatly, "Afraid, little goddess?"_

_Kore swallowed. A part of her wanted to flee. Her mother had warned her many times in the past about deities who looked like Hades. They were only ever after one thing. Just because the young god standing before her seemed different and shared some strange friendship with Apollo, that did not mean she could afford to lower her guard._

_However, another part of her, the part that Aphrodite was always trying to coax out of her, was screaming at her to prove him wrong. She remembered how Aphrodite was always teasing her for being so timid, so obedient._

" _Tch," uttered Hades derisively. She could see that she was rapidly losing his attention, for he stepped back, and began to turn dismissively away. She wasn't so interesting after all. Just another mindless, muddled maiden who was too young to make her own decisions. Even her life-giving gifts could not salvage that._

_No sooner had he taken three steps, he heard her move. He glanced back, to find her edging away from the tree, inching closer to him. She clutched onto the skirt of her dress. Its flowing material was long at the back and grazed her knees at the front. His eyes lingered briefly on her legs, noting that she was barefoot – before he turned back to face her._

_She continued to step toward him, stopping when they were a mere two metres apart. She lifted her face, in what he supposed was meant to be a look of defiance. He resisted the sudden urge to smirk. She looked more afraid and anxious than she did brave. Such a small thing… and yet he was ready to guess that she was the life-force responsible for sustaining the entire forest._

" _You command life," he remarked._

_Kore bit her tongue. Her mother had always forbidden her to share information about herself to others. But how dangerous could a friend of Apollo's be? The temptation to speak back to him was overwhelming, even though the guilt of disobedience was gnawing away inside at her. She felt the same inexplicable, almost magnetic attraction she had experienced when she had first set sight on him. He exuded such elegance, such dark beauty… and those searing eyes seemed to hold all kinds of alluring secrets._

" _You are a friend of Apollo's," she answered, trying to determine whether it was safe to disclose anything to him._

_Hades snorted at that and averted his gaze. "Hn. That moron," he uttered, but it was more with exasperation than genuine dislike._

" _He can be quite overwhelming," Kore fiddled nervously with the loose end of her girdle._

_When Hades said nothing to that and merely stared back at her, Kore felt her pulse accelerate. What did he want? Why was he looking at her so silently? Suddenly she was awfully self-conscious. Did he consider her strange-looking? Unattractive? She felt heat burning her cheeks, and was thankful for the cloak of night disguising it._

" _I'm-" she began, but Hades was quick to interject._

" _Why is this forest blooming?"_

_Kore blinked at him, confused by the obviousness of the question. "It is nearly springtime," she answered._

_Hades pounced. "You are Spring," he stated with certainty._

_She shook her head, realising that his question had been deliberately posed to formulate the conclusion. "Please leave. If my mother returns-" she broke off, for Hades had taken a step toward her. Her instinct was to leap away, but his movements were so careful that it caused her to reconsider and hold her ground. However, she sent a whisper to the grass beneath his feet, ready to defend herself as her mother had taught her to do, if the need arose._

_But Hades innocently held up a hand and uncurled his fingers. Inside it was a brown leaf._

" _Renew this," he instructed._

_Kore's eyes darted from his face, to the leaf, then back to his face again._

" _It has been severed from its root-"_

" _But you can restore it," Hades insisted._

_Their gazes locked, and for a long minute, Kore found herself unable to break it. His request was a strange one, and she did not understand why he was making it. But he had already seen her creating flowers. He now knew what her gift was. What was the point in denying otherwise? He looked so keen to see her restore the leaf. She did not want to lose his interest. And she supposed she could always enlist Apollo's aid in ensuring that Hades did not share his newfound knowledge with anybody else._

_Throwing all caution to the wind, she decided to trust him. She did not think a friend of Apollo's could be any kind of villain – not when Apollo swore brotherhood with him._

_She held her right hand directly over his palm. Hades scarcely acknowledged that he was holding his breath as incredible warmth radiated from the light glowing from her hand, into his, then all the way up his arm. It was so unfamiliar. And yet… oddly soothing._

_He watched, with wide eyes, as the leaf's colour began to change, until its previous coat of green had been completely restored to its full lustre. He looked back at the goddess. Her eyes were luminous. Once again, he found himself briefly unable to look away as his mind raced to digest what she had just shown him._

_If she could reverse death in plants, could she also reverse death in humans? Or was her gift limited only to that of the seasons? He was struck by the discovery that there existed another deity with the power to undo decay._

_She began to withdraw her hand – and when Hades reached out as if to take her wrist, Kore immediately retreated. Her heart pounded. She decided that she had shown him more than enough. It had been a mistake to reveal so much to Hades, when she knew so little about him._

" _I must go now. Please leave," she entreated, backing away._

_He stepped forward, as if he had no intention of allowing her to escape._

" _My mother will return at any moment." Kore looked nervously behind him. "If she finds you here with me-"_

" _You will not outrun me again," Hades stated confidently, his eyes glittering with open challenge._

_Kore blinked, surprised, and for a heartbeat, neither of them moved. Then she abruptly darted away, and he was after her in a flash. They raced through the forest, weaving through the trees, under and over boughs. When she took to the branches, Hades followed, and when she sprang through the undergrowth, he pursued. She was certainly very quick, or perhaps it was simply her environment that afforded her a great advantage. Kore's feet seemed to know every short-cut and every clear path to tread. But Hades had always been known for his speed. At length he began to gain ground on her, until eventually he was close enough to reach out and snag her._

_His arm extended, his fingers seeking her wrist – and that was the last thing he remembered, before what happened next was a blur. He felt something wind around his arm, a great tug and the application of pressure – and then the world screeched to a sudden halt. He blinked and looked down, stunned to find vines wrapped around his arms and torso, effectively immobilising him._

_He looked up, to find Kore hanging gracefully from vines between the trees._

" _I am sorry," she murmured quietly, looking genuinely apologetic. "I asked you to leave."_

_He glared at her for a second – before a small smirk graced his lips. He had always enjoyed a challenge – and this foolish little goddess was certainly the most interesting he had encountered in a very long time. There was clearly more to her than he had initially assumed – but she clearly had no idea who she was meddling with._

_Kore's heart raced. The smirk on his mouth was so devious. So wicked. So… so utterly delicious. She was horrified at the sinfulness of her thoughts. It was wrong, her mother had always told her, to desire anyone before marriage._

_She opened her mouth to inform him that her mother was approaching, but the words never left her lips. She watched, wide-eyed with mounting shock and horror, as her vines began to change in hue, turning from a lush green to a pale, sickly colour, before shifting to brown. They dried and shrivelled and with little effort, Hades began to pry himself loose, his piercing eyes locked onto her as he caused the vines to wither harmlessly. Alarmed, she summoned more. But he kept killing them, his eyes narrowed pointedly at her._

" _Death," he uttered haughtily, as he continued to allow her a glimpse into a fraction of the power he wielded, "is superior to life."_

_Kore was stricken. Was this his gift? Did he bring the winter? Did he bring suffering to trees? She gasped fearfully, not wanting to see any more, too dismayed at the realisation that the god, whose devilishly good-looks had weaved some manner of spell over her better sense of judgement, was the wielder of such awful power. Afraid that her mother was on the verge of sensing a trespasser in her lands and catching her red-handed with a stranger, she summoned enough vines to keep Hades preoccupied and to prevent him from following her, before turning and hastily fleeing away._

_By the time Hades sliced himself completely free, he acknowledged, with mild irritation - and a reluctant respect - that Kore had succeeded in losing him once again.  
_

* * *

Sunset was falling in Elysium. As Sasuke reached the edge of the cluster of trees that led out of the territory of the Hesperide Gardens, he found himself contemplating where the time had gone. He always seemed to lose track of it in Sakura's presence. But he did not want to dwell on what that fact really meant.

She was directly ahead and had stopped moving. He could sense her without difficulty again. As he strode unhurriedly forward toward her, he realised that his heart was drumming. This time, he vowed that he would not allow anything to stop him from reading her mind. He would find out just how she knew of _Hades,_ once and for all.

He spotted her, lying in the grass, sprawled as if in deep sleep. So she had passed out again. He sighed lightly as he approached her. It was almost becoming predictable, this strange pattern of behaviour. As he reached her, he blinked, wondering if his eyes were someone playing tricks on him. But it was no illusion. The flowers directly surrounding her really _were_ angling gently in her direction. It was subtle, and he might have missed it entirely, had he not been looking closely enough. He stood incredulously over her for a minute, his eyes carefully absorbing every detail in her face. Her skin still had its dewy gleam. There still seemed to be something off about her. He knelt down, and as soon as he did, the blossoms seemed to relax back into their original positions. Scowling, Sasuke turned his attention back to Sakura, and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Sakura," he called to her, even when he already knew she could not hear him. Then, before his very eyes, the strange glow that the apple had bestowed upon her began to ebb and wane. She sighed in her slumber, and her complexion returned to normal, the blinding light within her reverting back to her pure aura.

The death deity reached out to touch her, but hesitated. In the flattering glow of the setting sun, she was so achingly lovely. Like a flower that was on the verge of blooming into the most beautiful of all. His eyes stopped on her lips. They were soft and plump, and a sheen of moisture gleamed invitingly on the lower of the pair.

The tips of his fingers brushed against her cheek, and he was barely conscious of the fact that he was already leaning down, flowing toward her. Like a moth drawn powerlessly to the flame it knew would consume it.

How long had he waited to taste the sweetness of those lips? Far too long, he knew, from the painful ache throbbing deep within him. No other deity would have held back for so long. Many had fallen to far prettier faces. So what had caused him to do so, when thoughts of Sakura had tortured his waking being for so long? He desired closeness with her, and yet his hands did not dare to do what others of his kind had done with the women that had captured their fancy.

It was her purity. The same force that pulled him relentlessly toward her was also what kept him at bay. She was sprawled out before him, vulnerable, defenceless, and while he might have entertained taking advantage of such a tempting situation beforehand, he found that now he could not. He could not taint her. And that was all his hands were good for. Sasuke listened to her breaths, deep and slow. He could sense the steady rhythm of her heart. And he cursed it. The need that she caused to rage inside him, that he had been fighting to suppress. For her sake. He exhaled, suddenly struck with anger and indignation. Since when had he cared so much about her feelings? Since when had they begun to override his own? Hadn't his conscience withered along with his long forgotten past?

What was she doing to him?

Her lips were so close. As if to prove a point to himself, he closed the gap between them, stopping when they were a mere whisper from his. What if he could not stop? What if, once he tasted those divine lips, he kissed her until he claimed all the air from her lungs?

He pressed his forehead to hers and lowered his eyes, releasing a trembling breath.

' _What are you?'_ he thought out to her. The chirruping of birds and the lazy swishing of grass around him were his only answer.

He angled his head, to capture her mouth, wondering if doing so would somehow quench the fire inside him and provide him with all the explanations he so desperately thought. But his lips only succeeded in brushing lightly and chastely over hers, before his mind, which had been simultaneously extending to probe hers, suddenly struck against a blinding white barrier. A jolt of throbbing pain overcame his mind, causing him to jerk abruptly away from her. He expected it to end there, as it had before, but this time was different. Something flashed transiently across his vision – an imprint that was so infuriatingly familiar, he almost recognised it – but when he reached out to touch her forehead with gritted teeth, in an attempt to force his way through the mental obstruction, the pain became unbearable, so agonising that it caused the air to fracture cleanly in his lungs and his vision to swarm over. That was the last thing the death deity recalled, before everything fell to darkness.

* * *

Sakura's eyes fluttered open to a twinkling midnight sky. She blinked groggily, struggling to remember where she was and what had happened to her. She shifted, as memory slowly trickled back to her through the haze. Sasuke had taken her to the Hesperide Garden. She took a deep breath of cool air – only to lose it a second later when she looked to her right.

Sasuke was lying on his back on the grass beside her. With a poorly suppressed, startled yelp, Sakura sat up, staring wide-eyed down at him. Her pulse immediately picked up pace. What was he doing there? Surely deities didn't just take leisurely naps – and if they did, she could not imagine Sasuke ever letting his guard down so much. What had happened to them? She looked down at herself in turn. Nothing seemed to be amiss. Heart racing, she glanced back at the Death God. Apart from the steady rise and fall of his chest, he was otherwise completely still.

Nonplussed, Sakura surveyed their surroundings nervously. Was this some kind of joke? Surely it had to be? Had he actually fallen asleep waiting for her to wake up? But that seemed so unlike him. And how had she fallen asleep? She couldn't even remember doing so.

Leaning over, she called cautiously, "Sasuke?"

Silence answered her. He did not respond. Sakura hesitated, before reaching out to shake his left shoulder lightly. Still he did not move.

It then dawned on her that the Underworld's King was not asleep. It seemed more like he had been knocked out cold. But to Sakura that was even more absurd than Sasuke taking a random nap. She could not imagine anything or anyone managing to physically disable the fierce, proud deity lying before her.

She sat for a moment, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Well, this was certainly awkward. What was she to do? She certainly could not leave the fields alone. Finding no other option but to wait, Sakura busied herself by watching him. It was funny, she thought distractedly to herself, as the heaviness that had been plaguing her head blessedly began to settle, how different he appeared in sleep. As her eyes trailed over his handsome features, enhanced by the silver glow of the phantom moonlight, she found herself contemplating how much younger and less intimidating he seemed. Sasuke was beautiful even when he scowled, but she was not accustomed to seeing his face look so unguarded, and was quite struck by it.

 _I wonder what really happened to him,_ she mused, remembering the goddess Chiyo's previous words to him. _When he's asleep like this, he almost seems like he could be just a nice, ordinary, outrageously gorgeous guy…_

She caught the ridiculous thought before it could develop further. Flushing, she looked away, sighing heavily, watching the way the blades of grass and flowers around them danced playfully in the refreshing breeze. She shivered, rubbing at her arms. It was cool, and she wished she still had her cloak on her. Then she turned her attention up to the sky. A sky that resembled the surface one so closely, and yet, she thought with sadness and a sharp twinge of nostalgia, was not the same.

Her eyes fell back to the death deity. The light wind had displaced strands of his unruly hair, sending them over his long-lashed eyes. Sakura had a senseless desire to push them out the way. The more she gazed at him, the stronger the urge became.

Those strands were really annoying her. But was she mad, even entertaining the idea of touching him? What if he suddenly woke up?

 _Don't be such a wimp,_ her inner voice chastised her. _Can't you see he's completely out of it?_

Deciding to give into the whim, Sakura scooted quietly closer. She wondered what Ino would say if she saw a face like Sasuke's. She wondered what she would do if she was in exactly the same position that Sakura presently found herself in. She bit back a sudden, embarrassed giggle. The answer was so obvious.

Her heart began to pound faster as she leant over him. Even reaching out to innocently shift hair from Sasuke's face seemed like a crime. Surely it was a sin to touch a god when he was not even aware of it. Then Sakura told herself off again. She was hardly touching him! There was nothing wrong with pushing those silky, raven locks away from his eyes. She wondered if his hair felt as soft as it looked.

A strange feeling came over her as Sakura continued to stare at him. It was like she could not look away. Her left hand lifted, as if in a trance, and inched closer to his face. She scarcely acknowledged the fine tremors that were assaulting her fingertips. Closer. Closer. Until-

She gasped, as without warning Sasuke's left hand shot up, his eyes simultaneously opening. Her stomach lurched when they narrowed at her. Then she found herself being yanked forward, and in a heartbeat, far too quickly for her to follow, Sasuke gracefully flipped their positions, pinning her swiftly down on the grass beneath him.

His eyes, rendered molten anthracite under the moon's silver glow, scorched through her. The air abandoned Sakura at that moment. She had never seen him regard her so intensely. He looked positively livid – and that only made her heart thunder even harder inside her.

" _You_ ," he bit out accusingly. " _What did you do_?"

She stared back at him, her parted lips gaping in dismay. What was he talking about? But she couldn't think coherently, when his hands were encircling her wrists so tightly, when his weight was pressing down on her.

"I- wha-?" she floundered. "Sa- I never- I didn't-"

"Stop lying," he snapped.

Flustered, Sakura gathered her wits. He was clearly and understandably unhappy about being knocked unconscious. And she knew far better than to struggle. She had no hope of physically overpowering a deity. Taking a few seconds to calm her agitated nerves, she swallowed, before crying back indignantly, "I just woke up and found you here! I swear to you, Sasuke, I don't _know_ what happened!"

Sasuke glared down at her. He had accused her of lying – but all he saw in her eyes was truth and genuine distress. She was upset. How preposterous. _She_ had caused _him_ to black out, yet she had the nerve to be upset with him? It only caused his glower to intensify. He fumed, furious that whatever Sakura had somehow done, apparently without even realising it, had actually resulted in him losing consciousness. Leaving him so open and unguarded to her! How long had he been out for? The last thing he remembered before he had passed out was a blinding, throbbing pain in his head.

What was this cursed, mysterious power she possessed that was locked away so deeply inside her? He could not remember the last time he had felt so disturbed. So out of his comfort zone. But he also knew it was worse to allow her to see the extent of his frustration, and so, with great reluctance, Sasuke gathered the storm within him and with one final scowl down at Sakura, released her and pulled away, replacing a more comfortable distance between them.

She sat up, clutching a hand over her galloping heart, before rubbing at her arms. The air around her now felt cold. They sat for a long while in utter silence, Sasuke angled away from her, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clenched into tight fists. When the quiet between them dragged on, and Sasuke did not move, Sakura, growing more and more anxious, automatically blurted out, "Are you alright?"

Sasuke stiffened, his eyes widening incredulously as he stared at an unfortunate flower directly before him. Now she was asking him if he was _alright?_ What was wrong with her? He did not _understand_ her.

His head whipped back around to cast a displeased glare her way as he clipped, "You're annoying."

Sakura's jaw sagged. The first reaction that passed through her mind was one of utter disbelief. Then she had the sudden urge to burst into slightly hysterical laughter. Finally her emotions settled on feeling insulted. But before she could open her mouth to retort anything in her defence, the death deity rose fluidly to his feet.

Without looking down at her again, Sasuke unclasped his cloak and wordlessly dropped it around her shoulders as he passed her, and spoke in a voice which, given his previous outburst, struck a confused Sakura as being very quiet.

"We're leaving."

* * *

The lights were off. She knew for certain that he would not be back from his shift until after midnight. Glancing at the passenger seat beside her, Tsunade nodded at her companion.

"Are you certain you want to do this? I do not expect it of you, Shizune."

Shizune sighed lightly. "I would not leave you here alone even if you ordered me to, Tsunade-sama."

Her friend smirked, before nodding seriously. "Then we will need to be quiet and quick. That snake will not be back for a few more hours, but we must remain vigilant."

"Yes," Shizune agreed softly.

Both women exited the car and made the short walk to Kabuto's residence. Shizune pulled her baseball cap down lower over her face and adjusted her black scarf as Tsunade tugged at the strings of her dark green jumper's hood on her head. Shizune glanced surreptitiously around them. Apart from an old man walking his dog on the other side of the road ahead of them, the street was otherwise empty.

' _Clear,_ ' she telepathically communicated to Tsunade, who immediately tested the gates surrounding the house. They were solid iron – but that posed little problem to her.

' _He wouldn't have such security in place if he didn't have anything to hide,_ ' she mentally remarked, sneering in disgust. As Shizune kept watch, she charged a tiny stream of chakra into her hands and bent the bars apart cleanly, wide enough to allow both women to slip through. Once on the other side, she bent them effortlessly back in place. They hurried down the front path, noting the small garden lights that illuminated the fake lawn that had been rolled out around them. It was a deep green. Tsunade felt a painful tug in her heart. Without Spring's presence, real grass could not grow so vividly.

' _There's an alarm up there,'_ Shizune warned, pointing with a gloved hand up at the large red alarm, clearly visible to intruders at the front of the house.

Tsunade nodded. Pressing a gloved finger against the key lock, she channelled another wave of chakra and closed her eyes as she seeped a tiny amount through the lock, getting a feel of its shape, before proceeding to mould a matching key out of chakra. With a burst of power, she commanded the chakra key to twist and smiled upon hearing the satisfying sound of the door unlocking. She undid the second, lower lock in the same way.

' _It's been a while since I've done anything like this,'_ she mused.

' _You certainly haven't lost your touch,'_ Shizune answered amusedly.

They entered the house, closing the door quietly behind them. Pulling a large torch from the satchel tied at her waist, Tsunade communicated, _'We'll split up. I'll search downstairs. You search upstairs. Look for anything that needs a key to open it. If you hear anybody coming back, exit from a window upstairs. I'll deal with them down here.'_

' _Yes, Tsunade-sama,'_ Shizune nodded and flicked on her own flashlight, before carefully making her way upstairs.

Tsunade entered the first room and shone the light around to find herself in the lounge. Kabuto's modern-styled home was unremarkable. The décor was limited to pale, washed out colours; as thoroughly clinical as the man was in person. _How apt,_ Tsunade thought bitterly.

She looked closely around, being careful not to move or touch anything unless it was absolutely necessary. She tested floor-boards and examined the walls, looking for any clue as to what the key she had discovered could be used for. Finding nothing of worth in the lounge, she moved to the adjoining kitchen. After opening and closing all the cabinets and drawers, and peering into the boiler door, she left for the second reception room. It was smaller, but just as dull in appearance.

She made a note of the time on the wall. They had been searching for twenty-five minutes already with no luck.

' _He sure likes white,'_ Shizune's voice remarked mentally to her from the upper floor.

' _Hmph,'_ Tsunade responded, pulling open a table drawer and finding nothing but business cards in it. She removed picture frames from the walls, seeking any secret compartments hidden behind. But there was nothing. Her frustration mounting, she moved to another door. It was locked.

Charging chakra into her hand, she forced the knob open and found herself in a spotless utility room. Her hopes of discovering something interesting in it were quickly diffused. Nothing seemed suspicious.

She returned to the main hallway and shone her light around, and opened another door to find a small, plain white bathroom.

She checked her watch. Forty three minutes precisely had passed since their entry.

' _It has to be here somewhere. Why else would he carry a key?'_ Thinking to herself, she added to Shizune, _'Unless that weasel is keeping whatever this key unlocks somewhere else?'_

' _There is nothing up here either, Tsunade-sama,'_ Shizune informed her regretfully. _'I only have one final room to search.'_

 _Damn it_ , Tsunade seethed to herself. Forcing the rear garden door open, she shone her flashlight at the back of the house. There didn't seem to be a basement in the house, which meant the only places left to look were in the attic and the garden shed. But when she peered into the garden shed, she knew she was unlikely to find anything in it. In stark contrast to the rest of the house, the shed was a mess, littered with old furniture and broken bicycles, as well as a random assortment of plant pots.

She circled the perimeter of the house, and frowned when she came across a section with barrels of what appeared to be recycled compost. Was Kabuto an enthusiastic gardener? She shuffled past the barrels and continued along the side of the house. Nothing. Discouraged, she returned to the utility room through a side door in the outer wall, and was about to call Shizune down – when the floorboards beneath her shifting feet creaked.

She looked down. A rug had been stationed in the middle of the utility room. She crouched down and threw it back, shining her torch on the floor. On first inspection, the wooden boards had seemed unremarkable. But now that she was looking again, Tsunade was certain she could see the faint, very cleverly concealed outline of a square just large enough to accommodate a person.

' _Shizune!'_

Her friend immediately responded. _'I'm coming, Tsunade-sama!'_

Thirty seconds later, both women were staring down at the wooden floorboard.

Tsunade knocked down on it with a fist. _'It sounds different to the other boards around it.'_ Her heart began to accelerate hopefully. _'There_ _must_ _be something under here.'_

Spreading her palms flat, she channelled chakra into the floor. The faint green light illuminated a square shaped panel in the ground, and Tsunade caught her breath. She applied a little pressure. The panel did not move. But when she applied more, the wood groaned.

Grabbing a nail from her satchel and a hammer, Tsunade chipped into the outline until the panel finally began to budge. Shizune assisted her in pulling it aside, and both women found themselves looking down a steep set of stairs leading into darkness.

They exchanged glances, before Shizune gave her friend a reassuring nod.

"I'll be right behind you," she whispered.

Tsunade began to climb down, shining her flashlight. The gut feeling that she was on the verge of discovering something significant intensified with every step she took. The stairs beneath her feet creaked, and every noise seemed deafeningly loud to her ears. Eventually she reached the bottom, where she came upon a light switch. Tugging the string down illuminated the small area in dim light.

"What is this?" Shizune whispered.

All around them were barrels of compost, which were growing spores of some kind. Tsunade frowned as she inspected one batch. The smell of dampness and soil hung heavily in the air. Was Kabuto some kind of drug-plant grower? But she knew all about medicines and drugs, and she could not recognise these spores. They were a sickly white colour. Fresh bags of unopened compost rested against the walls. It was a very bizarre sight.

"That bastard," she muttered. "I'll fire his sorry ass first thing tomorrow morning."

"Look!" Shizune suddenly exclaimed. Tsunade turned to find her friend crouching beside a large crate, nestled cleverly behind some compost barrels. But it was far heavier than a crate ought to be, and when they lifted the top, they discovered why. Inside was a metal safe – with a number-coded lock.

Without wasting another second, Tsunade forgot all about leaving no evidence before, and smashed the door cleanly in with a chakra-charged punch. She yanked it open to find another compartment with a regular key-lock. Retrieving the key from her satchel, she inserted it into the lock, and with baited breath, twisted.

The door opened – to reveal two silver phials.

Shizune gasped in alarm.

"Impossible! That cannot be-"

Her heart pounding, Tsunade grabbed the phials, and with trembling hands, unwound the top off one. Lifting it to her nose, she inhaled – and Shizune saw from the way the colour drained from her face that her suspicion had been correct.

"That bastard," Tsunade whispered, clutching the phials tightly to her chest. "That damned son of a bitch. I'll kill him with my bare hands."

"I-I was sure nobody else had access to the samples- Tsunade-sama, I promise you-" Shizune stammered, horror-stricken.

Tsunade held up a soothing hand. She knew that Shizune had guarded the samples to the best of her ability. The fact was that Kabuto had simply found a way to outsmart them – which meant he had been watching them for even longer than Tsunade had realised.

Gripping the phials tightly in her hands, she uttered tensely, "Let's go."

They hurried back up the stairs, and had just replaced the panel in the utility room, when they heard it. The sound of someone returning home. A second later, the hall lights switched on and they heard casual whistling.

Shizune's eyes widened in alarm. Instinctively, she grabbed onto her friend's arm.

' _Out the side door,'_ Tsunade telepathically hissed. _'Into the garden. Quickly, Shizune!'_

Being as quiet as possible, the women exited into the garden. Summoning chakra into her hands, Tsunade unlocked the side garden door and closed it quietly after them. They walked around until they reached the front yard – only to freeze when a familiar voice sighed behind them, "Ladies. It's a criminal offence to trespass into someone else's private property. Surely you're aware of the law."

Tsunade whirled to find Kabuto standing with his hand in his pockets by the front door. He looked relaxed, and, to Tsunade's mounting suspicion, completely unsurprised to see intruders on his grounds.

"Dr. Haruno," Kabuto continued mildly. Tsunade fought back her shock. How had he identified her so easily, when she and Shizune's faces were concealed? "You never quite struck me as the criminal type."

Tsunade gripped Shizune's wrist, signalling for her to remain silent.

 _'Keep quiet. He has no proof it is us. Wait for my command,'_ she instructed.

Kabuto sighed again, adjusting his glasses. "In any case, I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave with the samples."

Tsunade's heart leapt, and she stiffened despite herself. That treacherous snake-

"That is why you came here, isn't it?" Kabuto went on casually. When they still said nothing, Kabuto gestured with his hand. "Oh, come now. It wasn't too difficult to figure out. First my key went missing. Then I thought to myself, who is the only person who could possibly access my locker – or would want to? You've never liked me very much, I know. I can't think why. I was always very polite to your daughter. She was such a lovely thing… it's a real pity, that she disappeared. So much wasted potential…"

Enraged, Tsunade yanked off her hood and scarf, vowing that she would silence him – permanently – after she extracted all the information she needed. "You bastard!" she snarled. "You stole the phials!"

"Stealing is such a strong word," Kabuto shrugged. "I merely like to think I am keeping them safe."

"How did you get your filthy hands on them?" she demanded.

"One can learn a great deal by simply observing others, Dr. Haruno," Kabuto answered, his tone still friendly. Smiling, he continued, "For instance. By observing Sakura-san, I learnt that she has an uncommon fondness for flowers and nature. And by observing you, I discovered that you have an uncommon obsession for preserving life – although you have been neglecting your duties, as of late…"

Tsunade's honey eyes widened with shock. So she had been right all along! Kabuto _was_ the spy.

"You know the serpent!" Shizune exclaimed, her voice muffled by the scarf.

"Now, that's not way to refer to the great Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto defended, shaking his head.

Tsunade's mind raced as she came to terms with the unpleasant truth. Kabuto, a mortal, was in league with a monster from her hated past. But how? Why? What had the fool been promised? How low must he have once sunk to, in order to have even encountered Orochimaru to begin with?

"Hah!" she spat aloud contemptuously. "Is that what he's calling himself these days?"

"Do you realise what you're getting yourself into?" Shizune demanded. "Do you even know what he really is?"

"Lord Orochimaru has promised me the greatest of gifts. He recognised my potential. He found me when I was at my lowest point. He showed me the way."

Tsunade stared. She didn't know whether she pitied the fool or just plain despised him. But she knew Orochimaru's tongue had the power to lead even the most devout astray. He thrived on negative emotions and used them to manipulate unsuspecting humans.

"The way to what?" asked Shizune in dismay.

"Immortality. Once I acquire the serum, I, too, will ascend to greatness." He chuckled, looking excited by the prospect. "It's so simple. I will go down in history as the greatest doctor that ever lived. The man who found a cure for all the ills that befall humanity."

"Listen to yourself," Tsunade snapped. "You are a fool if you believe you can trust that serpent. His words are poison. He'll slit your throat the second he's done with you."

"Which is what you want to do now, I suppose?" Kabuto mused. "Those phials are very valuable. I am sorry, Dr. Haruno. I cannot possibly allow you to leave with them. Without them, my creations cannot be perfected."

"Creations?" Shizune echoed dubiously. He sounded like a mad scientist. And suddenly, he looked the part, too.

"I call them the Zetsu," Kabuto replied, appearing very pleased with himself. "Allow me to introduce you to the concept. You might have noticed the spores growing while you were trespassing on my grounds?"

The women exchanged uncertain looks.

"Who would have thought such a thing possible? By mixing plant and human DNA, I have created something that incorporates the best of both worlds. Of course, this scientific breakthrough would not have been possible without Lord Orochimaru's aid. And of course, the samples, which you're attempting to smuggle out of here. Such peculiar molecular structure…" he contemplated, rubbing his chin. "Lord Orochimaru tells me that if I assist him, he will tell me where I can obtain more of the samples."

"Son of a bitch," seethed Tsunade.

"The human world isn't quite ready to be introduced to the Zetus yet. But I see no reason why I can't treat you to an exclusive preview," Kabuto smiled. "Of course, I had hoped to resolve this amicably. I greatly respect your work, Dr. Haruno. If you would just hand me back the samples, we can forget this entire affair."

"Over my dead body!" Tsunade barked back. "I'll crush every bone in you before you lay a finger on them again!"

"I see," The young doctor sighed heavily. So his Master had been correct when he'd stated that the phials were of great value. He could not afford to lose them. Adjusting his glasses, he looked up at them, his previously courteous expression replaced with a darkly sinister smile. "Then I am afraid you leave me with no other choice."

He clicked his fingers, and immediately the ground around them began to rumble.

"The spores have been dispersed all over my residence," Kabuto explained calmly. "In this way, my creations keep watch for me."

"What is he talking about?" Shizune gasped, looking fearfully around them.

"It doesn't matter," Tsunade shook her head. "Orochimaru has corrupted him. He's out of his mind. Get ready, Shizune!"

"Come on now, don't be shy," Kabuto chuckled.

Then they saw it; grotesque white spores growing out of the grass around them. They were naked, androgynous forms with faces that vaguely resembled a human's. As the spores grew, they began to sprout human-like limbs. Seven of them grew into existence, and began lurching toward Tsunade and Shizune.

Tsunade's eyes flew back to Kabuto in repulsion. What forbidden arts had the fool meddled in? What unholy creatures had he created?

"If you think your disgusting puppets can stop me-" she began.

"Ah, yes. I seem to recall. Lord Orochimaru said that He's always watching. You are forbidden from tapping into your chakra seal, are you not?" He chuckled again. "That turns the tables in my favour, doesn't it?"

Shizune was horrified. Just how much did Kabuto know? She was stunned; that Orochimaru would choose to reveal so much to a mere human…

' _Shizune,'_ Tsunade's voice echoed in her mind. _'Run on my signal. More of them are growing, but they're slow. We can easily outrun them.'_

 _'Yes, Tsunade-'_ she broke off, gasping at the feel of a slimy hand wrapping around her ankles. She kicked down, managing to escape from its clutches, and then she and Tsunade forgot all about timing, and made a dash for the gates. But the Zetsu spores kept sprouting, and were now multiplying more rapidly. Tsunade aimed a kick at one, with enough power to snap its unstable head back. Shizune grabbed the baton from her belt and smashed another aside.

"I'll hold them off!" she cried. "Open the gates, Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade didn't need to channel chakra to pack in a hefty punch. She elbowed a Zetsu spore aside, and ducked when another lunged at her. But she failed to see the one lurching toward her from behind and almost gagged when a cold, damp arm wrapped around her throat.

She stomped back with her left foot, hard. The Zetsu made a strange groaning sound, and collapsed back onto the grass.

"Most interesting," Kabuto remarked, as he watched the fight keenly.

Shizune smacked and stabbed at three others. "Hurry, Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade raced toward the gates, ducking and dodging the horrendous white bodies that were trying to obstruct her path. She supposed once Kabuto 'perfected' his creations, they would be stronger, quicker and more capable of fighting back. As she shoved another aside, she frantically wondered what this newest revelation meant. Were they aware of whose blood the phials contained? Just how much did the serpent and his puppet know? How much did He – the hated one in the sky – know?

Unexpectedly, three spores sprouted out before her, and one succeeded in grasping the satchel at her waist. The momentum of her movement caused part of the belt to tear. Tsunade's heart leapt into her throat. She couldn't lose a single drop! Without the missing two phials, the samples she and Shizune had locked safely away were incomplete!

With a mighty cry she spun and her instinct to protect what was hers overrode the cautious part of her that warned against tapping into her chakra. Channelling a small amount, she connected her fist straight into the Zetsu's face, severing the head cleanly. Green liquid spurted into the air. She delivered a furious kick at the spore that was trying to crawl toward her.

The sudden sound of a gunshot and a scream caused her to freeze in place.

* * *

The night was a cold one. Certainly colder than it ought to be given the time of year. Sasuke alighted opposite the house, his eyebrows drawing together when he did not recognise it. After returning Sakura to his palace and leaving her in the care of Ume and Chizu, he had thought long and hard about what he had seen and experienced in Elysium, his irritation growing with every detail he kept replaying, over and over in his mind. His patience had worn thin. He had tired of all the guessing games. He wanted answers – and he was going to get them.

The Helm atop his head made him invisible to both human and immortal eyes. She was here. There was no mistaking her familiar aura. One of the perks of being the God of Death meant that he could track whoever he pleased – god or otherwise.

She was not alone. He could detect another with her. Her sister, he realised, as he drew closer to the house. But what were they doing here? He had expected to find Tsunade at home and had intended to listen to her conversations with the others in the hopes of learning something of value concerning Sakura. Something which he knew he ought to have done much earlier – but in an attempt to cover his tracks, had left the task of gathering information to the worthless messenger boy. He sneered contemptuously. He did not need anybody to bring him news. He would obtain it through his own means.

It was only as he drew closer that he realised something was seriously amiss. The sound of a scuffle filled the air, and as he peered curiously through the gates, his eyes widened at a thoroughly unexpected sight.

Tsunade was locked in combat with creatures he had never seen before. Shizune was with her, struggling to ward back a cluster of white, gruesome looking entities. What in Tartarus's name were they? His eyes then darted to the figure standing by the door of the residence.

Immediately he recognised who it was. The silver-haired doctor from the hospital. Sakura had been shadowing him in the period just before Sasuke had taken her from the surface. He had not bothered to remember the young fool's name, and scowled. Who had summoned the monstrosities? He guessed the human somehow had something to do with it, given that the creatures were not attacking him. He wondered how that was even possible, but saved the thought for later consideration, upon witnessing the man raising his left hand to aim a gun directly at Shizune.

Gun-fire rang out, and Shizune's cry pierced the air. She fell, clutching her leg, as the white creatures lumbered toward her.

Swiftly, he jumped over the wall, and alighted on the other side. Tsunade was using chakra to finish off the creatures in her way. She was breaking the laws that had been imposed upon all surface-bound gods. Sasuke lingered by a tree, watching with great interest as Tsunade reached her companion, cursing the silver-haired doctor hatefully.

"Damn you, Kabuto," she snarled. "I'll deliver you to Hades with my bare hands!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He did not think that likely – but he had almost forgotten how fierce the woman could be when aggravated.

"Now there's no need to be so dramatic. All of this could have been avoided if you had simply just handed the phials over," Kabuto replied. "I'd hate to have to fire again. Give them to me, and even now I'll let you go."

 _Phials?_ Sasuke's eyes darted between both sides. What were they talking about?

"Get away from her!" Tsunade yelled, warding another four pores back.

"I won't miss this time," Kabuto sighed, drawing closer. "My Zetsu spores will never tire. We both know you're fighting a losing battle, Dr. Haruno."

 _Zetsu spores?_ Sasuke frowned. This human had clearly meddled too much into forbidden arts for his own good. He already knew what his fate was.

Another Zetsu lunged at Tsunade's waist, grabbing onto her satchel. Tsunade automatically moved to punch it away, hastily taking one phial out in her hand – but a carefully watching Kabuto fired another round off his gun.

Distracted, Tsunade turned back to Shizune, fearful that she had been shot again – but played right into Kabuto's hands. The satchel tore off under the persistent Zetsu's grasp, but not before Tsunade managed to connect a devastating kick at its elbow, snapping its arm in half. The satchel flew into the air, the remaining phial shooting out of it from the force of momentum.

"NO!" Both Kabuto and Tsunade cried.

Sasuke's eyes followed the spinning phial, his irises bleeding immediately to red. Black pinwheels spun, recognising his mind's intention. One instant the phial was there – the next, it had vanished into thin air.

Shizune's hand at her chest brought Tsunade's attention back to her.

"Leave me, Tsunade-sama!" she gasped.

Kabuto had rushed to the spot where the phial ought to have fallen, howling.

"No! No, it vanished! How could this be? Where is it? WHERE IS IT?!"

Using his distraction to their advantage, Tsunade whispered to her dear friend, "Close your eyes."

"What? No. Tsunade-sama… that technique- it is strictly forbidden-"

In the blink of an eye, they vanished.


	34. Chapter XXXIII

**Chapter XXXIII  
**

* * *

_With gaze of obsidian,_

_He tempts her near,_

_Enticing ever closer,_

_With eyes that sear,_

_Scorching, blistering, sweltering flames,_

_Will her to forget from whence she came,_

_And in His hand - that woeful bane,_

_The Forbidden Fruit,_

_Upon her lips stains,_

_Its cruel, irresistible, bittersweet blood,_

_Crimson as Death,_

_Crimson as lust.  
_

* * *

Shizune winced at the pressure of a hand pressing firmly over her wound.

"Tsunade-sama," she managed. "Please. You mustn't-"

"Hold still," Tsunade interrupted grimly, as she directed an unstable, fluctuating stream of chakra into her right palm. She closed her eyes, visualising the damaged tissue underneath and began to channel energy flow to repair and rejuvenate the injury. The limitations her seal placed upon her chakra reserves, however, meant that the speed of cell restoration was significantly compromised.

Shizune swallowed as the stinging pain in her leg slowly began to ebb.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why, Tsunade-sama? There was no need for you to use the forbidden transportation technique-"

"If I'd had another option, don't you think I would have taken it?" Tsunade snapped back. They had been outnumbered, and avoiding further injury to Shizune had been her top priority. Immediately noting the flash of sadness and guilt in Shizune's eyes, Tsunade held her breath for a moment, before slowly releasing it in an attempt to rein in her frayed temper.

"It's not your fault," she added in a mutter. "We've been bending the rules often enough lately; now that we know Kabuto's in league with that _snake_ Orochimaru, there's no telling how many others are involved." After another pause, Tsunade continued with certainty, "Orochimaru has spies everywhere, it seems. And he's been breaking rules of his own by passing on forbidden knowledge to ill-prepared mortals."

"What can he mean by it?" Shizune shook her head. "What has he promised Kabuto? And why _Kabuto?_ "

"He's clearly someone Orochimaru knows he can manipulate to his maximum advantage," Tsunade spat bitterly. "Like he did to other fools in the past." Satisfied that the skin had healed fully, Tsunade patted Shizune's leg, signalling that all damage had been repaired.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

Waving off her friend's gratitude, Tsunade sat back on her heels and retrieved the remaining phial from her jumper's pocket.

Gripping it tightly in her hand, she hissed, "That bastard Kabuto – how could he have possibly gotten his filthy hands on two phials?" Which begged the following question; just how long had he been monitoring them?

Shizune's left palm flew to her mouth as a troubling thought suddenly occurred to her. "What if…" she began fearfully, "…what if he has more?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Impossible. We checked all the other phials before we locked them away in the vault. We had a full set, Shizune! How could he have managed to-?" Abruptly she broke off and lifted the stopper from the phial. Inhaling deeply from it, she frowned. She was certain that the scent had been different when she had lifted it to her nose on the surface. Sniffing again, she realised with shock that she had been completely mistaken. The damp and earthy odour in Kabuto's secret basement had somehow skewered her olfactory senses. What was going on?

"What is it?" Shizune peered anxiously at her.

"This…" Tsunade shook her head. "This does not smell like the original."

"What?" Her friend looked concerned. "What do you mean, Tsunade-sama? You seemed so sure in the basement-"

"No. It has a similar initial scent but there's something off about it." She held out the phial for Shizune to smell.

She gasped, handing it back to her. "You're right! But then, how…?"

Tsunade was quiet for a long moment. Then her eyes suddenly widened as an outrageous idea presented itself in her racing mind. Was it possible, somehow, that Kabuto had only stolen a small sample from one of the phials and found a way to alter the genetic makeup of the blood he had obtained by crossing it with extracts from plants, thus producing weak replicates?

But that wasn't humanly possible. Not without inhuman intervention, at least.

They already knew that he was connected to Orochimaru – who _did_ have divine contacts and powers of his own. Orochimaru, who had clearly been whispering poisonous secrets to Kabuto, secrets that no mortal had the right to know.

The more Tsunade thought about it, the more it began to make awful sense, until a sickening realisation began to creep upon her. Did this have anything to do with why Orochimaru had selected Kabuto in particular? She remembered from his job application form that the junior doctor possessed an uncommonly high IQ level. But it was just not feasible to reproduce the DNA of the blood of an immortal in a laboratory. Even with the addition of ambrosia, there would be code mismatches and unexpected cell divisions, dangerous and unstable mutations-

Her breath stilled. That was precisely what the horrifying 'Zetsu' creatures were. Mutations, abominations of nature, unholy crosses between humans and plants.

Tsunade rose, her heart pounding. "Shizune, analyse the cellular structure of the blood in this phial," she ordered, holding out the container.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune rose in turn, looking questioningly at her as she accepted the phial.

"I think," Tsunade began angrily, "that if the results of the tests are what I suspect, then that son of a bitch Kabuto might have found a way to create genetically modified blood samples that mimic the originals!"

It also meant that Kabuto was an even greater threat than they had initially realised.

Shizune's shocked expression was quickly replaced by one of determination. "I'll analyse these right away!" she promised, making an immediate move. But a voice promptly halted her, and caused Tsunade's stomach to twist unpleasantly.

"Before you do that, do share the particulars of this fascinating conversation with me, Tsunade."

Tsunade's hands closed to form tight fists. Gritting her teeth, she turned to the door, only to be greeted with a mischievous wink and a smile that did not quite reach Jiraiya's eyes.

"Keeping secrets from me again, old girl?"

* * *

Orochimaru had discovered throughout the endless years of his existence that both mortal and divine emotions were equally easy to manipulate. It was just a matter of knowing which buttons to push – or more often, which buttons to leave untouched and intact. He had toppled many a mighty man and countless, grief-stricken human women – as well as deities who prided themselves on their great intellect. What had started out as genuine curiosity about the depths of human and godly emotions and how much they could be bent to his will had developed into a cruel, deadly, terrorising game – one that afforded him great benefits, as well as secured him alliances which ultimately advanced his grand designs. With every soul he tormented with fear, pain and doubt, his powers grew.

One such ally stood before him, dressed in crimson and black – colours that reflected the bloodied history of his past. And history had taught Orochimaru that while it was important to keep associates close – it was even more imperative to keep unpredictable enemies closer.

"I trust you have an explanation for this?" The figure's hands were clasped behind his back and he did not bother to turn around. His usual mark of disrespect.

"A thoroughly unexpected turn of events," Orochimaru replied, "but one that can be quickly rectified, I assure you."

A silence fell between them, which the serpent knew was an unspoken invitation for him to elaborate.

"Kabuto is quite an exceptional human. His thirst for knowledge guarantees he will stop at nothing to obtain what he desires."

"I hope for his pitiful sake that is true," the figure responded coldly. Shifting his head to the left slightly, he added, "For the instant he ceases to be useful will be the instant he ceases to breathe."

"But of course," Orochimaru agreed silkily.

The figure returned his gaze ahead. "Tsunade has obtained one of the phials. Identify the location of the other. At _any_ cost."

"Consider it done," Orochimaru nodded, making to step away.

"And Serpent," the figure added, causing the pale-skinned Personification of Dread and Terror to linger. "The conditions of the Truce have been compromised. It would bode well to acquire another ally."

Orochimaru's curiosity and interest were immediately caught. He could tolerate another player on their field – so long as the new addition did not pose a threat to his own personal plans.

After a lengthy, pondering pause, the figure suggested, "I think it time you paid a visit beneath the surface. Last time I checked, a young King desired revenge on the Surface Gods as much as I do. Perhaps he has overcome his childish grudges and will be willing to listen to a very attractive proposition."

Orochimaru smiled sinisterly, his snake-like tongue running slowly along his lips. Well, this certainly placed an interesting twist on events. He had been wronged in the past by the very individual being mentioned, and the possibility of delivering vengeful torment filled him with glee. In an instant, he had vanished.

The figure's eyes remained fixed on the large, thick, impenetrable crystal structure before him. His most prized possession. The only remaining memento he had of tearing the Olympian Gods and their precious order to pieces.

He smiled grimly at the motionless figure trapped within the unbreakable, transparent tomb.

"For all your foresight, you failed to realise your greatest mistake," he murmured softly. "After all, what chance does pitiful humanity stand against both War _and_ Death?"

The pale face within its eternal confinement remained expressionless.

* * *

Long, slender fingers twirled the phial distractedly in circles as dark eyes stared intently into the fireplace. He had replayed the exchange he'd witnessed on the surface over and over in his head, his sharp mind working quickly to match it with all the facts he had already acquired.

The phial contained blood. Sasuke knew after witnessing the human Kabuto's reaction to losing it, that the blood contained within was valuable. It was certainly valuable enough to force Tsunade to utilise the transportation technique in order to escape with the remaining sample. He had never before seen the unnatural creatures that had attacked the two women; was the existence of the 'Zetsu spores' Kabuto had mentioned somehow linked to the blood in the phial?

It was not possible for an ordinary mortal to play god and create such monstrosities. Kabuto was dabbling with the forbidden and by doing so, was enticing death well before his time. But before he removed the pesky problem, Sasuke had to understand exactly what he was dealing with; who Kabuto was working with and from where he had obtained the contents of the phials.

Wordlessly, he rose and left the fire-lit drawing room, making his way to the palace gardens. There was only one way to test the budding theory that had been circulating in his mind. Stepping outside, he found a patch of free soil by a cluster of milky white blooms and knelt by it, unfastening the cap of the phial.

Tilting it, he allowed a single drop to fall from the tube, onto the soil – and waited.

For a heart-thumping minute, nothing happened. Sasuke blinked. Perhaps he had not put enough. Maybe more than one drop was required – or maybe he had miscalculated and been wrong with his suspicions. Frowning, he unfastened the lid again and sniffed the liquid inside. Governing death meant that he was something of an expert on the scent of mortal blood – and this did not smell like ordinary blood. Neither did it have the distinctly sweet aroma of ambrosia-fuelled deity blood. He was just about to pour another drop – when the hand holding the phial suddenly froze. The Death God's breath stilled as he gazed down at the patch of soil in disbelief.

A thread-like, white spore was starting to sprout in the place where the drop of blood had fallen. It uncurled before Sasuke's eyes – then abruptly shrivelled in on itself, fading to grey and withering into nothing in a matter of seconds.

Words gasped in desperation reverberated deafeningly in Sasuke's skull.

" _Madara! W-we have to keep it… hidden from him! The- the essence of spring-"_

Spring. The season that commanded life. The power capable of nurturing and growing…

Sasuke's fingers closed tightly around the phial. Was this the essence Naruto had mentioned? But how could it be? It seemed contaminated somehow, as if it were a mere shadow of what it ought to be. Some weak, scientifically engineered variant that had vital strands of genetic code missing, which accounted for why it was unable to sustain life for too long – as he had witnessed on the surface with the lurching Zetsu creatures.

Because, Sasuke concluded with a sharp intake of breath, the blood he held was not the original. The original was somewhere else – and if this corrupt sample's limited capabilities were anything to go by, the original surely had the power to infuse life without fault. If it were to be discovered by mortals… the possibilities would be endless. He released the air in his lungs slowly. Tsunade, he was certain, had the originals. She was the guardian. The same way she guarded Sakura-

_Sakura._

Her daughter was named after spring; a girl whose soul was pure, untarnished. A girl who strangely knew the name Hades, who had mortal blood – but who was more receptive to the effects of ambrosia than any other mortal he had ever known. A girl who suffered mysterious pains at the start of the spring season – pains only the wine of the gods could alleviate.

Saskuke's mind was hurtling full speed. Ambrosia worked by altering blood chemistry. And whatever the mysterious ailment that afflicted her clearly responded and reacted positively to that.

Words spoken to him by another older deity echoed then in his memory; words he had not been able to dismiss.

_"On the contrary; this affects you also."_

_"The trees are already shedding their blooms…"_

The Death deity's thoughts whirred to a stop, and all that was left in their wake was a numbing hum. He exhaled, stunned, staring disbelievingly at the phial in his fist. Everything was suddenly falling into place with chilling finality. There were still many blanks to the puzzle – blanks he needed a little more time to piece together – but the picture that had now formed was unmistakeable.

What great secret had he inadvertently stumbled upon?

He was on his feet in an instant. Stalking back into the palace grounds, he barely acknowledged Ume as she curtsied to him, carrying a large silver tray of food in her hands.

"My Lord-" she began to greet politely.

"Bring Sakura to my chambers," he ordered as he breezed by her, adding emphatically without halting, " _Now_."

* * *

' _So what's the latest, hot stuff? Sasuke trusting you yet?'_

Sakura swirled the water in the basin idly with her index finger. _Trust?_ It seemed like nothing she said or did was capable of getting the stoic Death God to relax in her presence. She recalled the way Sasuke had left her when they had returned from their tour of the heavens. They had dismounted the chariot, and she had thanked him – quite genuinely – for allowing her to set her eyes upon the most sacred of places.

Her lower lip protruded as she remembered his response. A penetrating, silent stare that had set her pulse fluttering quite oddly – and then he had promptly excused himself. Just like that. No goodbye. No 'you're welcome' or 'don't mention it, Sakura'. Nothing. Leaving her to return to her room and try, unsuccessfully, to soothe her agitated nerves with a steaming hot bath as she had attempted to figure out just why he had been so irritated with her.

' _I think he hates me now,'_ she concluded glumly.

' _Hah! There's a fine line between love and hate, right? I mean, take all the great romances throughout the ages-'_ Suigetsu's telepathic voice then adopted a peeved tone. _'Hey, will you quit messing with the water? Your doll face is the highlight of my day, and I think with all the shit I'm putting up with for you, cooped up in this five star cell, you owe me a decent view of your pretty face, at least.'_

Sakura sighed heavily and retracted her hand. _'He took me to see Elysium and the Elysian Fields.'_ With a faraway look in her eyes, she added, _'Everything was so perfect… so beautiful.'_

The Water deity blinked in surprise – both at her reaction and the news. _'He did? He actually took you to both heavens?'_ When Sakura nodded, he whistled. _'Damn, you're even better than I thought. He's starting to trust you alright.'_ Wagging a finger at her, he ventured, _'You better start showing him some trust in return.'_

' _How?'_ Sakura asked, tempted to swirl the water's surface again.

' _Oh, well, let me think here,'_ Suigetsu tapped his chin in mock thought. _'I dunno, maybe you could like, you know?'_ He gestured arbitrarily in the air with a hand, before suggesting casually, _'Give the pitiful bastard his kiss already?'_

Sakura swiped the surface of the water angrily, sending droplets flying onto the elaborate mirror in front of her.

' _Okay, okay, geez, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!_ ' Suigetsu's apologies were anything but sincere.

' _I already told you, I'm not doing that!'_ Sakura fumed down at him. _'How many more times until you understand?'_

' _By Zeus, you've got to be the cutest but most uptight prude I've ever met-'_

 _Prude?_ Was that the word to describe girls who actually respected their bodies and refused to manipulate the emotions of males – human or otherwise? Thoroughly insulted, Sakura made a show of tugging threateningly at the drain chain with her index finger.

' _Whoa, whoa, wait Pinky, wait!'_ Suigetsu held up his hands to pacify her. _'Just think about this rationally for a minute-'_

' _I_ _am_ _thinking rationally, and if you don't change the subject I'm going to pull the plug.'_

Suigetsu waved comically. _'Okay, but just hear me out for a second, here. He's taken you to the Elysian Fields_ _and_ _Elysium; that's a big deal. A really major deal. You've got to give him something back if you want to move our plan forward. Show him that you trust him around you physically. Stop being so edgy around the guy. Now I'd never fight the bastard's corner, but to his credit, he could have jumped you a thousand times over by now, without you even knowing about it, right?'_

The thought was a very unsettling one and Sakura could only gape down at Suigetsu's reflection, utterly appalled. If he was trying to be reassuring, he was doing a horrendous job at it.

' _What's the big deal?'_ Suigetsu continued blithely. ' _It's just one puny little kiss. You won't even miss it. The closer you lure him in, the more likely he'll let his guard down. I mean it's not like you're saving it for any human guy on the surface, is it?'_

Sakura bristled, indignant. _'Maybe it's something small and meaningless to you heartless gods, but to me, it really matters-'_

' _Ouch.'_ Suigetsu looked theatrically wounded. _'I have a heart, Pinky. Really I do.'_

' _How would you know that I'm not saving it for someone on the surface?'_ she countered angrily.

Suigetsu's sad expression evaporated in an instant as he snorted derisively. _'Uh huh, yeah, right. You think lover boy Sasuke's gonna honour your wish? He's always been a possessive asshole. You so much as look at another guy, and they'll be walking the banks of Acheron before you can say sayonara. If it's going to happen anyway, why not work it to your advantage?'_

Sakura's eyes lifted to gaze sullenly at her reflection in the mirror. That sounded like something awful Sasuke would do, and as horrible as the notion seemed, the miserable truth was that there wasn't anybody waiting for her back at home. She hadn't ever really been in love with anyone, save for a handful of celebrity crushes that every teenage girl on the planet indulged. How could she even view the world the same way, after knowing Sasuke and his realm?

She had lost everything. She couldn't possibly lose her first kiss too. Sasuke happened to be the deity who decided who went to hell and who did not, but that was no guarantee that she was immune from being flung into the fires of torment just because he had chosen to kidnap her, especially considering the dishonest manner in which she was intending on departing his Kingdom. The kiss, however, had already almost happened on more than one occasion. Sakura was finding it increasingly more straining to stay on high alert. And perhaps that was what frightened her the most.

She was just an ordinary teenage girl and Sasuke's outrageous physical beauty, coupled with his magnetic aura of mysterious allure and the dark, dangerous, predatory power he exuded were capable of ensnaring even the hardiest of females. His voice, like silk-wrapped steel, the effortless grace and stealth of his movements… everything about him was captivating and seduced the senses. It was only to be expected, Sakura thought suddenly, that Death would possess such a compelling and attractive form, so as to entice immediate and willing submission from all who encountered him. And although she despised the manner in which she had been so heartlessly stolen from her home and her loved ones, there was no denying that the Underworld – and consequently its handsome, enigmatic ruler - appealed to the most secret part of her that had always craved adventure and excitement.

Sakura found herself wondering at that instant what she would have done if Sasuke had just chosen to speak to her honestly at the Carousel and approached her without deceit, unthreateningly. She knew it never would have happened, but if he _had_ – how would she have received him? After she had freaked out and he had proven to her that he was really who he claimed to be; would she have really rejected an offer to explore a hidden, unknown world? A world everybody else only got to see once they were quite literally dead and buried?

Even as she was asking herself, Sakura already knew the worrying answer.

One moment of indecision. One hesitant second of letting her guard down. That was all Sasuke would need – and the reality of that fact _scared_ her.

 _But what if…_ a tiny voice whispered in her head tentatively, _what if it guaranteed your freedom? Wouldn't you be able to sacrifice just one tiny kiss?_

Suigetsu, who had noted her distracted, troubled expression and could only speculate what she was contemplating, cleared his throat, _'Uh, Pinky? Light's on upstairs, or you zoning out on me?'_

Sakura shook her head, turning her attention back to him. Before she could say anything else, her body froze at the sound of the bathroom's main double doors opening.

' _Someone's outside – I have to go!'_ she informed the Water God hurriedly.

' _Right – just keep in mind what I told you. Loosen up a little more around him,_ ' Suigetsu reminded her with a wink. Heart racing, Sakura pulled the toilet handle, using the noise to disguise the sound of water draining rapidly from the basin. Straightening her hair and clearing her throat, she unlocked the door and stepped outside, half panicking that she would find Sasuke's dark, probing eyes waiting for her – but was relieved to find Ume instead.

"Oh! Mistress! There you are!" she exclaimed. "The Master has called for you."

Sakura blinked. Sasuke was back? When had he returned?

"Where is he?" she questioned.

"In his quarters. He has summoned you, Mistress," Ume stated.

Sakura's lips parted. Sasuke wanted to see her… in his _bedroom?_ She had only been in it once before, and on that occasion the King of the Dead had consumed her absolute attention, so she could not even remember what the chamber even looked like. Was she really comfortable with going to his room alone? When he had been displeased when he'd left her?

 _Grow a backbone!_ Her inner voice snapped at her. _Like Suigetsu said, he could've taken advantage of you a thousand times already. But he hasn't. Nothing's going to happen. You're the one who is in control. It's just a room. That he happens to sleep in. If he ever does sleep. You'll be fine!_

"But I'm- I don't think I'm-" Sakura fumbled, looking down at her clothing uncertainly. After bathing, she had selected a lovely dusky pink chiffon dress with a sweetheart neckline and semi-transparent, butterfly sleeves, adorned with tiny silver beads, accessorising with matching silver jewellery and sandals. But suddenly, oddly, she felt self-conscious.

Ume giggled knowingly, and replied reassuringly, "You look beautiful, Mistress."

* * *

A lone eye tracked Naruto's movements resignedly. Kakashi knew what it meant when the blond started pacing around so restlessly. He was no doubt formulating an extravagant and foolhardy plan which involved storming the Underworld and raiding every corner of the Land of the Dead until Sakura's precise location was discovered.

In truth, Kakashi was still struggling to accept the likelihood of Sakura being held captive below ground. Of course it made perfect sense, given that they had all scoured the surface so thoroughly. Jiraiya had certainly warned him of Sasuke enough times. And yet doubt still tore at him; a tiny fraction of delusional, lingering hope that somehow, _somehow_ , Naruto was mistaken. His detailed description of the death deity's reaction when he had mentioned the essence of spring – that split second of hesitation that had stayed Sasuke's hand from delivering a maiming blow – surely it might have just been coincidence? Perhaps it had been Madara's name that had caused Sasuke to pause. But Naruto was adamant that his gut instinct was right. He was absolutely certain of what he had seen. And there was no denying the nature of the seal that prevented Sai from telling them the truth.

What was even more difficult to understand was _why_ Sakura was being held there. The troubling thought of Sasuke using her to extract some form of vengeance upon them weighed heavily on Kakashi's conscience.

Sasuke would never hurt her, Naruto kept insisting, after the initial shock of his suspicions being correct had finally sunk in. Kakashi, however, wasn't quite so confident about that. Judging from the deadly reception he had dished out to Naruto, the countless years that had passed since the calamitous war between gods had done little to soothe Sasuke's rage. If anything, he was colder and more heartless than ever, altered beyond their recognition.

Sai sat quietly on the carpet, looking utterly desolate. They were at Kakashi's place, and the pale youth had scarcely said a word – because he couldn't. Even Naruto's attempts at directing closed questions, which only required a nod or a shake of the head to answer, had been unsuccessful.

"Naruto," Kakashi began carefully. "It would do us no good to keep this contained from the others. We must inform Tsunade, sooner rather than later. Together we can come up with a way to recover Sakura."

Naruto continued to pace agitatedly. "No. No, we can handle this. We can get Sakura back safely."

Kakashi felt something twinge unexpectedly deep in his chest. Even after all this time, Naruto was still trying to look out for troubled Sasuke.

Hadn't he tried to do the same, too? But Kakashi knew he couldn't any longer. Sasuke had overstepped the boundaries once and for all by kidnapping Sakura.

"How do you propose we explain her disappearance, if we were somehow able to reclaim her?" he queried. "You can't keep lying to cover him, Naruto. It's clear from his actions that he no longer holds any of us in regard."

"I'll figure something out," Naruto muttered, running a hand agitatedly through his unruly blond hair. "Damn it," he hissed. " _Why_ , Sasuke? Why would you do this?"

"Naruto," said Kakashi quietly. "As much as I hate to say it, we cannot trust him."

Naruto stopped suddenly. "I'll go down there," he said determinedly. "I'll go down there and get her back myself."

Kakashi raised his eye exasperatedly to the plain cream ceiling. As usual, Naruto wasn't thinking his plan through. He was being driven by instinct – and with Sasuke, such reckless actions would lead to deadly consequences - quite literally.

"It's too dangerous," he attempted to reason patiently. "You saw the way he attacked you. Do you really believe he'll let you get a word out before he tries to finish you off? Think, Naruto!"

"If he knows what we know about Sakura-chan, maybe he'll listen-"

"You've already said quite enough to him, Naruto. Sharing our secrets with Sasuke is a foolish thing to do. We don't know how he'll react! He could be in league with Madara, for all we know-"

"No!" Naruto's eyes burned ferocious blue-flame. "Sasuke would never team up with that bastard! Not after the part he played in his family's extermination!"

"Perhaps not in the past, but we don't know what Madara is planning. He's cunning, Naruto. He could offer Sasuke something, promise him something."

"Sasuke's not stupid," Naruto spat. "He's an arrogant asshole, but he's not stupid."

"Stealing Sakura was stupid," Kakashi lifted an eyebrow. "He ought to have known better."

Naruto remained quiet at that.

Sai's voice spoke up then. "He isn't the same god you used to know," he stated with strange calmness. "He won't hesitate to eradicate anything that gets in his way."

Kakashi's eye widened as realisation suddenly crashed into him. "Wait a minute," he exhaled. "Then- Inoichi's disappearance- that was-?"

Sai's gaze lowered. He said nothing more.

Naruto's hands tightened to form angry fists. What was Sasuke _doing?_ How could he have changed so much – to go so far as to kill a seraph, just because he deemed him a threat? They had no proof that Inoichi was dead – but they had no evidence he wasn't, either.

"Then there's no telling what he would do if we interfered directly again," Kakashi concluded. It was a chilling truth, and one that seemed to register with Naruto at last.

"I just need to know she's safe, damn it!" he erupted, completely contradicting his earlier insistence that Sasuke would not harm his dear friend. Shaking his head, he collapsed on the couch and covered his face with his hands, an open display of the helplessness tearing at his emotions inside.

"We'll tell the others," Kakashi stated firmly.

Naruto rubbed at his face and shook his head again. "No," he refused. "We can't. If Sasuke finds out – if he feels threatened…" he swallowed, and finished painfully, "I- you're right. We don't know what he might do." Laughing bitterly, he confided sadly, "I used to know Sasuke so well. I understood him. Now I… it's like I can't reach him. He's so wrapped up in hatred and anger, he can't even hear me."

"He made it very clear what would happen if we set foot in the Underworld again," Kakashi reminded him.

"But we have to speak to him!" Naruto exclaimed. "We can't go to the others until we understand why he's doing this!"

Kakashi was quiet. As much as his better judgement argued otherwise, he had to admit that Naruto had a point; approaching Tsunade and the others and sharing what they knew would likely result in disastrous consequences for everybody. They didn't know how Sasuke would react. They could only formulate a plan if they understood his intentions. But stepping foot in the Underworld again would be dangerous for them both. Sasuke had made that transparent enough.

The others were already mistrustful enough of the Death God and Kakashi knew that Tsunade's outrage would know no bounds. It was better to attempt to resolve the issue quietly, involving as few parties as possible.

His gaze moved to where Sai was sitting with his eyes lowered. And an idea suddenly occurred to him. They needed to send a very, very carefully thought out message to Sasuke, one that would secure them an audience with him.

What he murmured next caused both Naruto and Sai's heads to rise and turn towards him.

"Maybe there is a way we can communicate with Sasuke safely."

* * *

As she followed Ume past the lone, milky tree shimmering in the middle of the impeccably kept stone courtyard, the full extent of how nervous she was began to creep over Sakura. They continued down the northern path that led toward their destination, and by the time Ume had stopped before the immensely striking pair of arched silver doors heralding the entrance to Sasuke's chambers, Sakura's heart had already settled itself into a steadily pounding rhythm.

"Please enter, Mistress," Ume gestured. "My Lord awaits you inside."

Sakura clutched tightly onto the rippling skirt of her gown and swallowed. Taking a minute to compose her nerves, she then gave a resolute nod and thanked her maid, who curtsied before promptly taking her leave. Left alone, staring at the massive, daunting doors before her, Sakura once again reminded herself that _she_ was in control and took a deep breath, before stepping forward and climbing the three low, wide steps that led to the stone, half-moon shaped landing directly in front of the doors.

Pulling on the weighty, solid gold door-knocker, Sakura knocked twice and waited. A minute crawled by. Then another. No answer came.

She knocked a second time and waited once more for permission to enter. When she heard nothing again, Sakura glanced anxiously behind her. Why wasn't Sasuke answering? Hadn't Ume told her he was inside? Was she expected to stand out in the courtyard until he responded?

"Sasuke?" she called uncertainly. "Are you there?"

Silence. She looked at the gold door handles and reached out to one of them. No sooner had she touched the right one, the sound of the doors parting echoed through the air and Sakura watched, surprised, as they swung open inwards.

Cautiously she stepped inside and her eyes were finally treated to the full, imperial grandeur of a King's quarters.

The chamber was wider and even more opulent than hers, which was an impressive feat in itself. She had not quite known what to expect and what she was gazing upon definitely surpassed anything she could have imagined. Sakura scarcely acknowledged the heavy doors closing with a resounding thud behind her. She was far too busy gawping at the aesthetically dazzling décor before her.

The room was enveloped in royal hues of deep blue, silver and gold. Elaborate tapestries featuring nocturnal scenery and proudly displaying the Uchiha family crest adorned the walls. Rich wallpaper embellished with delicate, burnt-gold, damask threads captured the flattering glow radiating from the multitude of decorative, silver floor candelabra illuminating the chamber.

Thick navy rugs were thrown over the polished, midnight floor. Scattered tastefully atop one of the throws to her left were exotic, reclining cushions of various shapes and sizes, positioned beside a large silver harp. A wider, more intricately woven rug littered with more cushions was sprawled in front of a fireplace that was somehow even more outrageously majestic than all the others she'd set eyes upon. Above it hung a massive mirror. Beside the hearth was an elegant, gold framed navy chaise longue and next to the lounging seat was a high, rounded table, upon which was placed a crystal decanter of ambrosia.

A colossal, glittering gold and crystal chandelier boasting twinkling sapphire droplets hung centrally from the ceiling. And directly behind it, nestled against the northern-most wall was…

Sakura's lips parted. The place where Death slept. With its four, intricately carved, gold and silver posts and ornate bed frame, luxurious midnight canopy and two-toned, silk sheets of dark cobalt, the bed was certainly fit for a king. Sheer, transparent silver drapes were tied neatly to their posts with thick, plaited gold cord.

Massive, arched windows with stunning blue, purple and silver stained glass designs were set in the back wall on either side of the bed, flanked by regal swathes of heavy curtains. Sakura caught sight of a pair of wide balcony doors to her far right corner, also framed by matching draperies.

She shook her head, hopelessly impressed as she slowly took in the width of the King's quarters once again. There were three other additional silver doors; two of which were curiously nestled adjacently behind gauzy, loosely bound, flowing drapes by the farthest left corner of the room, and another in the middle of the wall to her right. Sakura wondered where they all led.

Then it occurred to her that she had been so caught up with marvelling at all the furniture that she had initially overlooked the fact that she was alone. Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Sakura turned and flinched when she suddenly noticed imposing twin marble statues positioned on either side of the grand doors behind her. They were either panthers or leopards – she could not tell exactly. Stepping away from them, she ventured further into the room, amazed by all the glorious finery on show.

A pleasant spicy scent hung in the air. Sakura quickly found the source; smoky sticks of incense burning from pots resting on two of the several other tables stationed about the room.

Where was Sasuke? She stood awkwardly, not wanting to snoop around, even when the temptation to do so was immense. Clasping her hands behind her back, she waited. Everything was silent, except for the crackling of the fire in the hearth. Sakura counted a minute in her head. Two minutes. Three, four…

After five, she decided it would do no harm if she sat down while she was waiting for Sasuke to show up. She moved, immediately drawn to the harp. It was even more striking on closer inspection, beautifully engraved with gilded swirling details. Sakura ran her fingers along the length of the remarkable instrument. Sasuke was clearly a proficient musician… who would ever have guessed it, given his identity?

 _He's a god,_ she reminded herself. _He's perfect at_ _everything._

Well, _almost_ everything, Sakura corrected, an unanticipated smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Social skills were definitely an area that required urgent improvement.

Taking a seat on the plush, comfortable cushions, her inept fingers plucked idly at the strings, pulling at unfamiliar notes. The harp's gentle, lulling tones resonated in the air, drawing a discontented sigh from her lungs. How she wished to know how to play!

Closing her eyes, she allowed her ears to enjoy the soothing sounds the instrument made as her fingertips continued to tease random strings. The more she concentrated on the notes, the more relaxed she felt, and the more eagerly her hands moved – until they began to play the tentative beginnings of something that almost resembled an actual melody. A tune began to float into her conscience, as if drawn from the deepest, darkest catacombs of her mind; something that sounded eerily and painfully familiar – and yet Sakura could not recall where and when she had last heard it. All she knew was that it felt so comforting. She could almost hear laughter echoing with it. The warmth of sunshine. Scolding words, spoken as if from a dream…

' _Kore!'_

' _You're mortifying me!'_

' _Play the way I taught you… with passion!'_

Behind the sheer sapphire and silver drapes in the left corner of the chamber, Sasuke stood, watching her silently. Listening attentively to the faltering phantom of a melody that was resonating with broken fluency from the harp.

He knew for a fact that Sakura had never taken lessons on the instrument. His eyes remained fixed on her form as he stepped out from behind the filmy barrier dividing them and walked noiselessly as a shadow toward her.

The warmth in her mind was slipping away with the same rapidity in which it had surfaced, and with it her fingers grew clumsy again, slowing until she was plucking at indiscriminate strings once more. Her eyes opened and she lowered her hands – only to stiffen when her elbows unexpectedly brushed against arms that suddenly lifted to encircle her within their enclosure. A familiar pair of hands hovered over the strings.

Sakura inhaled. She had not heard him. He'd given her no possible chance to evade his proximity, no opportunity to move away.

"Sasuke," she began, trying desperately to ignore the way her heart seemed to wrench in response to his commanding presence. Had she just displeased him again by taking the liberty to play uninvited? "I was waiting for you. I didn't mean to mess around-"

But the death deity was clearly not interested in hearing an apology for tinkering on the harp and promptly cut her off.

"You pull too firmly on the strings," his smooth voice spoke quietly into her right ear. Sakura had to fight to physically suppress the shudder that threatened to shoot down her spine like a lightning bolt. He was so close that her back brushed against his front, and she could feel the warmth radiating from his form directly behind her.

 _Don't be so tense!_ She reprimanded herself, recalling the advice Suigetsu had given her. With painstaking slowness, she willed her rigid spine to relax, little by little.

"Watch," Sasuke murmured, and proceeded to play – with delightful proficiency. Sakura could only listen in enthralment as a hauntingly beautiful melody serenaded her ears. His long, elegant fingers danced over the strings, caressing the silver threads rather than simply plucking them. She scarcely realised that her body was automatically relaxing as the music touched her very soul. She could not take her eyes off his hands for even a second.

When the tune ended, a pause hung between them, which Sakura used to collect her scattered thoughts.

"That was amazing," she complemented, her hands hovering beside his on the strings. Without considering her next words, she blurted, "Could you teach me?"

 _Great idea_ , her inner voice chirped sarcastically. _It's not like the freaking GOD OF DEATH has anything better to do in his spare time._

Was that why he was taking his time to answer, Sakura worriedly wondered? The seconds trickled by, and the tension the music had alleviated between them began to creep up on her again, exacerbated by her accelerating heart rate.

Then Sasuke remarked, "You seem acquainted with some notes."

Sakura watched as his hands lightly encircled her wrists, repositioning them on the harp.

"Oh no," she answered, shaking her head. "I've never played the harp. I mean," she added unthinkingly, "apart from that time when I fooled around on one once with Naruto in the auditorium, but I don't think that counts."

She was genuinely confused when the fingers on her wrists suddenly tensed, tightening marginally – yet noticeably.

"Naruto," he repeated the name flatly, expressionlessly.

Interpreting it to be an unspoken request to identify the person she was referring to, Sakura explained, "Oh, Naruto's this really loud, goofy friend of mine."

Sasuke seemed to reconsider her request to show her the basics of the instrument, for his hands fell away from her wrists. She heard the soft rustling of clothes which informed her that he had risen to his feet behind her. Sakura turned to look after him, surprised to find that he was dressed more informally than usual, in a loose black shirt with long, baggy sleeves and silver threaded details at the shoulders and cuffs. The strings at the collar were untied, providing a teasing glimpse of the top of his chest. He wore black trousers that bunched loosely at the knees, secured at the calves by the straps of his black sandals. In his left ear glimmered a sapphire and silver droplet. Sakura thought he looked even more wickedly sinful than usual in casual black attire. As he stepped to the ambrosia decanter by the fireplace, he directed a sooty-lashed glance her way.

"And how long have you known this… _Naruto?_ " he questioned, uttering the name aloofly as though it was not a word permitted to be spoken in polite society.

Puzzled by this query, and somewhat bewildered by the fact that he seemed to be taking a sudden interest in her surface life, Sakura rose from the cushions in turn and responded, "A few years. He transferred from another school."

Sasuke, who had begun to pour ambrosia into two silver goblets, paused. Was that the story the wretched idiot had fed poor, naïve Sakura? What other shameless lies had Tsunade told her? One corner of his mouth twitched; a ghost of a disdainful sneer. Nothing was stopping him from revealing the truth of Sakura's so-called _friends'_ identities. The notion of doing so, of sending the glass walls surrounding her crashing down was certainly a tempting one. It would not be difficult, he knew, after she had gotten over the initial denial, to change her feelings toward the surface folk, and work them to his advantage.

The only thing that prevented him from doing so was that he still did not know precisely _why_ Tsunade and the others had gone through such painstaking lengths to keep Sakura completely oblivious to who they really were. And as he was beginning to comprehend, what _she_ possibly was, too. Meddling too hastily would prove unwise, particularly if there was a genuinely important and justified reason for withholding everything from Sakura – a reason that was intended to protect her. Once Sasuke understood entirely what that reason was and who or what they were so intent on shielding her from, he would not hesitate to sever every string of deception they had wound around the girl.

He wondered how willing she would be to return to the ones who had lied to her all her life once she learnt the truth.

Walking back to her, he wordlessly extended his hand, offering a goblet of ambrosia. Sakura's eyes rose to meet his, and he read uncertainty in them.

"I'm not sure," she said. "It seems to affect me too much."

The Death God did not retract his hand and as she reluctantly accepted it, she realised why. He had only filled half the goblet. A smaller portion than any she'd taken before. It prompted her to remember the question she had intended to ask him about ambrosia being similar to the medicine her mother gave her whenever she suffered one of her breathless episodes.

"Sasuke," she began, gazing down at the shimmering liquid in the cup. "The remedy my mother gives me when I'm having an attack… it tastes just like this." Looking back up at him, she shook her head, genuinely perplexed. "How can that be? Ambrosia is only available to the gods, isn't it? How could my mother get hold of it?"

Sasuke's gaze pierced into her. His silence was unnerving.

Sakura glanced down at the drink again and thought fleetingly of another certain deity. Of how eager that deity was to return her to her mother.

A strange sensation began to prickle over her. Now that she considered it, hadn't she spotted books relating to anthropology and herbal cures from different cultures in her mother's study before? Had her mother discovered a way to obtain ambrosia on Earth, somehow? Was that even possible?

 _What are you thinking?_ The voice of reason whispered in her head. _How can you even entertain the idea that your mother is somehow connected to all of this?_

But how else could Tsunade have access to the wine? The need for an explanation burned ferociously inside her. She looked to Sasuke, hopeful for an answer.

He moved to a large, jewel encrusted chest that Sakura had somehow overlooked on her initial inspections of the room, nestled between two floor candelabra.

"The world has many secrets, Sakura," he stated. With an effortless tug, he lifted the lid to reveal a mesmerising mountain of solid gold coins and trinkets inside. Sakura was already moving forward, her eyes powerless to turn away from the lustrous glamour of candlelight glinting off gold.

Sasuke went on, his silky voice almost hypnotic to her ears. "There are some who hunger to find wealth, hidden in undiscovered places." He took a handful of coins and let them slip between his fingers pointedly. "Some desire eternal youth. Others yearn for knowledge." His eyes pinned onto her again. "Those who become too fixated with uncovering them often meet an untimely demise."

Sakura's eyes widened. Was he alluding that her mother was chasing after forbidden knowledge? Or wealth? Or-? Her breath suddenly stilled as a wild suspicion suddenly sprung forth in her mind. _Youth._ Hadn't her mother had always watched vigilantly for even the smallest wrinkle to appear on her face?

 _No_ , a little voice in her head rejected. _Mother would never do anything so foolish._

Sasuke's heavy lashes lowered. He rested a hand on the pointy tip of what appeared to be a spear. When he unearthed it from the coins, however, Sakura found herself staring at a garnet embellished golden crown.

"Such has been the fate of many mortal kings," Sasuke added, allowing the crown to fall with a resounding clatter back onto the glimmering pile of wealth. Sakura came to a stop by the chest, gazing down at the jewels in silence.

Once again, Sasuke had not directly answered her. What he had chosen to tell her, however, only served to give rise to even more questions in her head.

But had he not just warned her of the fate of humans who went snooping in places prohibited to them? What made her desire for knowledge any different? And what was the purpose of going to great lengths to obtain all of the things he had mentioned, when a person's biological clock was ticking ever closer to its final time out? Agitated, she downed the liquid in one gulp, needing the comforting warmth it provided.

Sasuke's watched her with hawk-like eyes. Waiting for the point at which the ambrosia kicked in. Waiting for the point at which she relaxed.

"People are born," Sakura spoke softly. "They live. They spend their lives learning, working to get by. But when they die, they can't take anything with them. Money, riches… even knowledge." She picked up an irregularly shaped coin from the chest. This was what wars were started over. The depressing truth was that wealth did most of the talking on the surface. Money was, quite literally, power. Why was it so important, really, when the end result for everybody was the same? All that awaited a person when their years were spent were a grave and tombstone. "What's the point?"

Sasuke had anticipated her question. It was the same one that had been asked by mortals since time had begun.

"Everything has a purpose."

His voice drew her out of her distracted contemplations. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, and it struck Sakura that they were engaging in one of the longest interactions they'd had yet.

It felt… strange. But not wholly unpleasant.

When his hand moved without warning to rest over her heart, Sakura swiftly began to reconsider whether what she was feeling _wasn't_ unpleasant. As always, her body was internally reacting to his touch. It was something she could not control, no matter how hard she tried. The death deity's gaze lowered briefly as he felt the organ pounding beneath his palm, before directing his eyes back to Sakura's. They were wide, the pupils fully dilated to him.

"This heart," he began quietly, maintaining eye contact, watching her face intently for every reaction. "Why does it beat?"

Uncertainty flickered across her sweet features. He could see that she was confused, not sure how she was expected to respond. He pressed his hand more firmly in place, as he clarified, "What do you live for, Sakura?"

Sakura's mind drew an initial blank. She knew his question linked to the one she had asked moments earlier, but… it was something she had never really stopped to consider. Who, apart from philosophers and religious leaders, really went about their daily lives dedicating time to such deep musings? She had always been so busy with college and friends up on the surface. She hadn't ever measured her true quality of living. Of course she had always been grateful to have a roof over her head, a comfortable home, all the clothes she'd ever desired, and a full plate from which to eat. But she had a funny feeling that wasn't what Sasuke was referring to, and she suddenly found herself deliberating the true meaning behind his query.

"Well I..." she began slowly, cautiously, trying not to pay too much attention to how comfortable his hand seemed to be in its position. Almost like it fit there. "I want to help others. I want to save lives."

 _Life._ She attached great significance to it. Her answer only served to fan the flames of suspicion he was harbouring about her.

"If you fail?" Sasuke followed, his tone still nonchalant, giving away nothing of his inner thoughts. He watched, with keen interest, as her apple-green eyes hardened with determination.

"Then I'll keep trying to save as many others as I can."

"Why?"

She looked bewildered, now. As though she hadn't anticipated him to push the matter further.

"Why?" she echoed, shaking her head. "Because that's what doctors _do_ , Sasuke. They care for people."

"You would waste away the years of your existence, prolonging the lives of those who will eventually die?" He sounded sceptical. As if he couldn't quite understand why she would throw away so much time and dedication to a purpose he deemed utterly futile.

Sakura forced her eyes to stay on his when the hand over her heart began to slide upwards, its fingertips brushing against her left clavicle. Tiny, electrically charged tingles crackled beneath his touch. Again, she did her very best not to pay it too much heed.

"Nobody wants to see their loved ones die," she said, and the fingers paused for a moment. Sasuke, who had been gazing down at his hand at the base of her neck, looked up at her again. Sensing that he was still unconvinced, she went on, "If I can make people happy, even for a short time by prolonging a life, then isn't that worth it?"

His dark eyes narrowed. "Human medicines cause adverse effects. A life prolonged by them often begets further suffering."

"It's still better than the finality of death if there's even a small chance a person can be cured."

A pause lingered between them, in which the Underworld's ruler seemed to weigh her words.

"And what of those you cannot save?" Sasuke demanded next, his fingers resuming their course, creeping to trace up the left column of her throat. It was a dangerously sensual touch, so light, barely there, yet it was capable of causing such disturbance inside her. Like an earthquake, shifting the plates surrounding Sakura's very core. It was an unsettling and unfamiliar feeling, and one she did not quite know how to manage.

"I know some people can't be saved," she replied as steadily as she could. "So I'd try to do my best to ease their pain."

Sasuke shook his head at that. "Sakura," he uttered, almost condescendingly. She swallowed at the sudden change in tone. "Death is the only true release."

Sakura's eyebrows knotted to form a frown. "Maybe that's right, but I can't just stand back and do nothing. Life has to be preserved, in any way it can."

"Even when its sacredness is disregarded?" he countered, his hand lingering on the side of her neck. "Why assist those who do wrong to others, who intentionally cause their bodies harm?"

"Because every life is precious, even if some people don't see it that way," Sakura answered. "Humans don't have the right to judge each other, Sasuke. There are always reasons behind why people choose to take the paths they do. You're a god; you understand that."

Something gleamed in his eyes, and Sakura had the odd feeling that he seemed satisfied with the responses she had given him. What he said next, however, caught her off guard.

"Sakura," the death deity drawled her ordinary name, making it sound much more enticing than Sakura had ever imagined was possible. "You live for the needs of others – but neglect your own."

The trembles inside her were becoming more difficult to keep at bay, especially when Sasuke chose to step forward, so that the front of their bodies were just shy of touching each other.

"And the price of such selflessness," he murmured, causing Sakura's heart to flutter as he leant down to whisper pointedly into her right ear "...is that you do not live at all."

She closed her eyes, wrestling to stand her ground. His presence was so electrifying, setting her nerve-ends on edge. Forcing her tongue, which felt oddly unwilling to speaking at that second, she managed, "You rule the dead. What would you know about living?"

"Hn," the warmth of his exhale tickled the strands of hair above her ear. Blessedly, his hand then fell away from her and he stepped around her, circling her with measured slowness. "I hear their regrets," he stated. "Their fears and laments." Stopping behind her, close enough to smell the sweet, floral fragrance of her hair, he finished much more quietly, "Their desires."

Sakura's fingernails were digging into the goblet so hard that had it been fashioned from any softer, lesser metal, they would have left a permanent indent. Relief flooded through her when she sensed – rather than saw – him step away from her, without touching her again.

Her backbone of steel was holding – just about. But when she made the foolish mistake of turning to look after him, her undoing began.

Sasuke had moved over to a cloth-covered table bearing a wide gold fruit bowl. Held within it were uncommonly big red fruits. She recognised them immediately. Pomegranates.

Sakura watched as he grasped the small knife that had been embedded in one of the pomegranates and used it to slice the fruit cleanly in two. Then he returned the knife and bit straight into the open half he held in his hand – with the same normalcy as if he were eating an apple. He stopped by the fireplace, seemingly unmindful of her open staring.

Her focus moved back to the half he had left in the bowl. She could see the edible seeds – but there did not appear to be any of the familiar spongy-yellow membrane - which made pomegranates so notoriously irritating to peel - separating them. Then it occurred to her that she had never seen such large, lustrous looking pulps. Their colour was even deeper in crimson hue than the ones she had spied in the banqueting hall. They gleamed with moisture and Sakura found herself wondering how such a ripe-looking fruit could possibly be sour as Chizu had claimed. Her mouth was suddenly watering dreadfully to taste it.

Her eyes darted back to Sasuke, who had taken another bite from the pomegranate as he watched the fire burn. It was astonishing, thought Sakura to herself in amazement, that half the fruit was equal in size to a whole one on the surface.

Blinking, the Underworld's ruler abruptly turned his head to glance askance in her direction, becoming aware of her attention at last.

Noticing where her gaze was directed, the death deity looked down and swallowed his mouthful – before looking back at Sakura. A dark eyebrow lifted in understanding, and without a word, he extended the unbitten side to her.

The allure of his silent gesture, the way his eyes captured hers, was devastating and absolute. Sakura found herself instantly and inexplicably ensnared. Perhaps it was the mesmerising way the firelight danced and threw both flattering warmth and shadows across the sculpted planes of his face that suddenly made tearing her eyes away from him an utter impossibility. Perhaps it was the rich, spicy scent that hung in the air that made her feel oddly heady at that moment. Maybe it was the innocent appeal of the plump, glistening seeds which called to her – rendered almost sinful by the fact that Sasuke was holding them. Or maybe the ambrosia's relaxing effects had finally begun to kick in. Whatever was responsible, her legs were compelling her forward without a thought – closer, closer, until she had stopped directly in front of him.

Blood-red, plump beads twinkled invitingly at her. He held the fruit temptingly, angling it toward her mouth. His head, which had been tilted aloofly back, lowered, his consuming eyes trapping her in place.

' _Try it,'_ a voice like molten black velvet caressed her thoughts.

Sakura's lips parted - and she bit into the soft pulp.

Incredible sweetness, unlike anything she had ever tasted before, exploded on her tongue. A rich, tantalising flavour engulfed her senses, so overpowering that it compelled her to close her eyes. A soft sigh escaped her lungs as her teeth crushed the seeds, causing them to burst and release their heavenly nectar. Never before… never before had she tasted anything so delightfully delectable – so indulgently saccharine and succulent…

Sasuke stared down at her, wide-eyed. His heart pounded. She had eaten of the fruit. Just a small mouthful, containing six, large seeds – but at that moment he did not care to give her more, nor did he allow himself to openly revel in a victory that was unknown to Sakura. For the field of his vision had narrowed and all he could see was the stain of crimson upon her rosy, parted lips. The way the liquid trailed from the corner of her mouth, down the gentle curve of her chin. Pure, sensual seduction, luring him in. Like a deadly addiction - like the sweetest of poison - and she already looked divine in red. It stirred something carnal deep within him, something that blazed beyond containment, and Sasuke _knew,_ then. He knew at that very moment that he could no longer hold back.

The remainder of the pomegranate was discarded from the death deity's hand. It landed with a dull thud on the floor, garnet beads spilling forth on the rug.

Sakura had just swallowed down the luscious mouthful, intent on savouring every second of it – when the sudden sensation of warmth brushing against the left corner of her lips caught her by surprise. Her eyes flew open and her mind, still diverted by the wonderful residue of sweetness the fruit had left in her mouth, was initially confused as to what was happening.

That fraction of hesitation was all Sasuke needed to claim her lips with his own.

Sakura inhaled sharply, stunned into immobility. Her lungs forgot how to breathe. Her treacherous mind stumbled and forgot how to think. For what seemed like a heart-stopping moment in which all time had suspended, she could only _feel_ – finding herself thoroughly unprepared for the rip-tide of alien sensations that assaulted her, ignited into being by the warmth and softness of Sasuke's lips moving against hers.

The kiss was light. Slow. Chaste. As if it sought to test uncertain and unknown territory. But it was enough to set Sakura's pulse thundering wildly, and when Sasuke's hands trailed teasingly down the bare skin of her arms, it was as though his fingertips were channelling a head-rushing combination of fire, lightning and ice through every nerve-ending in her body, leaving her frozen, burning and tingling all at once. The effect of his touch on her was both dizzying and frightening.

What were these unsettling feelings? They were so much more overwhelming than anything she had experienced in his presence before and left her quivering inside.

When Sasuke drew back, Sakura remained numbly and mutely in place. Staring at him with wide, shocked eyes, she slowly lifted a hand to her lips. The gut-wrenching acknowledgement that her first kiss had been stolen by Death hit her full force, leaving her trembling. The fact that she had not reciprocated provided little consolation and only made the reality of her situation all the harsher. She had not given her first kiss to him. _He_ had taken it – which was something else entirely.

It had happened so unexpectedly, out of nowhere. One second she had been eating from the pomegranate – the next…

She swallowed thickly. The God of Death was gazing at her with a look she had never seen in his eyes before. She saw from the way his chest was heaving that he was fighting to restore regularity to his own breathing.

The tense silence that followed was deafening. They stared at one another. Sakura was the first to break, unable to bear it any longer. Struggling to keep the tears that were stinging at her eyes, she managed chokingly, "What are you doing?"

She already knew. Of course she did. But pride dictated that she confronted him anyway. Suigetsu had made it sound so easy. But the reality was that it had made everything so much more difficult. And why wouldn't her stupid, _stupid_ heart cease its relentless racing?

When Sasuke did not respond, she went on, her quivering voice betraying the multitude of conflicting emotions tearing at her inside, "You're a god, the God of _Death_." Shaking her head and taking a step away from him, she added with growing distress, "I'm _human_ \- it's _wrong_ , Sasuke!"

He blinked, face neutral once again, and advanced slowly, cautiously, as if wary of upsetting her further. His movements only served to heighten her agitation. She continued retreating.

"I make the rules, Sakura," Sasuke reminded her, implying that she had no reason to fear being judged by anyone else.

Sakura's jaw dropped in disbelief and she stopped abruptly, prompting him to do the same. _That_ was his justification? He was the one who decided the path her soul would take after life, and so that made everything _fine?_

How… how unashamedly _arrogant_ \- just expecting her compliance, not taking into account her feelings on the matter, how _extra_ wrong it felt given the circumstances they were in – the circumstances _he_ had chosen.

She struggled to breathe, overcome by a near-blinding degree of rage that she had never experienced in her life. But beneath it, a tiny voice whispered to her that if she had _really_ wanted to, she could have recovered and shoved Sasuke away the moment he'd closed in.

It made her even more furious – both at him and more so at herself. It was difficult to keep Suigetsu's words and the escape plan in mind, when anger was simmering the blood in her veins. She knew she had to calm down. To compose herself. When she next spoke, it took a great deal of effort just to stop herself from fleeing his room.

"You took my freedom," she whispered, "for what? For _this?_ "

Sasuke visibly tensed. Almost as if her words had struck a nerve, or even more extraordinarily, actually succeeded in causing offence. A dangerous glint flashed across his eyes – something dark and hostile. The space between them was plagued by a stretching, suffocating silence.

Then, narrowing his gaze at her, Sasuke uttered coldly, "You are not a prisoner here, Sakura."

Sakura floundered, at a loss for words. He had the nerve to claim such a thing, when he'd snatched her from the surface, told her his world was her new home, and clearly had no intentions of returning her until he was done with her – if at all? When he had her feet bound by _shackles?_

A short, bitter, slightly hysterical laugh escaped her lips. "You-" she began incredulously. "You can't really expect me to believe you-"

Sasuke's eyes hardened. Without saying anything else, he raised his left hand, snapping his fingers together once. She felt a sudden, fleeting pressure at her ankles, followed by a throb of heat – then something loosened, and fell with a soft thud on the floor.

Blinking, Sakura looked down, her stupefied brain struggling to process what her eyes were seeing.

The golden anklets Sasuke had secured to her lay on the floor. She exhaled, her thoughts whirling in a cacophony of bewilderment. Air breezed against her right side. Sasuke had moved there, in as little as a heartbeat.

" _Believe me,_ " he hissed acrimoniously into her ear.

In the next instant, he had departed the chamber, leaving Sakura to stare dazedly at the discarded bangles by her feet.


	35. Chapter XXXIV

**Chapter XXXIV**

* * *

_Be wary, they say,_

_Of the Serpent's tongue,_

_That ensnares and ruins,_

_Both old and young_

_Syrup-coated whispers,_

_Mask venomous lies,_

_Softly as the gentle feather,_

_Will he seal your demise,_

_Beware, beware!_

_His condemned victims wail,_

_Their melancholic cries unheeded,_

_From the deepest pits of Hell.  
_

* * *

The death deity's back hit the wall with a dull thud as he struggled to calm the tempestuous storm rampaging inside him. But trying to wrestle discipline from the depths of pandemonium was near impossible. His heart was pounding with a ferocious intensity that was nothing short of disturbing.

He could still feel it… the tantalising softness of Sakura's lips. He could still taste the sweetness of her, mingled with the saccharine flavour of the forbidden fruit. How dreadfully ironic it was; hadn't he always disliked sugary things? But Sakura… she was the richest of honeys. The most fragrant of flowers. As if she belonged to the heavens themselves.

Sasuke slowly exhaled. Raising a hand to his face, he closed his eyes, willing order to return to his displaced senses. She had looked so seductive and enticing in red. And when his lips had touched hers, pure fire had erupted in his blood-stream, setting his entire being alight. He had never experienced anything so overwhelming, and his body's reaction was unsettling. It was as though his mind had violently disconnected, completely overruled by the foreign sensations wreaking havoc upon his body. What was even more troublesome was the fact that kissing her had only served to add further fuel to the flame he had harboured for her for so long.

He had thought, perhaps, that it would relieve the unbearable tension, that it would somehow ease the maddening, inexplicable desire to be close to her. But now the need was even more devastating. The simple act of meeting her lips had given birth to an unfamiliar warmth, one of which he hadn't even realised his cold-numbed body had been deprived and missing. A warmth that had flooded through him, like hateful yet glorious liquid sunshine, shifting the ice in his veins and leaving a terrible, throbbing ache in his chest – one wholly alien to him and one he did not know how to manage.

How he loathed the uncertainty! The sensible part of him, the defensive voice that had established impenetrable barriers around his persona and always ensured his self-preservation throughout the ages, desperately wanted what she had kindled into existence inside of him to go away - to be replaced by the familiar emptiness and nothingness that had always been there before he had set eyes on Sakura. But even more so, even more urgently, he yearned to return to his chamber. He wanted to pull her into his arms, crush her against him and kiss her again until every last ounce of air abandoned her lungs.

His eyes opened, and the fingers resting on his face clenched, digging into skin. How could a simple joining of lips affect him so profoundly? Something had coursed between them – an instant connection that had given way to surging exhilaration. It had struck him like a crackling bolt of lightning, stunning his senses. It was a weakness his proud, logic-driven mind utterly rejected – but one his body was nevertheless convinced it _needed._ Like mortals needed oxygen to live, he needed Sakura with him, in his Kingdom.

And now he had secured her. Only a few more seeds from the fruit would seal her fate, would ensure that she could never leave the realm of the dead.

But instead of feeling elated about it, as he had when he'd initially watched her bite into the pomegranate, he now only felt an odd detachment. A moment of reflection swiftly revealed the root of the problem. Her tearful reaction to his kiss _bothered_ him. He frowned as words, spoken in a stricken whisper, echoed heavily in his mind.

" _You took my freedom… for what? For this?"_

He lowered his hand, closing it tightly to form a fist. Perhaps it had been that way when he had first abducted her, before he had interacted with her, for back then he had cared very little for her feelings with regard to him. But now, hearing her accuse him of bringing her to the Underworld to serve as little more than a source of physical pleasure had insulted him. He was _not_ like the other mindless, lust-driven gods. Yes, he had always desired her, and acted upon it by stealing her into his world – but he had not disrespected and used her body the way other deities had with the unwilling women who had taken their fancy.

Besides, what other choice had he realistically had when banishing her from his thoughts, after first setting eyes on her, had been a losing battle? Approaching Tsunade would have been out of the question. The only way to acquire Sakura had been to snatch her from under her mother's nose.

He had given her space. He had given her time to adjust. He had shown her places that were forbidden to mortal eyes.

 _Foolish Sakura_ , he inwardly fumed. Did she not perceive that had physical closeness been all he'd truly wanted from the start - and the _only_ thing he had wanted - then he would have finished with her long ago and discarded her broken body in Tartarus – or back home, if she had been fortunate enough to instigate a rare instance of compassion from him? Was that all she really believed he was interested in?

It made him all the angrier when he once again tried to pinpoint precisely _when_ her opinions and feelings had started to take such precedence. When had they started to matter so much to him? She was making him analyse his words and behaviour – something he had never cared to do in the past. He, who answered to nothing and no-one! Yet she had already influenced him before, such as when she'd stayed his hand in the harpy cavern.

It was a reality that was difficult for the unyielding God of Death to digest.

" _You took my freedom… for what? For this?"_

Again her words replayed in his thoughts. Sasuke's clenched hands loosened and the breath in his lungs stilled as a sudden thought struck him. What _was_ he after? What did he really want from her? Now that he had bound her, unknowingly, to him and his realm, now that he was on the verge of discovering just what she was - where did they go from here? Sakura's misguided view of her role in his Kingdom compelled him to finally face the question – what _was_ her purpose in it?

What did he _want_ her to be?

Sasuke swallowed, recalling her fascination and delight at witnessing Elysium and the Elysian Fields. He remembered her curious questions, the thirst for knowledge in her emerald eyes. How she had been so eager to understand the unrecognisable environment into which she had been so callously flung.

He did not have the answer. More specifically, he _refused_ to acknowledge it at that moment, for it was far too disconcerting. It was already taxing enough on his mind trying to come to terms with how her touch had ignited such dangerous heat in him. It was as though everything else had faded to grey and the only colours he had been able to see were the mesmerising green of her irises and the soft pink of her sinfully tempting lips.

 _Damn it_ , he mentally cursed, frustrated beyond endurance. Now that he'd sampled her, he hungered for more _._ _More._ So much more… what the emptiness of his existence before her light had kept concealed from him. Something twisted unpleasantly in his chest. He wanted… he wanted her to return his next kiss. It was agonising, to entertain what it might feel like if Sakura's slender, willowy arms were to wrap willingly around his neck, if she were to press the softness of her body against him, to tease his ravenous lips with the warmth of her breath…

But he knew he could not touch her again - not when she was so upset. Increasing her resentment would certainly not work to his advantage.

He swallowed back the bitterness in his throat. He had not quite anticipated things to escalate in such a manner. Sakura was continually surprising him – and for a god who despised all manner of surprises, adjusting to them was proving to be quite a challenge.

It didn't matter, he thought determinedly to himself, as he subdued all lingering feelings of uncertainty and felt his pulse finally settle. He was still the one in control. Straightening away from the door he had been leaning against, Sasuke stalked to the long banqueting table. Pouring himself a goblet of ambrosia, he downed it in one gulp, glowering at the plate of sugary treats his gaze happened to fall upon.

That was when a familiar voice reached him, echoing news in his mind. Its hoarse words caused him to freeze and inhale sharply. His fingers around the goblet closed in a death grip that dented the body of the cup. Instead of answering the caller's question, Sasuke fashioned into existence a black cloak from the air around him, wrapping it hastily around his shoulders to conceal his informal clothing, and blurred immediately out of existence.

The goblet clattered to the floor in his wake.

* * *

He inhaled deeply, the scent of dampness flooding him with an odd sense of nostalgia. How long had it been since he had last set foot in the realm of the dead? How much had the world – and he - changed since then?

A small, mildly amused smirk graced his thin lips. The lands on the surface had certainly altered more than he had – although he could not vouch for the soil upon which he was about to tread. After all, he had only visited on several occasions - the last of which had been anything _but_ pleasant.

All mirth slipped away as he briefly recalled words that had been spoken in an age long past. They echoed clearly in his head – as if they had been uttered that very same day.

The hiss of cold steel as a deadly blade was drawn and pointed directly at him.

" _Thanatos. That is the very same snake I saw approach Hades."_

The flash of arresting crimson eyes, regarding him aloofly from behind an elaborate silver face mask.

" _You watch my brother too eagerly, serpent."_

He winced as the searing memory of pain assailing his arms spiked through his mind, causing pale fingers to clench tightly in reflex. He swiftly dismissed the haunting recollection, focusing again on the present. It had taken him a while to locate the concealed, but he had arrived at last. The outer entrance to the Underworld yawned ominously ahead of him, barely visible through the thick, freezing blanket of mist that hung chokingly in the air. It was surrounded by jagged, rocky teeth, as if ready to devour those who had no business trespassing.

And he most definitely _was_ trespassing. The rumbling growl that reverberated from the shadows before him consolidated that fact.

"Ah, yes," he murmured. "The ever-faithful family canine, guarding the passageway to the great gates."

Cerberus's glowing red eyes locked onto him. Gigantic paws struck the ground, causing it to tremble, as the beast loomed ahead of him like a colossal, feral titan.

But he didn't need to worry about bypassing the mighty hound. He had a far more pressing matter that demanded his full attention – namely the figure that had just slunk gracefully out from behind the Underworld's blood-thirsty gate-keeper.

"Orochimaru," the Death God's voice was icy, prompting a shiver of anticipation to quiver down the serpent-tongued daemon's spine at the delectable sound of it.

How he had missed that voice! Silk wrapped steel, cutting and enticing in equal measures. And when Sasuke materialised through the dense mist, Orochimaru knew that he had been right all along.

The Underworld's King truly was the physical embodiment of perfected darkness. He wore the shadows like a second skin and had grown into his role, bearing it with an air of sinister menace that his predecessor, whilst imposing in his own right, had markedly lacked. Cold mercilessness and raw danger pulsated from Sasuke's form, rippling the air with a menacing chakra aura that had always been more characteristic of a certain _other_ Uchiha.

 _How intriguing_ , Orochimaru smiled inwardly to himself. The changes in Sasuke's demeanour were pleasing, made the prospect of a potential alliance all the more thrilling.

"How good it is to see you again, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru rasped, his slanted gaze roving over the Death God admiringly once again. "My, my, how you have grown…"

Sasuke, however, clearly did not take kindly to the informal term of address, for in a heartbeat he had unsheathed Kusanagi from beneath his cloak, brandishing the glinting slender blade hostilely in his left hand.

The sight of the snake brought back a wealth of disagreeable memories – ones that the death deity was keen to eradicate permanently. Yet it also sparked wild suspicions in his mind. Orochimaru had not dared to set foot on his territory since the days of war between the surface and underground gods. That had been thousands of years earlier. What reason did he have to intrude now? Sasuke knew enough of the serpent's slimy, double-crossing ways to exercise an immediate and high level of caution. His coming was never good news – but to appear in the Underworld so unexpectedly and brazenly suggested that Orochimaru had come with bargaining material.

"Fifteen seconds," the Death God quipped threateningly.

Orochimaru knew it was the only invitation he would receive to explain his intentions.

"That is a rather generous allowance of time from you, Sasuke-kun-" he began.

"Ten," Sasuke interposed, his voice cutting, ruthless.

"Kukukuku," Orochimaru cackled unhurriedly. "As hasty as always." Then, counting down the last five seconds in his head, he revealed simply, " _He_ has sent me."

He did not miss the way Sasuke's fingers tightened hatefully on Kusanagi's hilt.

There was a long pause – then the King of the Dead tilted his head and smirked contemptuously, "Reduced to running errands, Snake?"

Orochimaru's smug smile remained in place – but something unpleasant flickered in his eyes.

"A snake is deadly, Sasuke-kun," he stated. "It shadows its prey, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Have you forgotten that?"

The faint smirk on Sasuke's face instantly evaporated as he considered the ashen daemon's words. They seemed to suggest a double-motive – which came as no surprise at all to the Death God.

"It is just as I expected. You have become a fine King, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru praised, completely changing the subject. "Such power you have attained, and how much strength the darkness has lent to you! I wonder just how much those eyes of yours can now percccieve…" He ran the tip of his tongue over his lower lip with slow, pointed deliberation.

But Sasuke was in no mood to indulge sugar-coated words of poison. Simply standing in the same locale as Orochimaru disgusted and insulted him. Sneering in revulsion at the serpent's ill-concealed interest – something the millennia since their previous meeting had clearly done little to avert - he glared, irises bleeding to crimson as the tomoes of the Sharingan spun with warning intent.

Behind him, Cerberus's heads snarled in unison, sensing his master's exasperation.

"My patience wears thin," Sasuke snapped. "State your purpose."

"Kukuku," Orochimaru chuckled again. "A temperament quite unlike Itachi's-"

Sasuke's form flickered out of sight the second the name fell from the serpent's tongue. Orochimaru grinned, delighted by the instant stream of delicious adrenaline that rushed through him as he realised he had succeeded in provoking the death deity into action. So the mere mention of Itachi's name was still a sore spot.

Thinking quickly, the daemon morphed form to that of a white snake, just as Kusanagi swiped the air where he had been standing a split second earlier. But Sasuke was not about to let him escape so easily. The deafening screech of a thousand birds reverberated around them as the heavy mist was pierced by a blinding, chaotic current of pale-blue light. Jagged bolts of electricity struck the ground, seeking to impale the slithering figure in place.

The corner of Sasuke's lips curled in repulsion as the snake melted into the ground, leaving behind nothing but an oozing, gooey white puddle. He had seen that technique before, but there was nowhere the foolish personification of terror could hide. Even the gravelly stones beneath their feet answered to the Death God's will. The ground ruptured at Sasuke's command, forcing the invader out. Sensing that he had wisely chosen to regain human form behind him – well out of the range of Cerberus's snapping jowls – Sasuke whirled swiftly, simultaneously directing another crackling bolt of lightning along Kusanagi's length, directly at the serpent.

His aim was deadly accurate – and finally succeeded in connecting, piercing through the twin, brown snakes Orochimaru had summoned from his arms as protective barriers. He released a hiss of pain as numbing electricity spiked from the writhing snakes along the nerves of his arms, causing each neuron to scream in flaming agony. Sasuke was so much faster and more proficient in the lightning element than he recalled!

The death deity flashed a wicked, callous smirk and did not hesitate for a moment. He summoned a long string of near-invisible chakra with his free hand, winding it around the snakes at Orochimaru's wrists, succeeding in binding his arms together. With a forceful tug, he used the thread to yank the daemon forward toward him at unstoppable speed and drew back his blade, intending to drive the sword straight through the twisted serpent's putrefied heart.

His arms compromised, Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and from it sprouted four more snakes, which in turn parted their fangs to reveal slender blades in the place of their tongues. They hurtled toward Sasuke, whose eyes narrowed in recognition. _Sen'eijashu_ – the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands technique. Forced to abandon his original strategy, he channelled electricity from his body again, sending tendrils of slicing current at the incoming snakes, instantly decapitating them. The rancid odour of burning poison mixed with reptilian blood filled the air.

But as Orochimaru finally reached Sasuke, the chakra strings loosened as he changed form once again, effortlessly evading Kusanagi's tip.

Sasuke's eyes widened. Just as he had anticipated! Without looking down, he stabbed into the ground, finally succeeding in skewering the white snake, which hissed and writhed at his feet in anguish. The thrill of battle pumped through his veins, as he wrenched the blade further into the serpent for good measure. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to spar with Orochimaru.

"Kukukuku…" the rasping cackle behind him caused his grip on the sword's hilt to tighten. "Impressive indeed, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke's eyes lowered to the snake at his feet. It stopped struggling, melting into the same sticky white goo he had witnessed earlier.

 _Hn. So he used the replacement technique at the last moment_ , the death deity thought disapprovingly to himself.

"Sometimes the simplest of techniques are the most effective," Orochimaru reminded him slyly.

Sasuke yanked his blade out of the ground, and turned to regard the daemon with an icy glower. While Orochimaru regained his breath, the Underworld's ruler seemed completely unruffled by the exchange – quite the feat, the serpent silently acknowledged.

" _I said_ ," Sasuke bit out acidly, " _state your purpose_."

He did not need to add _or else._ They both knew who commanded the advantage in Sasuke's home territory. If he willed it, the death deity could trap the serpent – without even lifting a finger. The brief spar between them had simply been Sasuke's way of refreshing Orochimaru's outdated knowledge of his own abilities.

Orochimaru straightened when he was certain that he was safe from being attacked again – for a few minutes, at least. But he did not, for an instant, lower his guard. He was no fool – he knew saying anything else other than what Sasuke was waiting to hear would likely be fatal for him in his current environment.

So he proceeded to reveal his reasons for visiting.

"We have a proposition for you, Sasuke-kun," he began amiably. "One I am sure you will find very interesting…"

Sasuke waited, watching him askance, Kusanagi still glowing ominously with pale-blue light. He sent a telepathic instruction for Cerberus, who had been gnashing and growling behind him during the duel, to quieten. Instant silence fell between them, as the mighty beast retreated obediently back into the shadows.

What Orochimaru said next captured Sasuke's full, undivided attention.

"Edo Tensei. A technique I am sure you are quite familiar with," a sinister smile graced his lips upon witnessing the look of suspicion flicker over Sasuke's sculpted features. "Together, we are on the brink of perfecting it, so that it is not only soulless bodies that can be resurrected."

Anger flashed across the Death God's eyes. He was indeed familiar with the technique – Itachi himself had informed him of it, and it had always been one that was strictly prohibited. In ages long gone those who had been blessed with keen minds and uncommon reserves of chakra had meddled far too much for their own good in the dark arts. They had stumbled upon an unnatural way to temporarily resurrect the dead. All that had been required was a lock of hair or another sample containing the DNA of the deceased and complex, forbidden hand seals.

They had called it: _Edo Tensei_ , or _Impure World Reincarnation_.

But the dead had always returned without their souls and personalities intact - because their souls were in the Underworld – and there was no way to retrieve them, unless the realm's ruler permitted them to return to the living again. The resurrected bodies had essentially been ashen zombies with lifeless eyes, who mindlessly followed the commands of their summoner. Within just twenty-four hours, the bodies, unable to sustain themselves as Edo Tensei's effects wore off, would shut down and rapidly decompose once again. The technique was an imperfect one, originally invented as a means to win wars. The restored dead could not be killed by weapons, and were invaluable on the battlefield. They could only die if their summoner performed releasing seals – or when the clock took its course.

There was a terrible trade-off for possessing such knowledge of forbidden craft, of course. For when a body was revived without its essence, its soul in the Underworld was plagued by unrest. Any who had been foolish enough to intervene with the dead promptly lost their lives afterwards; Sasuke's Clan had made certain that nothing could upset the balance of their realm. People soon realised the connection, and the technique was abandoned, labelled too dangerous. There had been reports of users losing their minds before succumbing to early demises. The technique was soon lost in history, written out and forgotten by the flow of time.

Now Orochimaru stood before him, claiming that the technique was still very much in existence. Sasuke did not know what was more troubling – the fact that Edo Tensei had not been eradicated, or the fact that knowledge of it had fallen into the wrong hands. But he was careful not to allow even a slip of emotion to surface behind the stoic mask he wore on his face.

His command over the dead was iron, absolute. He would suffer no other to interfere with the affairs of his Kingdom.

"Explain," he demanded sharply.

He watched, with aloof aversion, as Orochimaru licked his lips again. He had never liked the way the snake had always examined him with a little _too much_ interest.

"It's quite simple, Sasuke-kun... just a little more time, and the technique will be perfected," the serpent answered smilingly. "Just imagine... not only the body retrieved, but also the soul, as it originally was, with all personality aspects intact... and without the need of a host."

This time, Sasuke's glare was positively chilling. "The dead cannot leave here," he said cuttingly. Even if they had found some way to bypass the laws and summon souls – did they really just expect him to permit the deceased to depart his world? Did they really think there would be no consequences to such forbidden meddling?

"Ah!" Orochimaru breathed. "But what if the souls being taken had not passed through your gates at all, Sasuke-kun...?" As Sasuke's mind raced to decipher what that could possibly mean, the serpent used the opportunity to draw closer, confident that he had the young King's full curiosity, and that he would not move to strike until he had finished acquiring knowledge that was unknown to him.

Circling Sasuke, he continued softly, "You own the souls of those who perish on the surface. But what of the souls that have not departed the impure world? What of those who reside in the pure realm...?"

The pure realm… it was another name for the void where the gods whose purposes had been spent took their rest. Sasuke could not quite believe what he was hearing.

Daring to move closer still, Orochimaru's rolling tongue extended as he hissed into Sasuke's right ear, "Jusssst think, Sassssuke-kun... your Clan... fully ressstored to you... Itachi, as he wassss..."

Sasuke's breath stilled. What Orochimaru was implying was utterly impossible. That was a place not even his brother, with all his unparalleled wisdom, had been able to touch! Fury simmered within him. Did the daemon consider him a fool? Did he honestly think him so naïve? There was no way to restore deities who had passed over. And to hear such outrageous lies, spoken so shamelessly to him, invoked the Death God's unbridled rage.

Without warning, he whirled, swiping angrily at the snake behind him with his blade. But when he turned, the daemon had already retreated, maintaining a safe distance between them.

"Kukukuku," Orochimaru chuckled, raising a hand in reason. "All we need is your cooperation, Sasuke-kun... to help us locate a phial that has been stolen from us. Do you not despise Tsunade and the elders as much as we do...?"

Before Sasuke could fire back a scathing retort to that, Orochimaru's form began to shift back into a snake.

" _Consssiderrrr our offer..._ " he hissed. A second later, and he had vanished completely, leaving Sasuke staring into the mist.

* * *

Sakura did not know how long she had remained in place after Sasuke had exited his quarters. Her eyes had been glued to the discarded bangles by her feet, which had glinted almost tauntingly up at her, reflecting the light of the elegant candles illuminating the room. Her chaotic thoughts had spun at cyclone intensity, leaving her head reeling. Finally, unable to take it any longer, she had fled from the unnerving grandeur of the palace's Master bedroom. Her legs had carried her, quite without conscious thought, to the enchanted gardens, where she had proceeded to pace restlessly about, with no clear sense of direction.

As she walked deeper into the greens, Sakura tried to restore whatever remnants of order she could salvage to her brain's agitated buzzing. Sasuke had claimed she was no prisoner. He had even removed the shackles to prove his point. What, then, was stopping her from leaving? Surely she did not need to double-cross Sasuke. He had told her she was free! She could just depart, without a word to him, find the entrance to the Underworld, and-

Something that only vaguely resembled a short, incredulous and bitter laugh escaped her throat. Who was she trying to fool? Did she really believe that Sasuke would allow her to walk out? Her suspicions were running rampant. Why had he chosen to unbind her ankles now? And what about Suigetsu? What would he make of this unexpected turn of events?

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut; she already knew with certainty what the answer to the latter was; after an endless barrage of teasing, Suigetsu would encourage her to stay patient, to continue with their original and thoroughly precarious plan. Because he had waited all this time for her to execute it so that they could both escape - _together._ She didn't know the particulars of the dynamic Sasuke and the Water God shared, but she was fairly sure that the Underworld's king would not simply permit the Water God to walk free. Leaving without Suigetsu was not an option – and Sakura told herself she could not afford to make enemies with two gods.

Then the memory of Sasuke's lips moving softly and sensuously against hers flooded back to her, causing anxiety to flash behind her closed eyelids, and brought back with it the wealth of conflicting emotions the contact had detonated. Her pulse, which had not ceased in its relentless racing, hurtled even faster. She exhaled, her eyes flying open again as she drew to a sudden stop.

He had kissed her. Sasuke, the God of Death, King of the Realm of the Dead, had _kissed_ her.

She was not the kind of girl who could brush aside such a thing so lightly. To her, it _was_ a big deal. Guilt and anger gnawed away at her conscience – why hadn't she stopped it? She _could_ have pushed him away, prevented it, even if he had caught her completely by surprise.

But instead she had chosen to remain in place, allowing him to kiss her fully, to take his time until he had finished.

 _No,_ she thought furiously to herself, dismayed to feel the heat blazing in her cheeks as agitation spurned her to continue walking. _My body froze. I couldn't move because- because-_

Because of what the mere brush of his lips had sparked into being inside her. Alien tingles and quivers that had left her breathless and distraught. She had not anticipated that she would be so _moved._ Her mind had been so diverted by the thoroughly unsettling sensations that it had forgotten all about the self-preservation of her dignity.

Feeling jittery, Sakura stormed through the third section of the gardens, scarcely taking in the hushed beauty of her nocturnal surroundings. Part of her felt the urgent need to speak to Suigetsu again. She needed to break out, to escape, before another kiss occurred. But an even greater part, the one fuelled by anger and the one that already knew what Suigetsu's response would be, ordered her to grow a backbone and deal with the situation herself. What good had running to the Water God done her up to that point? He always told her to do exactly the opposite of what she felt was right.

Her little fingers curled to form shaking, tight fists by her sides. _No more,_ she vowed to herself. She wouldn't let her actions be influenced and dictated by Suigetsu, or Sasuke, or anybody else any more. It was time to take matters into her own hands. She somehow had to work out how to handle Sasuke, and how to overcome the awkwardness his actions had placed between them. She could not keep relying on other people to solve her problems for her.

It was at that moment that it suddenly struck Sakura that even on the surface she had always leaned far too much on her friends and her mother, allowing them to support her, to make suggestions and judgements for her.

But now she was alone, far away from them, and Sakura knew that the only person's decisions she could really trust were now her own.

She would _not_ go panicking to Suigetsu. Neither would she flee unthinkingly from the Underworld. It was a test, she was certain, of Sasuke's trust. He had removed the anklets deliberately, probably to see how she would choose to act, unhindered. If she had learned anything about the death deity in the unknown duration she had spent with him, it was that he _always_ had a reason for doing things – even if those reasons seemed impossible to decipher at first glance.

When she finally looked up, Sakura blinked, finding herself standing before a section of the gardens she had yet to explore. The central path she had been treading led to a pair of tall, arched doors, forged in swirling gold, set between two high hedge walls. Next to them burned twin blue-flame torches. She remembered seeing Sasuke disappear into the area when she had watched nymphs with him before.

As she peered curiously through the gaps in the elaborate coils, she glimpsed more towering, impeccably trimmed hedges, leading to her left and right.

Her interest ensnared, Sakura temporarily discarded all her troubled musings and pushed the elegant doors apart.

 _A maze!_ She realised, her lips parting in pleasant surprise. A surge of unexpected delight flowed through her as she stepped inside and closed the doors behind her. She had always loved mazes, although most she had visited in the past had been far too small and easy to navigate through. She had the odd feeling, however, as she began to wander to her right, that Sasuke's maze would prove to be the most challenging she had ever encountered.

Ino always complained that mazes were claustrophobic, but Sakura relished the challenge they presented. She inhaled the grassy scent, and her nose soon picked up on sweet, flowery notes. As she took a left turn and walked into a large, dead-end square, she discovered the sweet smell's origin. Perfectly kept bushes, adorned with milky blooms, were arranged artistically around a small, stone fountain. A cherub stood with a slender vase, out of which poured a steady stream of crystal clear water. Sakura walked to the flowers, and pressed her nose to their velvety petals, sighing as she felt her nerves instantly soothe and relax. Losing herself in a maze was the ideal way to compose her thoughts again.

She walked out of the closed area, back in the direction she had come. What magical sight would she find in the centre of the verdant labyrinth? She knew the reward for making it to the heart of the maze would be nothing short of spectacular, in keeping with everything else in Sasuke's majestic abode.

She walked over a stone bridge, beneath which flowed a rippling river. As she leant over the thick banisters to look at her reflection, she spied two beautiful, silver-haired young women, clothed in barely-there, silk-spun, knee-length dresses. They were splashing in the water and giggling. Immediately they sensed Sakura's intrusion, and turned large, uncommonly bright eyes to her. In a heartbeat they dove into the water and vanished.

 _Water nymphs_ , Sakura thought, disappointed that they had disappeared before she'd had a chance to speak to them. She carried on undeterred, taking left and right turns, passing through wooden doors which led to new areas, stopping to smell the flowers and retracing her steps out of dead-end corners whenever she happened to walk into them.

The maze was massive, and as she passed through a section that seemed suspiciously familiar, Sakura knew she was lost. She had no idea how deeply she had ventured into the labyrinth, but it did not worry her that she'd lost her sense of direction. She smiled as she passed enchanting mini-gardens boasting impressive sculptures and water fountains, as well as flower-strewn pergolas. Trying to find her way out of this puzzle was proving to be a very satisfying test.

The silence of the maze only added to its charm and tranquil beauty. The only thing she heard other than the muffled quiet of her feet moving over mowed grass was the occasional sound of cascading water, or the gentle rustling of leaves and bushes in the air. Sakura then came by a tall stone structure consisting of stairs and an open, roofed platform - a position point marker, which she was quick to climb. The view from the top made her exhale in astonishment. Hedges sprawled out endlessly in all directions around her like titanic green sentinels. Sasuke's palace was now to her far left. The labyrinth was even vaster than she had initially predicted. It seemed to have no end, its outermost edges merging into dense, misty forests.

Had she really been walking for such a great distance? She couldn't tell where the centre of the web was, even from her elevated point. North, South, East or West? Sakura chewed her lower lip uncertainly. Perhaps she ought to concede defeat and tackle the mammoth beast of a maze another time? Maybe it was wiser to prioritise and attempt to find her way back to the gardens?

She was just considering her next step - when the sound of a shrill scream suddenly pierced the air, causing her to jump. She whirled, her alarmed eyes seeking out the source around her, missing it initially, but a second scan revealed the origin of the cry. A willowy girl was racing swiftly through the maze. Sakura's protective instinct kicked her immediately into motion. She hurried down the stairs without a second thought and took a right at the section's junction, moving in the direction she had seen the girl running in. She continued straight at the next intersection and took another right – before colliding straight into the same girl she had spied from the platform.

They both tumbled to the floor, and Sakura was shocked at how small and slight the bundle in her arms was. Her green hair was almost to her knees in length, silky and straight, and she was clad in a short dress that looked like it was sewn from leaves. The girl gasped and looked up, startling Sakura with how bright her amethyst eyes were.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked, reading the open fear in the graceful nymph's pixie-like face. "What's the matter…?"

The girl did not respond. Instead she scrambled up and grabbed hold of Sakura's wrist, dragging her up after her. Then, with a speed that caught Sakura quite off guard, she took off, yanking at her to follow. Sakura nearly stumbled over her feet, but had the sense not to resist. Something was obviously chasing the girl – something that clearly frightened her greatly.

The nymph led her at a pace that made everything pass by in a frantic blur. Sakura's attempts to speak to her and find out what was wrong went unheard. Then the nymph took a left – only to freeze abruptly at what she saw on the floor before them.

Another girl was sprawled there, moaning. Her lavender hair cascaded around her, knotted and in disarray. She was weeping. The edges of the knee length hem of her dress were torn and in tatters and she had angry, bruised bite marks on her pale arms.

As Sakura's disbelieving brain pieced together what she was looking at, she was overcome with a wave of nausea. She instinctively moved forward to help the crying nymph, but the girl holding her wrist pulled her back, shaking her head anxiously.

She opened her mouth to say something – when a rough, gravelly voice spoke out, causing every nerve ending in Sakura's body to curl over in repulsion.

"Pay no mind to her tears. She really quite enjoyed it… didn't she brothers?"

"That she did!"

The sound of heavy, hooved feet behind them caused the nymph beside Sakura to gasp again, and Sakura to bristle. She turned – only to gape at the sight that met her. Three bare-chested, bearded men, one with curly brown hair, one with red and the third with black, entered through the gap in the hedges before them. Sakura noted with astonishment that small horns sprouted from their heads, and their ears were large and abnormal in form. That wasn't the only thing inhuman about them; the lower portions of their bodies were covered with thick dark hair and their legs were shaped like a goat's. They had long, horse-like tails which swished behind them, and their modesty was concealed only by a thin strip of stained material, secured to their waists by leather belts.

"Look, brothers," said the black-haired one, leering at Sakura. "Another pretty poppet. It's our lucky day."

"I've never tried a rose-haired nymph before," said the red-haired goat-man. He licked his lips, looking Sakura up and down with interest in a way that made her stomach churn with disgust. "I wonder what she tastes like?"

"She looks like she's never seen a satyr before," the darker brown haired one chuckled.

"That's alright… we'll give her something to remember us by, won't we?" sniggered the black-haired one.

A horrified Sakura realised their intentions. Like a lightning bolt she took off, taking the trembling nymph with her. The lavender-haired girl's pained moans echoed piercingly in Sakura's ears, along with the thundering _clap-clap_ of goat-hooves as the two other satyrs gave chase with wild, enthusiastic hollers.

"You can't outrun us, nymphs!" the black-haired satyr, named Nesio, crowed.

"Come here and let us show you a good time!" His red-haired brother, Satyris, called.

"There's no need to be coy with us!"

"Let us pleasure you with our wine and our love!"

"Whoooooo!"

 _Left, right, right, straight, left, straight, right, straight_ ; Sakura wasn't consciously tracking the direction they were running in. The only thing she had in mind was to escape with everything intact. They tore through the labyrinth's endless passages, stumbling and desperately changing course whenever they met a dead-end. Twice the whooping satyrs nearly caught up to them, and twice they were forced to split apart.

Sakura's lungs burned with the effort of inhaling oxygen at the rate at which her wildly drumming heart was demanding it. As she rounded another right turn, she crossed paths once more with the nymph and promptly snagged hold of her hand.

"Keep running!" she puffed.

But the nymph tugged her resistance, and panted, "Release me, maiden! I can distract them and save one of us!"

"No!" Sakura rejected, pulling on her hand more persistently. "I'll call to Sasuke! He'll stop this!"

The nymph exhaled. When she spoke next, her sweet voice was full of a combination of confusion and fear. "You- you speak the Master's name? But that is forbidden-" she broke off and screamed when the black-haired satyr suddenly burst through the opening to their left with a triumphant howl, forcing them to separate once again. As Sakura dove out the way, he grabbed onto the green-haired nymph, who had drawn a small dagger from her belt. But the momentum with which she was seized sent the dagger flying from her grasp.

Sakura's eyes locked onto it and she didn't waste a second. All fear was cast aside as her fight or flight instinct took over. Lunging forward, she swiped the wooden-handeled weapon from the floor, and without a flicker of hesitation, threw herself forward, heart pounding, adopting a strike Sasuke had taught her in their sparring sessions. She slashed down at the satyr's arm, sending crimson droplets flying into the air. He hissed in pain, instantly dropping the struggling nymph.

"Why you little-!" he began, face contorting with fury. Panting, Sakura shoved the nymph protectively behind her and brandished the dagger, stabbing forward into the space between them to ward Nesio back.

"Stay back!" She cried, watching his movements guardedly, mirroring him carefully, knowing that just one second of indecision would be costly.

Nesio sneered at her, his strange brown eyes glinting with open lust as he looked her over keenly. It made every inch of Sakura's skin crawl. "I'll enjoy riding you," he rumbled lewdly.

The nymph behind her held out a palm – and leaves instantly flew forth from the hedges, assaulting the satyr like sharp paper planes, hindering his vision.

"Arghhh!"

"Run, maiden!" The flower nymph urged.

They raced away, continuing straight at a junction and then veered to the right. Just as they took another left, a clawed hand suddenly shot out, locking around Sakura's neck. It squeezed, causing Sakura's vision to pulsate with red. She coughed and spluttered, struggling to breathe.

"You think you can strike me and get away with it, wench?" Nesio snarled, catching the wrist that frantically attempted to slit the dagger directly across his face. Sakura nearly gagged. His breath smelt of pungent alcohol and something else extremely unpleasant.

"Maiden!" the nymph called. But the red-haired satyr had caught up to them and grabbed hold of her flowing hair, yanking her head back. She screamed and struggled, but Satyris was too strong. He pulled her up and against him, laughing loudly at her attempts to bite him. Locking her arms behind her back, he began to tear demandingly at her skirt.

Upon seeing this, a fresh surge of adrenaline shot through Sakura's veins. With an infuriated screech, she did the only thing she could. Summoning all the strength she possessed, Sakura aimed the heel of her sandal-clad right foot at the satyr's weakest point – straight between his legs. Nesio cursed loudly, doubling instinctively over. His grip loosened – and that was the moment she had been waiting for. Sakura tore her wrist out of his weakened grasp and stabbed upward, straight into the underside of the arm that held her up by her throat.

Her actions were fuelled entirely by the basic need of survival. The faint part of her that registered horror and disbelief at the fact that she was actually drawing blood from another living thing was blocked out by the savage voice of self-preservation, which roared at her to twist the blade in for good measure.

What happened next was a cacophony of total chaos. The nymph's hysterical sobs and Nesio's spiteful words were reverberating in her skull one second – the next, they had been completely drowned out by an ear-splitting scream of pure agony. Sakura watched, in a semi-dazed state, as the arm that had been holding her was abruptly severed cleanly in two from the elbow. It flew into the air, spurting blood everywhere. Nesio howled, clutching onto the gushing stump which, just moments earlier, had been connected to his forearm.

Sakura fell to the floor, gripping tightly onto the dagger, her shock-glazed eyes fixed on the amputated limb in abject repulsion. Her skin felt cold, clammy, and prickled everywhere. She hunched over, fighting to stop herself from throwing up the contents of her roiling stomach – just as she had the previous time he'd intercepted, equally as ruthlessly.

Black sandals appeared in the field of her vision, stepping noiselessly between her and the blubbering satyr. Sakura's lungs heaved as she finally managed to lift her head, high enough to find that Satyris had dropped the nymph and was now cowering before Sasuke's silent form.

"M-Master!" He began, perplexed and anxious. "We meant no mischief- we were merely chasing our sport-"

Kusanagi glowed ominously in the Death God's left hand. The words he uttered coldly next sealed both the satyrs' demises.

"She is not yours."

Lightning screeched ferociously. The satyrs screamed, trying in vain to flee to safety. But there was no escape from death. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, knowing what came next. When the din ceased, all that remained of the satyrs was ash and smoke.

The yawning silence that followed was awful. Sasuke, who had replaced his sword back into its casing, was the one to break it.

"Go, Esria."

The nymph Esria's eyes darted briefly to Sakura in silent thanks – before she curtsied low to the death deity and vanished in a flurry of leaves. Sakura remained in place, leaning against the hedge wall, trying to restore her breathing to its normal rate. The dagger was still in her hand. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to let go.

The quiet rustle of clothing drew her focus to Sasuke again, who had moved back to her and crouched down to look intently into her face. Sakura made a point of avoiding eye-contact as she willed her thundering heart to settle. She wondered just how much he had seen of the encounter, before he had appeared to intercept.

Warmth seeped into her skin as Sasuke held a hand over her throat, being careful not to touch her as he healed the angry marks Nesio's fingers had inflicted. He was pleased to find that she was otherwise unhurt.

When he had finished, she saw him lower and hold out his hand expectantly. Confused, she glanced at it. What did he want? Gingerly, she held out the dagger and deposited it in his open palm.

It seemed to be the correct thing to do, for he turned the blade up for inspection, before remarking coolly, "You drew blood."

The fog was finally beginning to clear, allowing Sakura's numbed mind to thaw as the adrenaline slipped away, and rational thought began to return.

"They were chasing us. They wanted to- they were going to-" she stopped, unable to articulate the rest as the haunting image of the sobbing lavender-haired nymph flashed before her eyes once more. What brutal, ghastly monsters satyrs were! Swallowing, she said thickly, "I tried to remember my training."

There was a long silence, in which Sakura worriedly found herself wondering just _what_ he was thinking of her. Awkwardness was creeping up on her again, as the memory of his kiss and their earlier argument rushed back to her, clamouring for her full attention. Her heart skipped a beat and self-consciousness dictated that she continue to _not_ look at him. She could feel his dark eyes burning into her skull, but he made no move to reach out to her, to touch her. Instead he simply watched her.

 _What do I say?_ She frantically scoured her mind. What _could_ she say? There was so much she wanted to say – but suddenly, her mouth didn't know how to form the correct sentences. She was too diverted and unsettled by her heart, and how rapidly it was beating.

Luckily, Sasuke saved her the trouble, for when he spoke again his words carried enough weight to compel her stubborn gaze to meet his at last - only to witness something quite astonishing. The sight of the barely perceivable, smug smirk playing on the death deity's lips caught Sakura completely by surprise.

"Hn." He held up the dagger pointedly. "You did."

She blinked at him in bewilderment, catching the glint of _something_ in his eyes – something she had never seen before. _Oh,_ her sluggish mind finally registered. Sasuke wasn't angry that she had fought to defend herself. Quite the opposite, in fact. He had already dealt with what _had_ made him livid – a satyr laying his filthy hands on her.

Perhaps it was the lingering remnants of shock, Sakura told herself, which were responsible for what happened next. Or perhaps it was the warm glow of receiving unexpected acknowledgement, much in the same way a student revelled in a tutor's unanticipated praise. Whatever it was, her lips were forming an incredulous, uncertain and lopsided half-smile back, before she could even think to prevent it.


	36. Chapter XXXV

**Chapter XXXV**

* * *

_Envy - that baneful, vindictive Sin,_

_Seeping - as poison - through tainted skin,_

_She sinks scarlet talons into burdened chests,_

_Stealing away respite, all hopes of rest,_

_Tearing and clawing - She mangles and maims,_

_Leaving nothing - save ruin - and wrath of flame,_

_Sightless are those who heed to Her call,_

_Blind, unseeing, as She orchestrates their fall._

* * *

The air in Sasuke's lungs stilled. She was _smiling_ back at him. The curve on her lips was small, tentative and thoroughly uncertain – but it was a smile all the same. And by Elysium, if it was not the most radiant thing he had ever seen!

He blinked, finding himself quite unsure of how to proceed, for he had not expected such a reaction – not after the tension loaded encounter they had shared in his quarters. Neither could he have anticipated the odd sense of warmth that engulfed him at the sight. However, Sakura conveniently diverted any further uneasiness on his part when she finally shifted her eyes from his.

Sasuke rose fluidly, discarding the dagger to the ground. He knew Esria would return to reclaim it after they had left. Sakura stood up after him and automatically shadowed his steps as he began to lead her back through the twisting and turning labyrinth of stone-paved, hedge-lined passages. But she was quick to remember the other, less fortunate nymph upon whom she had witnessed the satyr Lemnios forcing himself. She gasped, prompting Sasuke to halt and swivel questioningly toward her.

"Sasuke, there was another nymph! She was-"

"Lemnios is no more," the death deity, who had predicted her concern, assured her.

His words had an instant effect, for Sakura's shoulders relaxed and she exhaled, as if relieved.

"Is she alright?" she added after a moment. No sooner had she spoken it, she realised that the query was a stupid one. Sasuke's emphatic silence only served to further consolidate the fact. He shot her a brief, unreadable look – before turning to walk ahead of her again.

Sakura swallowed and followed him sadly. _Of course_ the poor nymph wasn't fine. She had been sexually violated against her will. Unshed tears of anger burned behind Sakura's eyes as the memory of the nymph's pained moans echoed torturously in her ears.

Then an alarming thought occurred to her. The satyrs clearly resided in Sasuke's realm - but did he actually _permit_ such barbaric behaviour in his own Kingdom?

 _No,_ she told herself fiercely. _He wouldn't._

But the nagging voice of doubt urged her to speak what was on her mind. Troubled, she turned her gaze to Sasuke's proud, regal shoulders.

"How many satyrs are there in the Underworld?"

The Death God took a left turn and she had to increase her pace to keep up.

"Too many," Sasuke replied cryptically. She didn't witness the scowl that planted itself firmly on his face.

"Do you let them wander freely around your gardens?"

A pause. Then he said flatly, "No."

"Then what were they doing here?"

Sasuke led her over a stone bridge. "Trespassing."

Sakura considered this. Then she probed next, "And do they always chase nymphs?"

"That is their nature."

"But they hurt them," she shuddered. "I saw what they did to that other nymph." The words that followed blurted out of her mouth before she could think of checking them. "Sasuke, can't you _stop_ them?"

The Death God's dark eyebrows knitted together and he slowed to a stop. Had he heard correctly? Sakura was _questioning_ his decisions? He didn't know whether to be insulted or grudgingly impressed by her surprising boldness. Hovering halfway between the two, he turned to regard her askance.

She stared back at him and he could read the open concern in her expressive features.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he reminded her stonily, "I rule the dead. The welfare of nymphs who choose to dwell here is not my concern."

Sakura's lips parted. "But you're still their _King_ , aren't you? Don't rulers look out for the wellbeing of everybody in their Kingdom?"

He glowered at her. Satyrs were creatures he definitely despised – but he had neither the time nor the inclination to keep track of and punish every single goat-man's philandering ways. Listening to the plights of nymphs was also something that was most certainly _not_ in his job description. To Sakura, however, ensuring the happiness of the nature spirits was clearly a major priority.

And he now knew that to be no mere coincidence.

He was ready to direct a slicing retort at her – but reconsidered at the last moment when something else whispered through his mind. Sakura watched with astonishment, her pulse picking up speed again, as Sasuke smirked for the second time in a matter of minutes. This time, however, his smirk was decidedly darker and pronouncedly smugger.

"That is a _Queen's_ role, Sakura," he uttered emphatically.

Just as he had intended, his chosen comeback threw her. Sakura's green eyes widened, and she seemed plagued by a sudden bout of indecision.

 _What?! Did he just say what I thought he just said?_ Her inner voice blared, like a deafening alarm ringing obtrusively in her ears. Embarrassment sent heat pooling into her cheeks. Was he _implying_ something? Or was he simply stating a given truth? With Sasuke, she could never be entirely sure. Knowing she had stumbled into dangerous territory regardless, she fumbled to find an appropriate reply that would _not_ involve digging herself into an even deeper hole.

Then it came to her in the form of directing the focus away from herself. She said, very softly, "Like your mother's?"

It worked. His smirk disappeared. Just like that. She expected him to stiffen and turn away, or to immediately snub her the way he had whenever she'd pried into his history on previous occasions. But Sasuke remained unwaveringly in place and simply looked at her with those unfathomable, sooty-lashed dark eyes. He said nothing.

Then his gaze lowered - but it was the action of casting his attention away from her and to the ground that caused something to shift palpably within Sakura.

 _He misses her,_ she thought, struck with an oddly burning sense of clarity. _He misses his mother._

She did not know why the realisation was so surprising – and why she felt so moved by it. Perhaps it was because she yearned so much for her own mother. Or maybe it was the visible proof that Sasuke _did_ possess a spectrum for human-like emotions after all, which was responsible for the disconcerting feeling that flittered around like an agitated butterfly in her stomach.

Curiosity nagged incessantly at her. She desperately wanted to know the details that Chiyo had not revealed to her. She wanted to _know_ about what had happened to Sasuke's family – what he had gone through.

"Sasuke…" his name slipped through her lips. She was encroaching on a sensitive subject – and knew that she had to select her next words wisely.

The death deity, however, had evidently decided that it was time to close the precarious conversational opener she had sprung at him. His eyes flashed back up at her, as he reaffirmed dismissively, "I do not attend to the plight of nymphs."

Sakura was dismayed. How could he answer so casually? Yet she supposed it made sense, considering that he had the small issue of countless souls to manage, an entire realm to run and judgements to deliver - but that still didn't make what the satyrs were doing _right._ It did not give them an excuse to treat women so degradingly, so abhorrently.

"But what those monsters are doing is _wrong_ ," she said quietly. Surely Sasuke could just summon them all and banish them from his world? Or would that somehow disrupt a mysterious, natural balance? Sakura could not imagine why the existence of satyrs was even necessary.

The death deity gazed wordlessly at her - but said no more. Then he spun on his heel, which Sakura interpreted as a sign that he did not wish to discuss the matter further. She trailed after him, and the remainder of their journey through the maze passed in silence.

* * *

Piercing eyes stared balefully down the barrel of a straight, noble nose. Long, powerful fingers, well-acquainted with blood-shed, drummed impatiently atop the ornate arm-rests of a once majestic throne, wrought of silver and gold. However, the absence of its true Master had resulted in the seat of power losing its divine lustre over time's merciless flow. It was now little more than a large, fancy chair.

"Speak _,_ Serpent," commanded the voice of the one who sat upon it.

Orochimaru allowed himself a moment to savour the exasperation which his characteristic unhurriedness was once again eliciting. How satisfying, to be able to crawl beneath the skin of even the most disciplined of deities! But he knew better than to continue to push his luck with the tall, imposing immortal on the dais before him, and instead offered a peculiar smile.

"Sasuke-kun has grown into a fine King," he informed the figure, roving the tip of his tongue keenly along his lower lip as the becoming image of the Death God materialised behind his eyes. "The darkness has consumed him. Why, his menacing aura is almost reminiscent of your own…"

The figure was silent, but internally, he felt a surge of smugness. It was to be expected; after all - Sasuke was an Uchiha - his kin. A fact the young deity hated to acknowledge, but an undeniable truth all the same.

However, he had no desire to discuss Sasuke's personality any further and pressed on, "And our offer. What was his response?"

"Kukukuku," Orochimaru chuckled amusedly in remembrance. "Naturally, he was not so receptive to my arrival. Itachi's name still opens old wounds, which works perfectly to our advantage." He raised a pale hand, tapping a long fingernail against his angular chin. "However… he was sceptical of your power and rejected the notion of a perfected Edo Tensei."

The figure tilted back his head aloofly.

"Hmph," he scoffed. "The fool."

He considered for a long moment, drumming his fingertips atop the arm-rests again. At length he uttered, "Then you had better send him some proof."

Orochimaru simply smiled his sickly, twisted smile.

* * *

As Sakura anchored her tumbling waves back with a silver clasp, she caught sight of the crimson dress resting in Chizu's straw laundry basket and felt a pang of regret. The gorgeous skirt was stained and tattered at the hemline. Sakura felt guilty for ruining such an exquisite work of silk-spun art.

Catching where her wistful gaze was directed, Chizu smiled understandingly.

"There, there, Mistress. We'll have a more fetching gown fashioned for you in no time."

Sakura shook her head. "You don't have to trouble yourself." Glancing back at her massive wardrobe, she remarked dryly, "I'm not exactly short on dresses to wear."

"And many of them just as fine," Chizu added, nodding pointedly toward Sakura.

The pale silver gown she had allowed her older handmaid to select for her was equally striking. Its full-length, fitted sleeves were sewn from glimmering lace. Additional trimmings of the delicate, pearl encrusted material adorned the sweetheart neckline, the detailed bodice and the elegant, high waist, giving the illusion of longer legs. The cascading layered skirt was beautiful, and as she turned, the soft chiffon fabric swished femininely outwards. The outfit was accessorised with pretty metallic sandals and silver and pearl droplet earrings.

Sakura once again felt far too over-dressed. But she had the funny feeling that Sasuke would not approve of her wearing anything _but_ formal attire – unless she was asleep or training.

 _Sasuke._ Thinking about him again caused something to twist in the deepest confines of her stomach. She recalled his smirk, how accomplished she had felt knowing that she'd succeeded in putting her training into practise. The adrenaline rush, the thrill of defending herself and a vulnerable nymph had sent her sense of pride and self-worth rocketing.

 _Maybe he doesn't think I'm so useless, after all,_ she allowed herself the luxury of entertaining fancifully.

But almost immediately, the scalding voice of self-doubt, which had always plagued her confidence, sneered back, _Yeah, right. Don't flatter yourself. Since when did you care for his opinion, anyway?_

Her elevated spirits crashed to subdued levels at that.

After leading her back to the safety of the palace's interior, Sasuke had departed without another spoken word. That was when Sakura had looked down at herself and finally noticed the sorry state she had been in. She'd made her way to her room and taken a muscle soothing, hot bath. But every time she had closed her eyes, she had visualised the sobbing nymph and the hooting, smug satyrs. Restlessness and anger had prevented her from remaining in the bath for too long. Chizu had been waiting dutifully for her as she'd stepped out in a silk robe and undergarments, and had assisted her in drying her hair and dressing.

As she stood before the mirror, inspecting her reflection, Chizu joined her, gently smoothing back her hair. It made Sakura think once again of her mother, who was so far from her.

 _She used to brush my hair all the time like this when I was little,_ Sakura recalled longingly, watching as Chizu arranged her silky locks in place. Then her mother had become increasingly busy at the hospital, and precious bonding occasions had grown few and far in between.

"You have such beautiful hair, Mistress," Chizu broke the comfortable silence, running a jewelled paddle-brush through the ends of Sakura's tresses. "It is a very unique hue."

"Strawberry blonde," Sakura answered absentmindedly, watching Chizu's reflection work.

"Oh, I was from the Northern countries, Mistress, and I have never spied such a shade of rose-blonde," her maid declared.

"People always stare a lot at it," Sakura confided, frowning lightly. "I used to feel like a freak when I was younger. But Ino – she's my best friend – she helped me accept it, and then I sort of got used to it." She pulled a face. "Mother never let me colour over it, anyway. Now that I'm older, most people I meet just assume that I've coloured over it."

"It is so lovely a shade. I cannot imagine why you would wish to change it," Chizu mused. "With your striking green eyes, you're as fresh and pretty as a spring flower."

"I'm-" Sakura automatically began to deny the compliment, but remembered Ino's responses whenever she insisted that she was not physically attractive. Self-confidence – particularly in terms of looks - had never been her strongest point. She clamped her mouth shut, struggling with a sharp pang of sadness.

Yet it wasn't enough to stop her from disclosing in a whisper, "I miss them."

Chizu, who had just finished restoring bounciness to one particular lock of hair, paused. She lifted her eyes to meet Sakura's in the mirror. She seemed to instinctively know to whom her young charge was referring, for she said quietly, "I understand, Mistress."

Sakura picked nervously at the lace and pearl belt of her dress.

"Do you think," she began uncertainly, "if I asked him, he might let me see them? Just for a little while?"

Chizu's eyes slipped away and she pursed her lips together. A clear sign that the conversation was making her feel awkward and uncomfortable. Sakura's shoulders slumped. It was easy to forget that her maids were, first and foremost, Sasuke's servants. Easy to mistake them for friends with whom she could confide.

But Chizu surprised her, by answering after a moment, "I cannot answer for the Master."

Her words were carefully selected, and Sakura understood their unspoken implication. It was Chizu's indirect way of saying: _Try_ _. Ask him._

 _He said I'm not a prisoner here,_ she thought to herself. _I guess this is one way of finding out whether he really means it._

As she pushed back a wayward strand of dusky hair, she was suddenly struck by a realisation which, up until that point, she had completely overlooked.

"My hair!" she began, blinking in shock as she pulled along its length to find that it had indeed grown past the point she recalled it being before. "It's longer."

Chizu chuckled. "Oh, the food here will have that effect on you, Mistress," she reassured Sakura. "It is far more unsullied than surface food, and so your body is better nourished by it."

The difference in length was noticeable – her tresses had grown by a few inches at least. Sakura also noted that every strand seemed to have a lustrous shine to it – which was strange, given that no true sunlight infiltrated the Underworld.

Now that she was scrutinising herself there were other differences, too. Her eyes appeared brighter - but it also seemed to Sakura that her skin, which had always had a healthy, lightly tanned apricot hue thanks to the time she spent outdoors, was slightly paler.

She looked down at her right hand sadly. At how small and very fragile it was.

_How long have I been underground for? And how much longer is Sasuke going to keep me in the dark about it?_

A light knock on the door diverted her attention away from her frustrated musings. Ume burst in, a cheerful smile on her face.

"Mistress!" she greeted. Looking her over, she clapped her hands, visibly delighted. "Oh, such a flattering colour is that gown on you!" Then, remembering that she had something far more urgent to say, she exclaimed with a clap, "Oh, I nearly forgot! The Master requests that you meet him by the stables when you are ready."

Chizu, who had finished with her hair, doused her with one final shower of sweet perfume, before stepping back and stating approvingly, "You are ready, Mistress."

Thanking her, Sakura took Ume's hand. The smaller maid looked shyly at her.

"Please walk with me to the stables," said Sakura, squeezing the tiny fingers entwined in hers.

Ume beamed and nodded.

* * *

Experienced, glove-clad fingers carefully tuned the knobs of the microscope. Shizune's pulse accelerated as she positioned the lens above the swab containing three drops of blood from the phial they had acquired. What would she find? What if the results were inconclusive? What if she didn't even _recognise_ what she was looking at?

Swiftly, she crushed down her worries. Tsunade was relying on her – she couldn't - she _wouldn't -_ let her down!

The lens came into focus – and she blinked at what it revealed. Irregularly shaped red blood cells contained within a thick, purple cellular wall she had never before seen. They were replicating slowly – but some of the cells failed to divide correctly.

 _Molecular damage evident,_ she scribbled furiously on the pad atop the pristine white lab table beside her. _Characteristic, central depression in red cells is absent. Division is irregular, suggesting mutation._

She rotated the lens disc, altering it to an even finer one. Lowering it to the slab, she fiddled with the knobs, seeking a sharper resolution. When she obtained it, she gasped behind her nose and mouth mask in astonishment.

Something was moving within the confines of the rigid cell wall. Smaller, green-black molecules. They were continuously dividing – but when they touched the cell wall, they seemed to fragment and wither.

 _Molecules contained within cell walls regenerating rapidly,_ her hand recorded. _Immediate cell death upon contact._

Shizune was horrified. She lifted her head and grabbed the second swab consisting purely of yellowish-green plasma, which she had separated from the bulk of the sample earlier. Removing the blood slab, she pushed the second glass under the microscope and twisted the knobs once more.

Unnatural, virus-like spirals were wiggling in a gooey sea of paler yellow-green. Like fine fingers, they reached to other coils, forming a horrendous network which oozed green-black tendrils.

"What _is_ that…?" she whispered, aghast. She had never laid eyes upon anything so… so _unnatural._

Sickened and unable to look at it anymore, the raven-haired woman turned away. Grabbing a long, fine pipette, she removed the stopper from the phial and suctioned up a small sample of blood. Closing the phial again, she swivelled in her chair and came to a stop before the small mushroom she had taken from the base's fridge. It was in a sterile incubator. She placed her hands inside the arm holes and held her breath as she deposited three drops of blood onto the stool's white cap. She watched with repulsed, scientific fascination as the blood seeped into the mushroom, turning its flesh a sickly purple. A delicate, infant spore sprouted from it, growing in a spiral formation like a slender vein. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it drooped and folded in on itself before drying and turning to black debris.

Shizune exhaled. Without wasting another second, she rose from her seat, threw her gloves and mask in the clinical waste bin, snatched up her notepad and hurried out of the lab.

As she approached the room where she had left Tsunade, she heard the sound of a heated argument inside. They were fighting again.

" _Don't act as if you care! I was left to raise her alone!"_

" _You made that choice, you damned stubborn shrew!"_

Throwing all courtesy out the window, Shizune burst into the room, exclaiming breathlessly, "Tsunade-sama! I have the results!"

* * *

Ume stopped by the archway in the courtyard that led around to the stables. "Please continue ahead, Mistress," she said.

Sakura hesitated. "Did he say what he wanted?" she asked.

The blonde shook her head. "No, Mistress. It is not my place to ask."

Sakura looked beyond the archway. Then she thanked the little maid, and took a deep breath before venturing onwards alone. She followed the path, passing fragrant blooms, until she reached the stables where she found Sasuke waiting beside one of his black steeds. The stately horse was nuzzling its Master's open palm affectionately. Sakura wondered which of the four it was.

As she drew up behind him, Sasuke did not turn immediately. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, watching his interaction with the magnificent animal, uncertain of what to do or say. Surely he had sensed and heard her approaching?

"Do you have a favourite?" she asked, breaking the silence.

His face angled slightly to the right, signalling that he'd heard her. But still, Sasuke continued to look at his steed. As if it understood the question, the horse whinnied indignantly before Sasuke could respond, jutting its head forward, nudging at the Death God's left shoulder. Clamouring for the privilege of being most favoured.

Sasuke smirked faintly. Inside the stable, the other three horses' ears had also perked up; as if eager to catch the answer he had absolutely no intention of giving.

Sakura's mind cycled back, trying to remember which mount was the most volatile of the four. Hadn't she gotten the name wrong on the previous occasion?

"Is that…" she wagered a guess, "Alastor?"

The stallion snorted loudly. There was no further need for Sasuke to confirm it.

"He's your grumpiest horse?" Sakura went on.

"Temperamental," he corrected, stroking the left side of Alastor's face whilst telepathically commanding the proud, stubborn horse to behave. It still amazed Sakura, how a single touch was enough to pacify and tame what was clearly a tempestuous creature. Then the Death God lowered his hand and finally turned around, giving Sakura his full attention.

Like her, Sasuke had also changed attire. He wore a charcoal grey tunic with a black undershirt. Burnt silver gauntlets were secured at his arms, set with onyx stones. His trousers were black, as were his calf-length sandals, and hanging loosely around his neck was a long strip of black material. It was secured at his left shoulder by a silver-set charcoal stone. One end hung behind his back, the other at the front of his shoulder, more in the fashion of a trailing scarf than a full cloak. A black droplet adorned his left earlobe.

As his dark eyes unhurriedly drank up the sight of her in her silver dress, Sakura had the unnerving sensation that she was being visually devoured by a ravenous predator. Why did she always feel so exposed when he looked at her so intently?

Then, without warning, Sasuke's gaze fell away and he instructed, "Wait."

Perplexed, she stood in place as he lifted the hatch off the stable door and disappeared inside. Alastor, she was quite convinced, was giving her the evil-eye. She glared impudently back. What _was_ the horse's problem?

 _You_ _helped kidnap_ _me_ _,_ she thought out to the stallion angrily. _If anybody's got the right to dislike the other, it's_ _me_ _. What are_ _you_ _annoyed about? You're just as grumpy as your Master is. You_ _must_ _be his favourite._

To her astonishment, the steed's eyes blazed a furious crimson and he exhaled bursts of smoke, stomping mighty hooves aggressively against the ground. Sakura, in alarm, thought the stormy animal was about to charge directly toward her with the aim of trampling her into the dusty ground. But Sasuke thankfully reappeared and quelled Alastor's temper with a stern look.

"Why does Alastor dislike me so mu…" her voice trailed off. For Sasuke had exited the stable, golden reins wound firmly around his left wrist. And obediently behind him, trotted the most glorious, beautiful mount she had ever set eyes upon. Sakura gasped, hopelessly enamoured at first sight. A flawless, pristine white, it seemed to glow with ethereal light. Its long, perfectly combed mane was a light shade of cream and its large eyes were warm hazel. Upon its back was an elegant gold saddle. The horse was not as tall and strong in build as Alastor and Sasuke's other steeds – a female, Sakura was quite sure - but what it lacked in bulk, it more than made up for in terms of sheer grace and majesty.

Sasuke stopped before her and looked at the horse.

"Eos," he introduced, and the horse kept its head dutifully lowered. It seemed almost shy – which only made Sakura's heart melt all the more. "She is named after the dawn."

"Oh," Sakura whispered, reaching out to run her fingers down the side of the magnificent creature's silky head. The horse remained obediently in place – clearly the polar opposite of feisty Alastor.

Sasuke's eyes moved from Sakura, to Eos and back again.

"You-" he began slowly, the words not flowing so easily from his lips – though Sakura, distracted, was none the wiser by his uncharacteristic hesitation. "You like her."

She smiled as the mount lifted her head, nuzzling her open palm tentatively. _Like_ was something of an understatement. She was in _love._

"She's beautiful."

Sasuke was internally pleased – and held out the reins to her.

"She is yours."

"I-" Diverted by the splendour of the horse, Sakura double-took, inhaling sharply. Her eyes flew to Sasuke, to find him gazing steadily at her. Nothing in his neutral expression hinted that he was jesting.

" _What?"_ she exclaimed in disbelief. Sasuke wanted to _gift_ her with her own mount? She gaped at him, stunned – then looked to Eos. The horse had lifted her head and seemed to be looking expectantly at her. She turned to Sasuke again, staring bewilderedly at him.

Sasuke frowned, as if he could not understand why she was so surprised by the gesture. He practically shoved the reins into her hands in response.

Her mind whirled in a flurry of bafflement.

_First he removed the bangles. Now he's giving me a horse – which allows me more freedom of movement, too. What's going_ _ on? _

"Sasuke…" she was speechless. Why was he doing this, all of a sudden?

 _Maybe it's his way of smoothing over what happened earlier,_ Sakura thought to herself, recalling the earlier kiss. Her pulse responded immediately, picking up pace.

But that made no sense. She couldn't imagine that a deity as egotistical as Sasuke was would ever bother making amends for his own behaviour.

In stark contrast to her troubled expression, Sasuke was all unruffled elegance, as if granting Sakura her own mode of transportation was nothing out of the ordinary. He had turned away from her and collected Alastor. In one swift, graceful motion, he mounted, looking every inch the darkly handsome king.

When she remained in place and continued to gawk at him, he shot her an impatient scowl.

"Get on," he nodded toward Eos.

Sakura blinked. Deciding that it would be better to wait and see how things unravelled rather than confront him at that moment, she made her way to the saddle. But mounting with a dress wasn't easy, and it took her several fumbling, embarrassing, inexperienced attempts before she finally managed to drag herself, _ungracefully_ , up onto the horse.

As she settled into the polished, plush cushioned saddle, Sakura was grateful that the long, layered skirt kept her legs modestly concealed from view. She gripped the reins as Sasuke took the lead, manoeuvring Alastor to turn ahead of her. The steed snorted, sending a crimson eyed glare her way, before cantering proudly ahead.

Thankfully, Eos did not need to be instructed to follow. Automatically, the white horse moved forward, breaking into a gentle trot. Sakura held onto the bridle tightly, unused to the sensation of riding atop a large, living animal. But the ride was not as bumpy as she had anticipated, and she quickly found herself starting to enjoy how liberating it felt to be on horseback. Eos was well-trained and gentle with her.

Sasuke led her around the palace, to the rolling path lined with dark, crimson blossomed trees, the hooves of their horses clip-clopping loudly against the ground. They soon reached the humungous luminous gates which parted silently to allow their passage. The mysterious, dense mist beyond them, much to Sakura's surprise, had vanished.

"What happened to the fog?" she asked, looking searchingly around them. But all she saw was a vast, stretching cavern.

"I temporarily dispelled it," Sasuke answered nonchalantly, leading the way along the silvery path – which was the next question on the extremely long list Sakura had in her head.

"Where does this path go?"

"It passes through the main intersections of the Underworld," the God of Death replied. He gestured with a gauntlet-clad hand to their right, where the main path split and branched off to an unknown destination. "That leads toward the Asphodel Meadows."

Sakura looked in the direction he had indicated.

"But souls can't follow that path, can they?"

"No," confirmed Sasuke. "They cannot tread beyond the central boarding isle."

"The one with the boats," Sakura recalled, trying to build a clear map in her head of the structure of the Underworld. "And those boats take them to heaven, hell or limbo."

"They sail to the Plains of Judgement – from there they are directed to their final destinations."

 _Plains of Judgement?_ He hadn't mentioned such a place to her before. As they followed the path around a gentle curve to the left, she enquired curiously, "Where are the Plains of Judgement? Have we passed through them yet?"

"No," Sasuke shook his head. "They lie before the borders of Asphodel."

"Oh," said Sakura.

He threw a brief, unreadable glance at her as Eos drew up to walk boldly on Alastor's left side – but she sensibly maintained a careful gap. Alastor exhaled a great, irritated puff of smoke, wrestling briefly with the reins in Sasuke's left hand in open protest. When his master did not order Sakura and her horse to fall back behind them again, however, Alastor ventured onwards with an indignant snort.

"You wish to see it." It was more of a definitive statement than a question.

Sakura looked at him and nodded. "Yes."

He said nothing to that and did not return her gaze. Another minute of silence passed, when something else occurred to Sakura.

"But I thought the black and white boats led straight to heaven and hell," she frowned lightly. Hadn't he told her so before?

"Both boats cross the river Styx," he clarified. "The white one stops at the banks of the Plains of Judgement. From there, souls take another vessel, to either Asphodel or the Elysian Fields."

Sakura listened in wide-eyed fascination. "And the black ones sail straight to hell?"

"To get to Tartarus, they must first pass through the wailing river, Cocytus, and Phlegethon, the river of flame." As an afterthought, he added, "Most souls are judged in the Plains. Those who board the black boats have souls so tarnished, they require no judgement."

Sakura suppressed a shudder. The 'wailing' river sounded horrific – and Phlegethon didn't seem much sunnier, either.

"Tarnished souls; like murderers?"

"Amongst others." There was something almost hypnotic about his black-velvet voice. It was one of the longest exchanges they'd had – and Sakura found that she was enjoying it, hungrily absorbing the new knowledge that was being imparted to her.

"Adulterers," he elaborated. "The gluttonous, those consumed by avarice and vanity. Hypocrites," he paused, before adding coolly, "traitors."

He said the final word so suddenly, so abruptly, that Sakura's spine stiffened reflexively, causing her hands to jerk involuntarily on the reins. Eos whinnied in surprise, tugging at the sudden resistance.

 _Oh God,_ Sakura's heart leapt. _Could I have reacted any more obviously-?_

Sasuke's eyes slid to her, noting the odd reaction. It took a conscious effort from every single nerve-cell in Sakura's body to keep her gaze as neutral as she could.

"Sorry," she apologised lightly. "I guess I'm not used to riding a horse."

When he said nothing else, she forced herself to keep talking, hoping he would overlook the incident.

"So," she was pleased that her voice remained steady. "That main riverbank I've seen – the river there is called Styx?"

"It is the point at which Styx and Acheron merge."

"So how many rivers are there altogether?"

"Five," Sasuke informed her, as they continued leisurely by a rock bearing torches of blue-flame.

"Which river do souls cross over first?"

Sasuke paused. He was indulging much more questions than he normally did – but he reasoned that there was no harm in explaining how the rivers worked to her.

"Acheron," he stated. "The River of Woe."

"That Ferryman brings them, doesn't he? How does it work? Do the souls just line up and wait?"

"Only those who pay may board."

"Pay?" Sakura echoed in surprise. "As in money? How much?"

"One coin is sufficient."

"Where do they get the coins from?"

"They are buried with them."

"What about the souls who have no coins?" she asked, pulling gently on the reins as Eos manoeuvred around another passage and through a wide gap in the rock-face.

"They cannot cross."

He was leading her to a familiar place. Sakura instantly recognised it. It was the very same isle they were talking about.

* * *

Karin prodded another figure forward into the correct line with an impatient sigh. Tiny with mousy brown, curly locks and hazel eyes, the girl looked muddled and frightened. Most did. Luckily she was joining the queue that led toward the white boat.

"Can you tell me where I am?" the girl asked in a tiny voice.

"You're on vacation," Karin spat back unkindly. "What does it look like?"

"But where is this place?" the girl went on.

 _Poor little idiot,_ Karin thought, but felt nothing. Out loud, she snapped, "Do I look like your personal tour operator?"

The girl blinked - then burst into tears. She didn't ask any other questions.

Karin watched the girl, who was probably no older than fifteen at most, shuffle into the queue. The countless years of servitude had hardened her emotions and her sense of compassion. There was no point in sympathising with the dead, or being kind to them. Neither did she have the patience to repeat herself like a broken record by offering explanations to the same questions she heard, over and over again. _Where am I?_ They would all wonder, looking like dazed sheep. _What is this place? What's happening? Am I dreaming? Am I dead?_ And the one that invoked the greatest contempt: _Can you help me?_

Only Sasuke had the power to spare the wretched. He was their only hope of salvation.

To pass the time, as always, she allowed her thoughts to wind down less _innocent_ routes at the recollection of the Underworld ruler's name. _Sasuke._ His handsome image floated tantalisingly in her mind's eye. Like the forbidden fruit, he was enticing, exhilarating. So tall. So effortlessly elegant and regal. He didn't even need to _try_ to be sexy. She was quite sure the term _sexy_ had been specifically inked into dictionaries as a tribute to the delicious _stud_ of a god that Sasuke Uchiha was.

She sighed dreamily, the gloomy river bank zoning out around her as she lost herself to her own dark fantasies. His voice, like rich, liquid silk… his eyes, bottomless black oceans in which she yearned to drown forever… his proud, square shoulders, his lean, strong and smoothly muscled frame…

The fact that he had absolute command over the most feared of all things only added to his allure, of course. Sasuke was enigmatic, intimidating – and he had been fashioned of the night, with a face and voice that were capable of seducing the senses. Making death so much easier to succumb to… and how she wished to be seduced! Karin had been pining so long for him. Her desire was like a physical throb throughout her body, one she couldn't quite pinpoint. She told herself that his standoffishness had to hide the fact that he was truly a shy introvert on the inside. She raised her index finger to her lips and bit into it, a velvety chuckle escaping her throat.

_Sasuke-kun… so shy. So lonely. But with my master-plan, there'll be no way he can resist me. He'll finally open up his eyes and see how beautiful a woman I am! Hee hee hee!_

Sasuke, she was quite positive, would be nothing less than _feral_ in the bedroom. Everything about him screamed dominant, possessive alpha-male. Her mouth watered as she whimsically day-dreamed of being _ravaged_ by the death deity. So much anger, so much restraint, unleashed all at once… a tremor of excitement shot down her spine as she wondered what it would be like to be trapped between the sheets, with the heat of his body against hers, what it would feel like to have those steely muscles tensing beneath her roaming hands.

A low, husky moan deployed deeply in her throat as she turned. Sasuke was just _too_ perfect. Sasuke was everything a god ought to be. Sasuke was-

She nearly choked, swallowing back the moan before it could surface, her cheeks blazing a hue so red, it nearly matched the colour of her tresses.

Sasuke was _right_ in front of her. Looking imperial and delectable clad in grey and black, riding proudly atop his dark steed, and-

Her jaw sagged. Her heart plunged to her feet.

Right by his side, on a beautiful mount she had never seen before – was _her._ The ugly little midget of a girl Sasuke had stolen from the surface. _Suckura._

It took every last fibre of self-discipline Karin possessed to keep from screeching. Sasuke was saying something to the _thing_ that masqueradedas a young woman. She was all dressed up in a silver gown that was far too stunning and feminine for what Karin perceived were her ordinary – no – practically _childish –_ looks.

What did he _see_ in her? Her bubble-gum hair and soda-pop eyes were unusual, Karin granted her that much, but what _else_ did she have that was unique enough to hold the attention of Sasuke Uchiha, the mighty, unattainable god who had never so much as looked _twice_ at any other woman – including the ones who served in his realm? Her figure was nothing special. Her breasts were not as full and amply developed as Karin's own, and she was on the less flattering side of skinny.

Jealousy brewed deep inside her, clawing at her chest, an ugly, scorching, raging emotion that made her see red – quite literally. What was so _special_ about the girl? Special enough to warrant her wearing the finest of clothes, and being given a _horse?_ Karin couldn't quite stomach the fact that Sasuke had actually provided Sakura with her own mount. Had things really progressed far enough between them that the death deity was actually taking turns around the Underworld with the pink-haired _freak_ in tow?

Sakura was riding alongside him, not as if she were his captive, but as if she were his consort. Almost as if she was his _queen._ She looked relaxed on the horse and was looking at Sasuke, _talking_ to _Karin's_ Sasuke. And Sasuke, who scarcely ever strung three words together to form a sentence – unless he was giving one of his forceful, sexy orders - he was actually _replying!_ Using _whole sentences!_

It was the most terrible and sickening sight Karin had ever seen. She wanted to stomp straight up to the snowy horse and yank Sakura off by her unattractive hair. If Sasuke had not been there, she knew she would have. She had never felt so enraged. She'd been trying, in vain, to catch the Death God's attention for _centuries._ Then the stupid little human girl had come along. The water nymph felt cheated. Robbed. She wanted to hurt Sakura.

"What's beyond the river, that way?" Sakura was pointing.

Sasuke's eyes moved in the direction her finger was indicating. He was silent. Then his gaze locked onto her, and he stared at her for another long moment – before disclosing slowly, quietly, "The entrance to the Underworld."

Sakura's eyes darted to his, to find that he was watching her closely and very, _very_ intently. Watching for her reaction to his revelation. She stared back at him, telling herself it was useless to try to hide the startled expression from her face.

Something he had said to her when she had first woken up in the Land of the Dead, words that felt like they had been spoken so long ago, stirred in the catacombs of her mind.

" _You are not a prisoner here, Sakura. Roam where you please. Find a path back to the surface, and you may leave."_

He had just _told_ her which direction the entrance to his Kingdom was. She was even more puzzled and thrown by the unexpected disclosure. When Sasuke's eyes held hers, she felt something flutter nervously inside her chest. Her heart had started pounding.

Pain stabbed through Karin at the exchange. The piercing manner in which Sasuke was looking at Sakura made her want to tear her hair out. She had never seen him look at _anybody_ like that and for so long – but she was well versed in the arts of love and lust.

And the death deity's smouldering look bitterly conveyed to her all that she needed to know. He had eyes for nobody else – but only doe-eyed Sakura couldn't see it.

 _That little_ _bitch_ _,_ Karin internally vented. _Playing the perfect prisoner and sucking up to Sasuke whilst plotting to stab him in the back! I can't let her get away with this!_

Suigetsu had warned her about the consequences of betraying him and Sakura. But to Karin, it was far more dangerous to betray the Lord of Death. She wanted Sakura _gone –_ what would happen if she informed Sasuke about the girl's intended plans? Would he eradicate Sakura's existence?

She already knew that wasn't likely. It was just wishful thinking on her part. Then what other choice did she have but to assist the idiot Suigetsu? How else could she get rid of ugly little _Suckura?_

 _She'll be in bigger trouble with Sasuke if she goes ahead with it,_ Karin acknowledged, smirking darkly to herself. _If I tell him now, the little shrimp might deny it or just blame Suigetsu._

Sasuke's eyes had finally slipped away from the girl to inspect the souls trudging woefully in the lines. Sakura observed them for a moment, feeling a twinge of sadness. There was nothing glorious about death. It was a heart-wrenching process, and the only winners were the people who led righteous lives, who abstained from the tempting wickedness the world offered so readily.

Some of the souls were turning their frightened eyes up to Sasuke, gazing at him with a mixture of awe and terror. But the burly guards stationed with their weapons prevented any who tried from leaving their queues and approaching the death deity. Sakura shifted uncomfortably in her saddle when a cluster of spirit women in one of the lines looked her way. They looked fearful, uncertain. She glanced at Sasuke, to find his expression formidable, utterly unforgiving. She hesitated – before offering the semi-transparent women who were still watching her, a small, tentative smile. It was an automatic reaction, stemming from the humanitarian need to reassure them – even if their fates were beyond her control.

To Sakura's amazement, her smile had an effect. The spirits' eyes widened and they seemed to huddle closer together. One of the younger girls – a tiny thing with mousy brown locks, smiled tearfully back at her.

Sasuke, who had witnessed this interaction, glanced sharply at Sakura.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. But he sounded more incredulous and genuinely baffled by her choice of behaviour than angry.

Sakura instantly looked away from the souls. "I was just-" she fumbled. "They look so sad and afraid. I wanted to make them feel better."

The death deity stared at her as if he were looking at a brand new species of bird, with multiple heads and rainbow feathers.

"What?" she asked stiffly. Hadn't he figured out that he made her feel nervous whenever he gazed at her like that? Then, overwhelmed with the sudden urge to justify her actions, she went on, "Isn't this place scary enough without you scowling down at them, Sasuke?"

"Hn." He snorted at that – and so did his horse.

He was a realist – and she was a hopeless idealist. Making the dead feel better was a cruel thing to do – even when she had intended to be kind. In his opinion, it was better not to mislead the wretched souls who were on their way to being judged. Sakura, however, clearly viewed things differently.

 _Interesting,_ he thought to himself – before spurning Alastor around. They had spent enough time on the banks. Everything was clearly in order.

"Come," he ordered.

Sakura stared after him – before the sensation of being watched more intently directed her focus back in front of her. Her searching eyes met ruby red. Karin was glaring at her with such open hostility that it caught Sakura completely by surprise.

_What's her problem…?_

_Aren't you a hypocrite?_ A snide voice demanded in her head resentfully, rudely breaking off her train of thought. It took a blinking Sakura a few seconds to place it, and to realise that Karin was communicating telepathically with her.

 _Excuse me?_ She sent back in alarm, nonplussed.

Eos pulled impatiently at the reins, clearly wanting to turn after Sasuke, who was listening to something Juugo was saying to him.

Sakura reached out, placing a hand gently on the horse's neck to calm her. "Wait," she whispered. Eos obeyed. Her gaze darted back to Karin. Something about the way the scarlet-haired woman was regarding her sent whispers of unease through Sakura.

 _You're going to stab him in the back, aren't you?_ Karin's voice reverberated acidly. She smiled sweetly, adjusting her spectacles – but there was nothing friendly about the gesture. _Do you really think you can hide anything from his eyes, little idiot? Once he realises, you're_ _dead._

Sakura swallowed and angrily closed her mind, shuttering the connection cleanly off. Karin blinked, surprised by the force at which she had been blocked. Without responding to her, Sakura tugged on the reins and followed after Sasuke.

* * *

The Fates despised him. They delighted in toying with him. It was their intention to humiliate and destroy him. If Sai had ever harboured doubts about their designs in the past, any lingering reservations had been blown cleanly out of the metaphorical water.

What else could explain how he managed to land himself into such precarious situations, over and over again? This time, however, he was certain Sasuke would finally choose to let the curtain fall over his pitiful existence. And any hopes of seeing his brother again would be dashed – forever.

Naruto's insistence that everything would ' _work out'_ did little to soothe his internal agitation. Who had ever taken the goofball's words seriously? Sasuke would toss one withering look at his face and read _everything_. Then it would be the end. _Sayonara_ Sai _._

Of course, that didn't stop Naruto from continuing to profusely offer his reassurances.

"We've got your back, Sai," he nodded, punching a determined fist into the air.

Kakashi sighed tiredly. Blackmailing the God of Death was a fool's plan. Sasuke was a wild-card, utterly volatile – but they were short on options. He levelled his gaze at the dark-haired youth and tried to smooth over Sai's nerves.

"Remember. You're only doing your job. Get the message to Sasuke. We'll take it from there."

Sai, who was doing a remarkably brilliant job of keeping his expression completely blank considering that he was about to be sent on a death mission – quite literally - questioned, "And if I die before the message is delivered?"

"You _won't,_ " Naruto's eyes blazed blue flame. "He knows that we know you're down there. If you aren't back in the time we give you, we pull the plug on him."

"You do realise," Kakashi stated casually, "there is a risk that this may all backfire? That he may instead retaliate and harm Sakura?" His visible eye drooped. "We cannot afford that."

"If he wanted to harm her," exclaimed Naruto fiercely, "you think he'd have waited this long? It's been over two months since that bastard took her!" He shook his head and jabbed a finger into Sai's chest. " _You_ just let me know when you find Sakura-chan – _got it_?"

"I may be stopped before that happens," Sai informed him. "I may not get the chance to make it to the palace."

"You'll make it." Naruto gripped his shoulder tightly. "We've got your back."

"If anything goes wrong, inform us straight away," Kakashi reminded him.

Sai's inky eyes moved from one man to the other. But he didn't feel any better.

"Alright," Naruto said the words that sent Sai's heart pounding to a slow, sickening rhythm. "Let's do this!"

The sound of a cell-phone ringing, however, caused them all to pause. Kakashi flipped his cell's cover, stared at the caller ID. His gaze then flicked to a wide-eyed Naruto.

"Eh? Who is it?"

"Tsunade," Kakashi answered. Lifting the cell to his ear, he swiped and answered.

"Yo."

" _Kakashi,"_ said the serious female voice on the other side of the line. " _Where are you?"_

"Ah," Kakashi's eye turned to the ceiling. "Lost on the road of life, as always," he replied evasively, as Sai and Naruto looked on.

" _Well, reroute,"_ Tsunade snapped. _"Come to base right away. We've found something."_

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me-" he broke off, as the line was abruptly severed. Sighing again, he met Naruto's anxious gaze.

"What did old granny want?" the blond demanded.

"She's called an urgent meeting at base." He paused for a moment, looking from Sai to Naruto, then back to the pale youth. "Don't do anything while I'm gone," he cautioned.

"But-!" Naruto began to protest. Kakashi held up a hand.

"I mean it, Naruto," he said, taking a tone he didn't often use. A tone that clearly conveyed he would not tolerate any kind of disobedience. "Wait for me to return from the meeting first. They might have information we could use before we send Sai down."

Sai remained silent, his face betraying nothing of his inner relief. Naruto scowled, clenching his hands into tight fists. But he swallowed, and stiffly nodded.

"Fine," he promised.

* * *

As they left the riverbank and continued along the silver path, Sakura, troubled by Karin's words and apprehensive of Suigetsu's choice to involve the woman in their schemes, fell into silence.

Sasuke, who rode beside her, noticed her go quiet and slid a surreptitious glance at her. She looked down, and he wondered whether the sight of the souls had dampened her mood. She had spent the way to the river bank asking endless questions. He found that he preferred her conversation, listening to the sweetness of her voice – no matter how much she rabbited on - to her silence.

Silence – that was something that did not suit her.

Sasuke, being Sasuke, did not know how to articulate this eloquently, however. And as the lengthy journey to their next destination pressed on in agitated wordlessness, he instead chose to snap at her.

"Sakura."

Her name was uttered sharply, and with an edge of irritation. She looked up in surprise from where she had been studiously examining the pretty floral designs engraved in the golden reins.

"Huh?" Shaken from her private musings, she blinked at him. "What?"

Sasuke blinked, but did not look at her. "Stop being annoying," he clipped.

She stared at him, offended and confused in equal measures. What in the world did he mean? She had just been innocently minding her own business!

"But I'm not even saying anything," she defended.

He tilted his head back slightly, keeping his vision directly firmly ahead. " _Exactly_ ," he retorted emphatically.

She gawped at him, open-mouthed, as understanding struck her in the face like a physical slap. To her frustration, he continued to make a point of _not_ meeting her gaze. Sakura was glad that Eos seemed to know exactly where she was going, for she was far too busy frowning to concentrate on the route ahead. Of course, her sour expression had absolutely no effect on the death deity.

Her silence _bothered_ him? Sakura couldn't believe it. She found that pretty ironic, given that Sasuke scarcely said more than a couple of words to her, unless it was to explain something about his world.

"You're quiet all the time," she argued. "I don't complain."

 _Only to myself,_ she added privately.

He did look at her, then - a brief, infuriatingly blank look that Sakura had absolutely no hope of deciphering. When he said nothing to her statement, she went on triumphantly, "See? I don't always have to feel like talking-"

"Race me," he interrupted abruptly, evidently bored of her choice of conversation.

"You- _what?_ " Sakura said senselessly, displaced by the mercurial shift in topic.

Sasuke had never struck her as the type to engage in spontaneous behaviour of any sort. The little details she was starting to discover about him made her head spin. She couldn't figure him out.

"A _race_." He reiterated, with exasperated patience, tossing a condescending glance at her. "Do you need a definition?"

Sakura's jaw dropped. _Oh, hell no. He's hurling the sarcastic teasing card on me, now?!_

In fact, she was far too shocked to formulate an immediate response. He had done it before, of course – mocked her sarcastically many times during training – but this seemed different, somehow. They were out in the open of the Underworld's caverns and weren't caught up in the same smothering tension that plagued their sparring sessions.

When her brain eventually kicked back into motion and deployed a reply on the tip of her tongue, she fired it immediately, too caught up in the heat of the moment to consider its consequences. In a rare instance since she had woken up in the Underworld, Sakura consciously allowed her true personality to shine – deliberately choosing not to censor her words.

"I didn't know you were a talking dictionary, Sasuke."

The skewering look he shot her was positively murderous and would have sent any other person screaming for cover – but Sakura found herself deriving a most peculiar sense of satisfaction from it. Her words had actually connected, instead of bouncing harmlessly off impenetrable walls as they normally did. She hadn't missed the way his eyes had initially and fractionally widened in surprise to her bold retort, either.

Instead of being afraid, or cursing herself as she had in the past, Sakura felt something shift as a revelation washed over her. She could tease Sasuke back – and live to tell beyond it. It was a spectacular discovery – and one that surrounded her within a strange bubble of empowerment.

The question remained, however – how far did she dare to push?

Directing the subject back to Sasuke's suggestion, she said, "I'm not used to riding a horse." She wrinkled her nose and added in a mutter, "Knowing me, I'd fall off."

"You have little faith in Eos," Sasuke remarked.

Sakura shook her head. "I don't doubt the horse; just my control of her."

"Eos needs no directing."

Sakura pulled at the bridle, and Eos drew to a compliant stop. Sasuke, noticing this, halted also, turning Alastor fluidly around with a one-handed tug.

She couldn't help but think enviously to herself, at that very moment, how fetchingly dashing the death deity looked on horseback. In contrast, she supposed she looked like a pathetic joke – a clumsy girl masquerading as the elegant woman she was decidedly _not._

Folding her arms unhappily across her chest, Sakura chewed her lower lip.

"What's the _point_? You'll easily win."

Sasuke circled her unhurriedly with his horse. Alastor seemed to be glaring molten fireballs at her and Eos. Sakura found this just a little bit disconcerting.

"Pessimistic, Sakura?"

"Realistic," she countered. "This is my first time on horseback and even if I don't need to steer Eos, I'll probably still lose my balance. A race wouldn't be fair."

Eos snorted, as if in indignation that she would not allow her passenger to go flying from the saddle. Sakura reached out to stroke her silky mane reassuringly. To Sasuke, she said, "I'd rather not race you."

"You're afraid," he taunted, narrowing his eyes disapprovingly at her.

Sakura bristled. If there was one thing she hated, it was being called a coward – even if bravery was something she definitely needed to work on. Sasuke seemed to know it, too and sought to manipulate her weakness.

"I'm not."

"Prove it," he pounced, drawing his steed to a halt directly before her, his eyes glittering with open challenge.

Her brows knotted together to form a frown.

"Why? Even if my horse outruns yours-" Alastor exhaled smoke contemptuously at that. Sakura ignored the arrogant stallion – and the sudden, maddening urge she had to throw something heavy at the conceited animal's head - and went on, "You'll just cheat like you did when we played human chess and turn the tables."

Sasuke appeared mildly affronted. "I did not," he clipped, "cheat."

"You didn't let me complete my final move," she reminded him.

"Hn," he scoffed dismissively. In his books, failing to complete a game was not the same thing as outwardly cheating. Then, with a finality that made it clear he wasn't going to give her a choice in the matter, he uttered, "We race to the end of this silver path."

Sakura was frustrated by his insistence."Why? So you can gloat when I lose?"

He tilted his head somewhat sardonically at her, but gave no reply. The action caused silky strands of midnight hair to fall into his eyes. The words ' _sexy'_ and _'jerk'_ drifted in Sakura's mind. She promptly and crossly snuffed them out.

Fidgeting with the reins, she cast her gaze to the silver path. Following it seemed simple enough. But she remembered what it had felt like to ride in Sasuke's chariot as his horses had hurtled full speed. Could she really hang onto Eos for the duration of the race and come out unscathed _and_ victorious?

 _What do you have to lose?_ A little voice whispered in her head. _At least he hasn't named any winning stakes._

Sakura tried not to dwell too much on the disturbing knots her stomach formed when she considered what kinds of _favours_ the God of Death might have liked to request from her, had he imposed winning rewards.

 _Maybe it'll be fun,_ she reassured herself. She lifted her gaze to Sasuke again, who had been watching her silently with those hawk-like eyes of his.

"Alright," she gave in. "Do I get a head start?"

He lifted a dark eyebrow at that. And she had accused _him_ of being unfair?

"Your horse is faster than mine," she defended. "And I've never raced before."

Sasuke contemplated this. Then he conceded, "Thirty seconds."

"Forty," Sakura pushed her luck.

The death deity scowled at that. Narrowing his eyes, he reluctantly granted, "Fine." Then, angling Alastor out of her path, he uttered, "Go."

The starting command was so abrupt, that Sakura spluttered, "W-wait a minute! I'm not even ready-"

"Thirty-six seconds."

 _Damn it!_ She glowered. He was _so_ unfair-!

The yelp of surprise caught in her throat as Eos released a loud neigh and abruptly bolted forward, at a pace so startling that Sakura had to lower herself in her saddle as she hung on for dear life.

 _Oh my God,_ she thought frantically. _What have I gotten myself into-!?_

She didn't see Sasuke, smirking smugly in his stationary position behind her. He had specifically selected Eos to be Sakura's mount for her impressive speed – but oblivious Sakura had no idea about that. Leaning forward slightly as he counted down the seconds, he murmured to Alastor, "Go easy."

Alastor, ready to race, exhaled a cloud of smoke in response.

Sasuke had been right. Eos required no steering. The angelic horse seemed to know precisely where she was heading, moving swiftly and lightly. Yet every time she veered to the left or right, Sakura's stomach rolled over itself and her heart jumped to her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut, quite certain that she was going to lose her grip at any moment, and threw a frantic glance over her shoulder. They'd taken a turn that had removed Sasuke and Alastor from sight – but Sakura knew it wouldn't be long before the death deity became visible again.

To her bewilderment and pleasant surprise, she soon found herself beginning to get used to riding at great speed. Slowly, she braved sitting up in her saddle, so that she could actually see where she was going. The cavern was passing in a head-spinning blur, and the only coherent thing she could focus on was the silver path, winding glimmeringly before her horse's thundering hooves.

The sensation of her hair being rippled by the air, the grace and beauty of her mount... Sakura began to smile, began to enjoy herself. There was something almost painfully familiar about riding on horseback – even when she knew she had never done it before.

Her long, pale tresses cascaded behind her like a river of rose-tinted silk. Atop Eos, she looked like a glowing angel, bright and glorious, a brilliant beacon warding back the shadows around her. As Sasuke drew up to her right, he saw that she was grinning – and the words he had prepared to direct to Alastor caught unexpectedly in his throat.

She was so achingly beautiful. For an awful moment he was entranced by the sight of her, so spirited, so care-free. Then he noted her posture. She was no longer stooping low in her seat and pressing herself protectively against the horse. She had straightened in her saddle, appeared almost confident in her command of the animal.

She was either an incredibly fast learner – or she had, at some point in her past, mounted a horse before.

Sakura blinked, her joyous bubble threatening to burst when she realised that Alastor and his master had almost caught up to them. She shot a hasty glance at Sasuke.

"Is this the part where you cheat?!" she called to him.

The smirk that played upon his lips was positively devious.

"This is where you lose," he retorted – and pushed his stallion onward. Alastor took the lead with a deafening, triumphant neigh, leaving a trail of smoke as he blazed ahead.

"Eos!" Sakura cried. "Keep going! We _have_ to win!" She was fairly certain her mount was just as eager to claim victory over the pompous Alastor as Sakura was over Sasuke.

Eos careened forward, as if Sakura's commands had imbued her limbs with renewed vigour. She levelled with Alastor, releasing a nicker.

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed, the wind rendering his unruly hair all the wilder as it tossed raven strands into further disarray. "Not bad, Sakura."

"I'm going to win!" she told him.

Sasuke doubted it. He threw her another of his infuriatingly patronising looks – before murmuring something to his horse. Alastor instantly picked up pace, crossing straight in front of Eos's path, kicking up a storm of dust.

Sakura tugged to the right, trusting full faith to her horse. "Let's get off the path! There must be a short cut!"

Eos was already one step ahead. She left the silvery trail – prompting Sasuke to glance sharply their way – and took another route that fell into descent, allowing them to pick up further speed. When Eos took an abrupt left turn, Sakura lurched sideways with an alarmed gasp. The horse immediately veered right, allowing her passenger to quickly straighten. Sakura wound the reins tightly around her wrists as she urged her horse to move faster. Her heart was thumping with the electrifying surge of adrenaline coursing through her arteries. Surely the end of the silvery path wasn't much farther away!

A dark shadow suddenly leapt out from behind the rock-face they'd been following and cut directly in front of them, causing both Sakura and her mount to falter. Eos misplaced a hoof, nearly buckling from the unexpected change in momentum, but managed to recover at the last minute. Sakura yelped and clung on tightly.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's hard voice demanded, drawing up from Sakura's left.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, visibly shaken. "I almost collided into you-!"

"You cannot take this path. Turn her around," the death deity ordered.

"Why?" Sakura scowled. "Because I'm going to win?"

Sasuke glared. The foolish girl had no clue that she was diverging away from the silver route entirely – and was instead heading toward a different and much more unpleasant one – one that was dangerous. She was travelling far too fast to notice that the air had turned thicker and the cavern's rocks had become gradually darker, turning to ominous black.

"Stop. Turn her around," he repeated harshly. " _Now."_

Sakura, mistaking the agitation in his voice for the fact that she was on the verge of winning, struck the heels of her sandals eagerly against Eos's sides. "Don't stop!" she pressed, certain that victory was soon to be hers.

"Sakura-"

Eos galloped nimbly ahead. Sakura thought she heard Sasuke curse. As her mount hurtled unstoppably onwards like a runaway train, the death deity called out to her again.

"Sakura!" Her name sliced through the rushing air. " _Stop!_ "

She looked back over her shoulder, confused by the urgency behind his command. That was funny. She had never heard him speak in such a tone before and hesitated. Maybe something was genuinely wrong with the route she was taking-?

That was the final, coherent thought that waded through her head before her horse released a blood-curdling neigh of terror and stopped dead in her tracks – only a split second after a hand had shot out and clamped around Sakura's right arm. Before she could even process what was happening, she had been yanked roughly from her horse and onto another. Steely arms wrapped around her, and she watched in stupor as something gold flew into the air at vicious momentum. Her saddle, her stumped brain finally registered – which landed several feet away from them – right into what could only be described as a sea of cracked, semi-set black tar. A blanket of heavy, yellow-black mist hung portentously in the horizon ahead. Just looking at it filled Sakura with an inexplicable sense of foreboding dread.

As the saddle landed atop the cracks, a plume of eye-watering, acidic smog erupted into the air. Sakura watched, horrified, as the cracks parted and the saddle connected with black liquid. With a hiss it sizzled, the precious gold melting as if it were mere butter.

 _That could have been me,_ Sakura registered dizzily, and only realised she was trembling when the hard arms enveloping her tightened – almost protectively, as if their owner was thinking exactly the same thing.

_If Sasuke hadn't grabbed me in time, I would've been thrown right off with the saddle and fallen into- into that-_

Into the burning, torturous pit of acid.

There was a long, stunned silence as they watched the remainder of the saddle evaporate into nothingness from their position atop higher ground. Alastor stood at the edge of a gently ascending rise overlooking the pungent sea. He had grown eerily still. Eos's head was lowered guiltily – but Sakura knew it wasn't the poor horse's fault she had accidentally taken a perilous path. It was Sakura who had told her to diverge from the initial route – and Sasuke had been the one to insist on racing.

"You didn't stop." Sasuke finally broke the tense quiet. There was something in his voice she couldn't quite identify. He had pulled her onto his saddle, in front of him, and was holding her close.

"I thought you were cheating again," Sakura answered truthfully, trying to stop her body shaking. She was almost grateful for Sasuke's warmth – but she knew that fear alone wasn't the only thing responsible for her pounding pulse. Her left arm was pressed against his chest – and she could feel that his heart was racing, too.

He exhaled – a strange sound between exasperation and something else, before muttering once again, "You're annoying."

Sakura, who had finally managed to get her quivering under control, said, "It wasn't Eos's fault; she needs more training – and I told you I didn't want to race. I told you I'd fly off, and-"

"Sakura."

She knew she was babbling. She couldn't help it. Shock, she supposed, or maybe it was the awareness of Sasuke's arms, still locked around her, that was responsible for her thought processes coming undone.

"Is that really a river of acid rock?"

"Yes."

This seemed to snap Alastor out of his uncharacteristic stillness. The stallion snorted – something Sakura had gathered he enjoyed doing often. Her eyes moved back to Eos, who had lifted her white head, as if fearful of looking toward Sasuke. And with the way the death deity was glowering at the unfortunate horse, Sakura couldn't blame her. But she had the feeling that Sasuke knew that Eos could not be held to account.

Trying to lighten the mood, Sakura said awkwardly, "Well. I guess I'll need a new saddle."

She snuck a glance at Sasuke, who was still scowling. When she spoke, his heavy-lashed gaze darted onto her. This close, she could see the lighter flecks of grey in his captivating irises.

Sakura watched, catching her breath as something flittering quite distressingly inside her, when the tense, displeased knot between his eyebrows loosened at her words.

 _Did my words really do that?_ Her gaze wandered over his features, before locking back onto his. He held her eyes, his stare so intense – when Alator chose that precise moment to move, causing Sakura to tilt unstably. Sasuke's arms, however, held her firmly in position.

"What's beyond that acid cloud?" Sakura questioned, twisting and lifting her right leg carefully, arranging her long skirt so that she could sit securely, facing forward again as Alastor turned away from the pit. Eos trotted behind them, unsuitable for riding without a saddle.

"Cocytus and Phlegethon," Sasuke answered, his clipped tone making it clear that he did not wish to disclose anything else. Telepathically commanding Eos to return back to the palace, he murmured to Sakura, "Hold on."

Sakura's next words caught in her throat as Alastor leapt forward with a deafening neigh, and she was treated to the true meaning of swiftness. The world careered by in a disorientating yet thrilling hurricane of darkness, broken occasionally by the flare of blue-fire torches and the reassuring glint of the silver path onto which Sasuke had returned them. They passed through luminous, enchanted forests and silent caves, over shallow pools of water and through open, midnight fields. Everything streamed by in an exhilarating blur. Sakura's eyes watered from the sheer velocity of Alastor's movements. The only thing keeping her grounded to reality was Sasuke's steady arms at her sides. She only realised she had been subconsciously gripping onto them instead of the saddle's grip in front of her when she glanced down.

Finally, after it seemed to her that they had been travelling for ages, Alastor began to slow to a canter. They trotted over a transparent, silvery bridge that Sasuke had summoned into existence, allowing passage over the wide, bottomless waters of Styx. They came to a stop on the other side, where Sakura found herself gazing out at what seemed to be a barren field.

"The Plains," Sasuke's voice spoke by her left ear, "of Judgement."

Sakura stared, wide-eyed. The ground was brown, lifeless, cracked in places, as if parched from thirst.

"Why does nothing grow here?" she whispered.

Alastor trotted leisurely forward.

"It is a place of judgement – nothing more," Sasuke stated.

The plains were vast, blurring to shadowy darkness at the horizons. Sakura turned her eyes up to the 'sky'. It was pitch black, but the same stars she had witnessed in other locations burned deceptively, providing the delusion of night. There wasn't a single cloud in sight.

Sakura shuddered. It was somehow even more ghostly than Asphodel had been in its silence, because it contained nothing but endless emptiness. Sasuke's index finger pressed gently against her right temple, and slowly she began to see the outlines of ghostly souls. They littered the place, but the immense area over which the plains spanned was so enormous, it gave the illusion that there were fewer souls than the countless numbers Sakura could see.

Some were lumbering forward, as if the journey was paining them. Others were running, smiling, eager to reach their destination.

"There lies Lethe, and beyond it, the Elysian Fields," Sasuke indicated, pointing to their far right.

"And ahead?"

"Asphodel."

Sakura looked to the left. "What's that way?"

"Another pathway to Tartarus. But souls do not enter through here."

Sakura watched as a young child skipped ahead. Her heart ached. How had the poor thing passed, so young? Tears stung at her eyes as she saw others – children, far too little to belong in the Land of the Dead. Most of them were walking with blissful expressions on their faces. Others were chillingly vacant.

Death did not discriminate. Sakura knew that now, more than ever before.

She noticed as they continued forward that the souls seemed to be dividing ahead. Some were drifting to the right, others continued forward. Their influx from the bank behind them was steady and continuous.

"But how do you judge all of these people at once?" The job seemed like an impossible one for one person to do alone. Even when Sakura reminded herself that the being seated behind her was a god, beyond all mortal capabilities, it seemed mind-boggling to try to comprehend.

Sasuke considered how best to explain it. He had never had to do so before and it felt strange – yet not unpleasant – to describe the process.

"Each human keeps a record of their actions."

"Where?"

"It is housed within their souls. The pure – their souls are brighter. Look," he gestured to a little boy who was running forward, and the older, phantom girl who was following after him.

Sakura gasped. Sasuke's words seemed to lift a veil from before her vision. Suddenly she _could_ see it – with frightening clarity. The marked difference in each soul's consistency and character. Some were dull, monochrome. Others shone brightly, like exuberant lights, pulsating in a myriad of colours.

"The brighter ones know which path to take. The Elysian Fields call to them, and they are drawn to the vessel that will bear them there."

Sakura exhaled. It was so wondrously organised – like a clock that ticked accurately to every micro-second and never, ever faltered.

"And the others…" her focus turned to the duller spirits, who were moving much more slowly.

"They also know their path."

"But don't some try to cross over to the other one?" Sakura asked, recalling how the souls on the boarding isle had tried doing so.

"Yes. My subjects ensure they do not."

Sakura couldn't see any intimidating workers. "Where are they?"

Sasuke hesitated for only a moment - then passed a hand over her eyes – and Sakura gasped again, raising her palms to her cheeks in awe as something spectacular materialised into existence before her.

Hovering like radiant entities in the pitch-dark sky were slender beings of incredible, hallowed light. Protruding from their backs were two pairs of majestic, pure-white wings. They were glorious, heartbreakingly beautiful, with golden, softly curling hair and impaling eyes the colour of luminous, molten amber. Dressed in white robes, each one held a long, pointed spear in one hand and a large stone tablet in another. There were three of them in total, much superior to humans in size. They kept keen sentry over the plains, their glowing eyes accounting for each and every soul. Sakura could tell, just by looking at them, that no soul stood a chance of slipping through the net.

"Angels!" Sakura's eyes watered, blinded by the holy, golden light they emitted.

"Yes," said Sasuke quietly.

"Wow," she sighed, and one of the angels seemed to turn his searing gaze directly onto her. "They're so beautiful!"

As she held the angel's powerful stare, she felt her entire body fill with wonderful warmth – as if she were looking directly at the physical incarnation of the sun's rays. Her mind began to displace, and it was as if those strange, cat-tilted eyes were luring her in. They were the precise opposite to Sasuke's dark, enigmatic beauty and something about the angel's ensnaring gaze called to her soul, like the sweetest of serenades. Something inside her splintered and started to fracture. But she could not look away. Suddenly, she felt oddly breathless, as if she were falling from a great height.

Just as suddenly as she had been able to visualise them, the angels vanished from sight as Sasuke's hand closed protectively over her vision, shielding her from their mesmerising stares.

"Their brilliance is not intended for mortal eyes," he murmured. Sakura breathed slowly out, feeling her body cool again as his hand slipped away.

She shook her head in amazement. Sasuke commanded all of this? What an awful and weighty responsibility it had to be!

How did he rest? Did he ever even have the chance to relax? How did the Underworld uphold itself when he was not patrolling its boundaries? Or could he see things at all times, as surely as he could hear things always? What was that _like?_ Sakura couldn't imagine never being able to switch off. It would drive a human's mind into lunacy.

Her head was swimming with fresh questions. Understanding what it was he did – the sheer _magnitude_ of it - was starting to give way to a budding new respect and appreciation inside of her.

Sasuke controlled _angels._ Surely no evil deity could do such a thing. Sakura felt oddly reassured. He was not bad – his role just predisposed him to being interpreted as such. He had kidnapped her – a wrong thing to do, and certainly inexcusable – but he was not downright malicious. If beings as pure as angels answered to him, then he had to have some degree of goodness inside of him. It was buried away deeply beneath the complex, iron-constructed layers cocooned around him – but Sakura was suddenly convinced that it was there _somewhere._

A strange feeling crawled over her at the realisation. Encouragement? Hope? She wasn't at all sure what she was experiencing.

"Sasuke…" she whispered.

There was a pause. When she did not continue, he prompted flatly, "What?"

She faltered, catching herself. Heat bloomed into her cheeks. What was it she _wanted_ to say to him?

"Uh- I- I just wanted-" she fumbled. "To thank you," she finished lamely. "For letting me see the angels."

Sakura swallowed. _Damn it._ That hadn't been what she had wanted to communicate at all…

She could feel him staring at the back of her dusk-head. But he said nothing.

Her ears suddenly perked when she caught the remnants of a whisper in the air. The more she listened, the more she heard. Laments and moans; whispers and laughter.

"What is that?" she asked, turning her head curiously. "That sound?"

"The deepest and most secretive of memories fill this place," Sasuke answered. He was somewhat surprised that she could hear them at all. "Anything that was concealed is revealed here, ahead of judgement."

' _I wish I had told him I loved him…'_ Sakura heard the air sigh.

' _If only I'd had another hour…'_

' _My father never liked me going outside alone. I should have listened.'_

' _My brother will be glad to see me! Did he come this way, too?'_

' _Lucas my love, we'll be together at last!'_

' _Did my sacrifice pay off? Am I going the right way?'_

Others were spoken in languages she could not understand. It was like a relentless hum. Sakura wondered if this was what it was like being a deity.

"You hear them all the time, don't you?" she said softly.

His silence confirmed it.

"That's why you listen to petitions in your throne room." Understanding dawned over her. "But they must appeal to you all the time. How do you choose who to listen to?"

"Only those who have repented are heard." He paused, before continuing, "But often, it is too late."

Sakura watched the souls, listening to the ones she could understand.

' _I was a hard-working farmer. Everything I did, I did for my family.'_

' _Mother. Will she be alright without me?'_

' _I hope my husband can raise our child well enough on his own.'_

' _Why? Why couldn't I save him in time?'_

She turned her head – just as Sasuke dismounted. "Stay there," he ordered both Sakura and Alastor firmly as he ventured forward, inspecting the plains. Alastor breathed out smoke, casting a contemptuous look back at the female, still seated in the saddle, making it clear that he was not happy about carrying her.

She folded her arms and scowled at him.

"What? Are you going to throw me off?" she demanded of the horse. "I don't think Sasuke would be too happy if you did-"

That was when something else drifted in Sakura's mind, causing her to ignore the indignant stallion entirely. The hum grew louder in her head.

' _Kore,'_ a voice echoed. ' _Kore…'_

She looked around, trying to locate the source. But the words seemed to be coming from her own mind, rather than around her – a memory that was nobody else's but her own. Which was utterly absurd. She shook her head, trying to empty her thoughts. Every time she did, however, the hum returned, more insistently than before.

' _Kore! Come on!'_

"What?" she whispered. Alastor had turned his head and was watching her closely. But she paid him no heed.

' _Before your mother comes back! Give me your hand, already!'_

 _I don't-_ Sakura's thoughts were slurring, coalescing into something gooey and incoherent. Her body was prickling all over. _Who is that?_ Who was speaking to her? Why did he sound so familiar? But the echo was so strong, she could not place it. Without warning, her vision began to blur. She blinked, alarmed and opened her mouth to call to Sasuke. The words lodged in her throat. Leaning forward, she reached out, gripping onto the only thing she could make out through the sudden haze of colours swarming across her sight. Alastor's black mane.

Her mind was throbbing. It seemed to be on fire, and she had broken out into a cold sweat. What was _happening_ to her?

 _Don't be afraid,_ a foreign voice, as sweet as a flute, spoke fleetingly to her. It was like a far-off memory, one she was on the brink of remembering – but whenever she thought she had it, it slipped out of her grasp again like a flighty bird. Trying too hard to catch it caused blistering pain to pound at her skull.

_You're just trying to remember me._

_Who… are you…?_ Sakura's mind had turned into a bubbling, jumbled mess. She could barely keep herself awake and upright. Her limbs felt like jelly – paralysed and useless, beyond her control.

 _I am Kore,_ the same voice whispered. _I am you._

 _What…?_ The world spun and she gasped at the frightening, crackling sensation of electricity coursing through her brain – like a fuse going cleanly out. Alastor's loud neigh was the last thing she heard before the world plunged into darkness.

Sasuke turned at the sound of his steed's call, ready to mentally snap at him to behave – just in time to see Sakura swaying dangerously to the right. His eyes widened in alarmed surprise when, an instant later, she toppled off Alastor. In a heartbeat he had flash-stepped forward and closed the gap between them, catching her just before she struck the barren earth. Lowering her to the ground and crouching beside her, he peered into her face.

She was pale. Her skin was clammy and her eyes, behind their closed lids, were rolling erratically, as if she was caught in a frenzied dream.

The air arrested in his lungs. He had witnessed this before.

"Sakura," he called to her, shaking her firmly but gently, knowing even as he did so, she would not respond. " _Sakura_."

Her shallow breathing was the only reply he received.

* * *

" _Come on, Kore!"_

_Apollo's hand around hers was warm and reassuring. Kore stifled a half-terrified, half-enthralled giggle as they raced away from her mother's temple. It was midnight, and Demeter had been called to another of Zeus's secretive council meetings._

" _One of these days, my mother will find out about this, and she will skin you alive!" she admonished, only half-serious._

_He shot back a brilliant smile, as brilliant and glowing as the Sun itself. "Ah, who even cares? She's such a boring old bat, isn't she? Doesn't know how to have any fun!"_

" _That is my mother you are referring to!" Kore gasped, affronted, as they ran down a sloping hill._

" _You agree with me."_

" _Shush! Apollo! I'll smack you!"_

_He chose that moment to lose his footing – whether deliberately or not – and with a shout pulled her down after him. They rolled down the slope, laughing hysterically, landing in a tangled mass of limbs and rich clothing. Apollo, who had made sure he fell at the bottom to bear the brunt of the impact, grinned deviously up at her, his beautiful blue eyes glittering mischievously._

" _How about a little kiss for all my troubles?" He puckered up._

_Kore blushed, and pushed herself off him. This time, she_ _did_ _hit him, an angry punch to his left shoulder. Apollo howled theatrically, mock hurt dancing across his tanned, handsome features._

" _Kore! Endless is my love for you! Why won't Aphrodite answer my prayers?" he half-cackled, half cried._

_Kore could never stay upset at him for too long. She clutched at her ribs, gasping with laughter._

" _Because you are an idiot, and your heart already belongs to another!"_

_Apollo covered his face deplorably with his hands. "Never!" he vowed. "There is no beauty in this world like yours, Kore-"_

" _Hush! They shall hear us!" Kore pushed at him. "Run!"_

_Apollo dropped the act and grabbed her hand again. They tore through a forest, teasing and bantering, like brother and sister – or, to unknowing eyes who did not know the nature of their relationship – something much more._

" _My mother will_ _kill_ _me!"_

" _Pfft. She can't. Without you there can be no Spring," Apollo helpfully reminded her._

" _I must go back," Kore panicked, pressing an anxious hand to her amusement flushed cheeks._

" _No!" Apollo grasped her arm again. "Let's run away to Poseidon's temple. How long do you think it will take your grumpy old mother to find us?"_

" _Apollo-!"_

" _Imagine the look on her face. Imagine if we didn't tell Poseidon," Apollo's eyes lit up with excitement. "Imagine what she would do to him!"_

" _She would turn him into a frog!" Kore exclaimed, grinning. "Oh, Apollo, you mustn't do that!"_

" _Do not worry. I'll just get my smooth old man to charm her back into a good mood – or better yet – call Dionysus to do it for us!"_

_Kore was laughing so hard, she could barely catch her breath._

_Such was how Hades, who had been quietly minding his own business and taking an uneventful stroll in the forest, came upon them in a clearing – clutching hands and sniggering in glee._

_He froze. Apollo and Kore froze, too._

_Then Apollo, blinking in disbelief, hooted, "Hades! You bastard!" He pointed. "What are you doing walking in a forest alone?"_

_Hades scowled at him. "Your racket is loud enough to wake the dead."_

_This only seemed to send the Sun God into further hysterics. "Oh! That's good! Kore! See what he just did there? Hahahahaha! Who knew you had a sense of humour, Hades?!"_

_But Kore's smile had vanished. She met Hades's eyes almost fearfully, the memory of their previous, tense encounter flashing through her mind. When Hades had gotten a glimpse of who she was – and had provided her with a sample of his terrifying power, also._

_Hades's narrowed eyes flicked involuntarily to their entwined fingers. He looked back to Kore – before glaring murderously at Apollo._

" _Moron," he muttered, voice dripping with disgust._

" _Ah, shut up," Apollo waved his insult off. "Are you in? We're going to get Poseidon changed into a frog!"_

" _Apollo!" Kore struggled to muffle her laughter with her free hand._

_Hades stared at him as if he had sprouted another head – or two._

_A sudden, enraged shout filled the air. "APOLLO!"_

_Kore bristled, clutching onto him. "Hestia!" she gasped. "She knows!"_

_Apollo looked unconcerned. He simply shrugged and said, "Hades, you stay here. That way, Hestia can blame you for running off with Kore, while we disappear."_

" _What?" Hades hissed – but Apollo did not give him a chance to say anything else. He took off, with Kore in tow._

_The goddess threw an almost apologetic glance back at Hades, before disappearing into the undergrowth._

_Hades_ _ never _ _gaped – although he came precariously close to doing so at that precise moment. Then he looked to his right. Someone was coming._

" _Better keep up, Hades!" Apollo's voice taunted. "Unless you want Hestia to turn you into a weasel!"_

_Hades cursed, wondering how the idiotic_ _ lunatic _ _of a Sun God always managed to drag him into such insane situations – before wisely turning to follow after the pair. They ran, and Hades swiftly caught up to them. Without warning, he cut between Apollo and Kore, yanking the goddess out of Apollo's grasp with a smug smirk._

_Kore's heart leapt to her throat as Hades's cool hand closed in a vice-like hold around her slender wrist._

" _What are you-!" she began in shock._

" _We have unfinished business, goddess," Hades murmured over the rushing of wind around them, and the pointed look he flashed at her caused a tremor of_ _something_ _to shoot down her spine._

" _HADES!" Apollo roared, shaking with rage._

_Kore frowned. Hades was so forceful – but she would not allow him to intimidate her – not this time. She dug her feet into the earth, forcing him to an abrupt stop._

_He turned to glower at her, conscious that Apollo would catch up in a matter of seconds._

" _Come with me," he hissed._

" _No," she answered, holding his dark gaze. "You want to kidnap me."_

" _What?" he looked incredulous. Then he scowled, and snapped, "Don't flatter yourself."_

_She hesitated despite herself. "Then what_ _ do _ _you want?"_

_Before he could answer, Apollo leapt between them, shoving Hades back._

" _Don't touch her!" he sneered, holding an arm protectively in front of Kore. "I told you before! This one is off limits!"_

" _So you speak for her?" Hades pounced. He met Kore's green-gold eyes and added quietly, "Hn. You really_ _are_ _a child."_

_Kore felt indignant heat assault her cheeks. "I am not-" she began. "We are_ _ not _ _-"_

_Apollo threw an arm around her, pulling her close as he smiled slyly. "What's this? The great Hades,_ _jealous_ _that I have a pretty girl?" He snickered. "I know it hurts. If you were anywhere near as charming as I am, then maybe-"_

 _Hades snorted. Charming? More like_ _stupid._ _But something glinted dangerously in his dark grey eyes._

_Kore punched Apollo in the stomach. He doubled over, losing all credit. "Ouch! Kore-!"_

" _Stop it!" she frowned at Apollo._

_Hades folded his arms, smirking darkly._

" _Apollo!" Hestia's voice sounded even closer - and angrier._

" _Do you have to ruin everything all the time?" Apollo snarled at Hades. "Stay out of my way, and stay away from Kore! You hear me?!" With that, he grabbed Kore's wrist. "Let's go!"_

_Her eyes lingered on Hades – before she allowed herself to be pulled – almost reluctantly - away._

_Hades's eyes narrowed after them. Then he sneered disdainfully. He had never listened to the mindless fool before - and he was not about to ruin a perfect record. He had absolutely no intention of doing what Apollo had said._

* * *

The dream faded and in its place, slipped consciousness. Someone was shaking her persistently, calling her name.

' _Sakura'._

 _Kore._ Her lethargic mind corrected. _It_ _is_ _Kore… isn't it?_

Her only answer was the hum in her ears.

"Sakura. Open your eyes."

The voice seemed familiar. It merged with the remnants of her dream, which were slipping rapidly out of her recollection. But one thing lingered. Something she clung desperately onto.

_H-Hades…?_

Her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was a dark sky – then her blurry gaze panned onto something else. She blinked through the haze, her vision finally clearing to find Sasuke staring down at her. There was a look of concern on his face – it made him seem younger - almost vulnerable. But surely she had imagined it, for when she blinked again, his face wore its usual mask of indifference.

He was holding her in his arms, supporting her as she half lay, half sat on the cracked ground.

"Ugh," her head fell back, pain throbbing through her mind. She closed her eyes briefly, fighting back a smothering wave of nausea.

"What happened?" the death deity demanded, his voice low.

 _I don't…_ Sakura's mind was still disorientated. _I can't remember._

But dark eyes flashed across her vision. A smug smirk, a hand clasping her wrist. A jubilant race through a leafy forest.

Her eyes flew open again. She gasped as a whirl of memories, memories that could not possibly belong to her, made the world lurch violently on its axis again.

Sasuke, alarmed, gripped her more tightly. "What is it?" The frustration in his voice was palpable. " _Sakura-_ "

" _Hades…"_ she croaked. Her eyes were glassy, unseeing. As if she was looking at something far away.

Sasuke tensed. "What are you?" he hissed. "You cannot know that name, not unless you-" he broke off abruptly, stunned into quiet by the words she whispered next.

"You…" she reached up with a trembling hand, as if she wanted to touch his left cheek – but did not. Instead her fingers hovered, just shy of connecting. "You look… just like him…"

He stared at her, aghast. Their surroundings had vanished, and all he could see were her eyes. All he could hear was the riotous rushing of blood in his ears. His heart was thundering in his chest, to a rhythm so sickening he half wanted to tear the treacherous organ out.

"Sakura," his throat felt oddly parched, and he could not understand it. "I-"

Before he could finish, she stiffened, hand dropping limply to her side. Her eyes rolled back in her head, as without warning, she fell into unconsciousness once again, leaving the death deity gazing in silent consternation at her.

* * *


	37. Chapter XXXVI

**Chapter XXXVI  
**

* * *

_Unchained is Truth,_

_That struggles to fly,_

_The cruellest of binds,_

_That keep her prisoner,_

_In abandon – confined,_

_The key that goes without a name,_

_Twisted by the wear of time,_

_Rests from whence it first came._

_In His trembling, open palm.  
_

* * *

Alastor returned them to the palace speedily. After dismounting, Sasuke had whisked an unconscious Sakura into his arms and carried her to her chamber. He presently sat on the bed beside her slumbering form, watching as her chest rose and fell in time to her steady breathing. Her apricot cheeks were flushed, and it suddenly struck Sasuke how extremely young and fragile she looked.

He reached out, brushing his fingertips along the silken skin of her jawline, unmindful of the gentleness behind his gesture. It was strange, he thought absently; how he had never really given much consideration to her age. She had turned nineteen in his Kingdom and it had only been a few years earlier that she'd been a child by mortal standards.

To Sasuke, she was still, in many ways, a child; one on the very cusp of womanhood – but she was afraid to take the final, irreversible steps that would allow her to burst into full bloom.

 _Afraid…?_ He reconsidered. No. Sakura was more mature than others her age, and more than ready to grow up. She had only been _denied_ from fully doing so _._

Her mother had smothered her. He wondered how Sakura would react when she realised that she had been stifled by the very people she loved and followed so blindly. They had kept their world hidden from her – the very same world into which he had stolen her away. Once again he tried to fathom why. Had they thought her incapable of accepting the truth?

It had taken Sakura time, but she had managed to adjust to his realm. Now she was fully functional in it and no longer doubted anything she encountered. He dismissed the notion. Tsunade could not have possibly withheld information because Sakura was unable to process it.

So there was really only one possible conclusion, only one way that justified their actions. They had lied to the girl to keep her safe. Sakura would only require protection if she possessed something of great value. Sasuke knew who their greatest enemy was, but that deity had long been confined to the sky, bound to the ruins of a once resplendent Kingdom, forbidden from descending to the world of mortals.

He smoothed aside a stray lock of hair that had fallen over Sakura's eyes. What of the contaminated blood sample he had acquired? What did Kabuto ultimately intend to do with it? And how did Sakura's mysterious recollections and episodes fit in with everything?

A thought suddenly occurred to Sasuke. The memories Sakura could not possess - what if they had somehow been suppressed? He was not able to access her mind in her dream states – and that was something, as the governor of death, he ought to have been able to do easily.

As his mind raced, his pulse also began to pick up pace. A complex seal surely _had_ to be blocking him from connecting to her deepest subconscious. It made terrible sense; a seal so powerful and advanced in its intricacy, that even his eyes could not detect it.

It was a difficult concept to digest. Sasuke had always been a practical god; his Sharingan was capable of seeing _everything_. If he could not see something, then it likely did not exist. Or so he had been raised so proudly to believe…

He rapidly scoured his knowledge of complex seals, recalling a number of memory inhibiting techniques. But each one had a weakness and was capable of being reversed by the Sharingan. There was no permanent technique he knew of, to completely steal away a person's memories. Only Lethe had the power to do so.

Drinking from the river washed away all remembrance – including events from past lives ahead of reincarnation. But for that to happen - for a soul to be sent back to the land of the living – they would have to pass through the Underworld's gates first.

In the countless ages that had passed since he had prematurely ascended his Kingdom's throne, the Death God had only ever sent back one soul.

Sakura's spirit had never passed through his realm. And he knew for a fact that she had never drunk from Lethe's amnesia-inducing waters. That also did not explain the perplexing block on her mind; just attempting to tap into it sent a jolt of blinding pain zigzagging straight through Sasuke's skull.

He drew his hand back, gazing down at her serene face. There _had_ to be a seal. The seal was seemingly weakened when she drank ambrosia. But ambrosia was also the only thing that kept her 'episodes' at bay. It seemed to have a contradictory effect on her – paining her with phantom visions of an era long gone - yet it worked to suppress the agony that assailed her at the start of Spring.

 _Spring._ The growth of new flora on the surface had stumped since he had taken Sakura. It had been over two months, and the surface was unnaturally fruitless for the time of year. Plant life was struggling to bloom.

Sasuke's heart was now pounding, as he finally allowed himself to really consider what picture the fragmented pieces he had collected formed when placed together.

There were two possibilities. He would have scoffed at them before, for the only wise, powerful deities capable of performing such higher order rituals had long since departed.

_Hadn't they?_

It disturbed Sasuke that he suddenly could not feel entirely convinced.

One theory was that Sakura was a goddess who had been stripped of her abilities. However, the very idea was preposterous to Sasuke. He would have _remembered_ her – and she would not have been born again as a mortal. There were goddesses who had parted with their active gifts – like Hestia and Aphrodite – but Sakura was not the same.

The other, more likely and troubling explanation was that she possessed mortal blood, had been born and raised as a human – but housed what was left of a deceased goddess's soul. What if Tsunade – for desperate reasons still unknown to him - had sealed the remnants of a goddess inside Sakura to keep it hidden? What if those remnants were in a constant battle to take dominance over the mortal vessel into which they had been so forcibly locked – resulting in Sakura's distressing attacks?

Sasuke released a low hiss through his teeth. While it was possible to seal deity souls within human shells, it was also exceptionally hazardous. In most instances, the human spirit was completely overcome and then devoured. The body, unable to house a divine soul, soon succumbed to poisoning and delirium, wasting away into nothingness.

Naruto had mentioned the _'essence of Spring'._ The death deity frowned, trying to recall any remembrance he had of a past Spring Goddess. _Demeter_ , as she had been known back then, had governed over the harvest, but who else had there been…? His brain kept drawing blanks, unable to flag up any other name or face. The more he tried to dwell on it, the more his mind felt like it was straining.

He had seen the photographs of Sakura as an infant and a child – but had never spied pictures of her father. He had always assumed that her father had been a mortal. Now it struck him as extremely odd that Sakura never asked about the man who made up part of her heritage.

Sasuke rose quietly from her side, turning away to pace agitatedly before the crackling fireplace.

Was she really Tsunade's daughter at all? If she was, then at least part of her blood would be immortal. She would be a demigoddess. But she wasn't. When Sakura was hurt, she bled. She tired like a human, needed sleep like a human. If she was mortally wounded, she would die.

But there were other things about her that were not so human-like. The mystery of her soul. Her uncommon proficiency in chakra direction. And of course, the maddening recollections of _Hades._

What was she seeing in her dreams? Did she see other gods and goddesses, too? Why was it only that name she remembered? And if ambrosia alone was capable of triggering the dreams, then what had caused her to lose consciousness in the Plains of Judgement?

 _Past memories,_ he realised. _Nothing can hide there._

But Sakura had not arrived on the plains as a deceased soul. She ought not to have been able to recall lost memories as a living human.

Unless- unless the goddess's remnants – which were arguably deceased - had somehow been stirred into activation in the plains…

Sasuke stopped, staring wide-eyed into the flickering flames.

If she _did_ indeed hold the spirit of a deity, then that explained the memories. It was also a possible factor for why Tsunade and the others had chosen to shelter the girl. For she would surely not react kindly to knowing that she'd had a divine essence sealed inside her against her choice and knowledge. An essence that needed to be concealed from watching eyes who were seeking it – and likely the power it commanded.

Sasuke exhaled. It was a wild, _insane_ theory. He shook his head, raking a frustrated hand through his raven hair. He had always been complemented on possessing an exceptionally sharp mind – but at that moment he wanted to switch his damned thoughts off. He could scarcely believe the idea he was entertaining – and what unsettled him even more greatly was that it seemed to make such _awful sense_.

He needed confirmation, of course – but if it was the truth… what, then, would the implications be for Sakura…?

The unpleasant sensation brewing like an ominous storm in his chest was unexpected in its intensity. It made him _angry,_ watching Sakura suffer for reasons she did not even know or understand. He wanted answers, but Sakura had a right to know them, too. Tsunade, he knew, was the key. She could confirm why Sakura had the strange episodes, episodes that left her gasping for air and doubling over in pain. She could tell him why Sakura had recollections of names far beyond her life-span.

A soft moan caused his thumping heart to skip a beat. He spun on his heel to find Sakura stirring in bed. In four long strides he had returned to her side. Perching on the plush mattress's edge, he placed a hand onto her left shoulder and shook her gently.

"Sakura."

"Hmmm…" she hummed, turning her face away from him. She sighed, and appeared to doze again.

Sasuke blinked. He had been waiting, quite murderously, for her to wake up what seemed like forever. He was absolutely _not_ about to permit her to lounge in extra minutes of luxury. He shook her again, this time more insistently.

"Sakura. _Wake up._ "

" _Mdooonwannaa_ ," she mumbled.

"What?" he scowled and leant forward to listen more closely.

" _Mnooooo. Dun wanna. Not wake up for school. Huh."_

Sasuke stared at her. Then he shook her again.

"Open your eyes," he ordered sharply.

She tried to roll onto her side, but his firm hold prevented her from doing so.

" _G'waaay_ ," she groaned. " _Mdontwantbreakfast_."

Sasuke's jaw clenched in open irritation. The hand on her shoulder tightened as the final threads of patience swiftly unwound from the extremely short yarn he possessed. He was just about ready to throw all courtesy out the window and _yank_ the annoying girl up-

" _Go awaaay!_ " she whined. Without warning her right arm flew up and swatted the air viciously – cleanly striking the right side of Sasuke's jaw. He blinked in surprise - then glowered down at her. As he reached out to jerk her up by her shoulders, her right arm flailed between them once again, as if she were trying to swat aside an intrusive insect. With an angry hiss, he grabbed her wrist and pinned it above her head.

She struggled in semi-sleep, muttering incoherently underneath her breath.

"Wake up," he bit out, willing it with his mind. " _Now_."

Sakura's eyelashes fluttered, before finally opening. She blinked, looking disorientated. Her green eyes were darker than usual, heavy with the leftovers of sleep. Then she realised with a heart-wrenching jolt that she was in bed, and Sasuke was leaning over her – _far too close –_ and he was holding her right arm in an iron grip over her head.

It was enough to chase the last cobwebs of drowsiness out of her head.

"Wha-!" she gasped, her chest heaving as she found herself immediately breathless in the face of his proximity. Heat shot to her cheeks, as she tried – in vain – to wrestle herself out of his hold.

"Sasuke-! What are you _doing_ -?"

"You hit me." His irked glare was so heated in its intensity that Sakura was certain her head was ready to spontaneously combust.

Her lips parted as she incredulously registered his words, half relieved, half flabbergasted. She had _what?!_

A part of her was utterly mortified – even if she _had_ done it unconsciously.

Another part, a secret part she wanted to shove into oblivion at that very moment, inwardly rejoiced, whispering that she ought to have done it a lot sooner, and it was a pity that she hadn't been able to see his reaction to it.

When he finally released her and sat back to give her space, she bolted upright and floundered, "What?" She spotted the faint red mark just below his right cheek - and gaped at him.

"I'm so sorry-"

"Be quiet," he snapped, cutting her off abruptly. Sakura gulped, twisting the silk sheets anxiously between her fingers as her mind finally caught up. They were back in the palace, in her bedroom, and she was still wearing her beautiful silver gown.

Sasuke did not look pleased. She had a funny hunch, however, that his less than jolly mood was only partly due to her accidentally slapping him in the face whilst asleep.

Then it hit her. They had been in the Plains of Judgement. She had seen the angels. The last thing she remembered was having a terrible headache, and then-

Sasuke's dark eyes were watching her searchingly. She could see the tension coiled around the muscles of his chiselled jaw.

Before she could attempt to say anything else, the death deity demanded, "What do you remember?"

Sakura's gaze lowered and she swallowed as she strained to answer. "I… I remember hearing voices. You said they were the memories of spirits…"

Sasuke waited. His hands, by his sides, were tightly clenched.

Sakura shook her head in puzzlement. "Then I heard another voice. But… it didn't sound like it belonged to a soul."

The Death God stiffened, unprepared for the possibility of Sakura actually recollecting. He leant forward, peering at her closely, urging her to continue as his pulse accelerated once again.

" _And?_ " he prompted impatiently at her silence.

"It was weird. Different." Sakura met his eyes. "It was like I was hearing it from right inside my head."

"What did it say?" Sasuke pressed.

Sakura's brain hummed vacantly. She raised a hand to her forehead, rubbing when it ached with increasing intensity as she attempted to recall what she had heard.

"I-" she frowned, her thoughts feeling oddly fragmented. "I don't remember. My head hurt and then I must have passed out…" her voice trailed off.

There was a long silence. Sasuke was the one to finally break it.

"You were dreaming."

Sakura slowly exhaled. A dream…? It was as though she was on the verge of recollection – but every time she tried to grasp at its tethers, the memory evaded her again. Like an old movie she had watched long ago – and forgotten.

She touched her throbbing temples, both bewildered and worried. "What's happening to me…?" she whispered.

Sasuke regarded her silently for another minute – before rising to his feet. He began to pace away from her, as if he were lost deeply in his own thoughts. She looked after him expectantly - surely he had the answers to all her queries.

He stopped before the fireplace. With his back to her, he said shortly, in a tight, curt voice, "You spoke again of Hades."

 _Hades._ Once more, the word stirred something in her mind, a fleeting rustle. It was almost tantalisingly familiar - but it disappeared as quickly as the passing of a transient breeze – there one second, gone the next.

"Hades," she repeated, staring at her palms, hoping that repetition would somehow help. It did not. She was struck, however, by how darkly alluring the name sounded when uttered aloud. As though it held a mysterious and mighty power.

Her gaze lifted to rest on where Sasuke was still standing, so quietly and still by the hearth.

"I don't know why I would say that name," she said, genuinely bothered by her lack of ability to explain why she was speaking of someone with whom she was not even acquainted. "I don't know who that is."

She did not see Sasuke's eyes lower and close briefly. She saw only the curling of his fingers, as they formed tense fists.

The crackle of the flames dancing hypnotically in the fireplace was the only sound that punctuated the long, suffocating silence that ensued. Sakura's blood was rushing in her ears. Something about Sasuke's extended wordlessness and standoffish body language was prickling her skin with uneasiness, making her feel edgy and nervous. She pushed the covers back, and slipping her legs over the edge of the bed, feeling the need to move, to do _something._ Anything.

Then, just when she was contemplating whether or not to go to him, the death deity spoke. So quietly – as if he were speaking more to himself - that Sakura almost missed what he uttered completely.

"It was my name."

Sakura stared at him in astonishment. Had she heard correctly? But she knew, as the crushing silence yawned to an endless chasm, that her ears had not misconstrued. She leaned forward, still perched on the mattress, her fingers digging into the luxurious bedding.

"I don't understand," she began uncertainly.

Sasuke did not respond. It was as though he was suddenly not listening to her at all.

Not knowing what else to do, Sakura stood up, and ventured carefully, "Sasuke?"

Her call seemed to snap him out of his private reverie. Blinking, he expanded briefly, "When different races die, new generations assign their own names for deities."

She considered this. It made sense – that throughout the ages, different faiths and tribes of people would use altered names for what was ultimately a single - and the same - divinity.

So Hades was such a name? Which civilisation had used it – and what had happened to those people?

"But Sasuke _is_ your real name – isn't it?" Sakura pressed, curiosity gnawing away at her.

Sasuke was silent. Every god had a given name - one bestowed upon them at birth, in much the same way humans did – but the true name of a deity was personal to them and their immediate family only. It was considered arrogant, blasphemous and a great sin for a human to utter a god's true name – as if they were familiars or equals of sorts. They had kept their names hidden from mortal knowledge throughout history and adopted the names created by humans.

 _Hades_ had been the first name humans had used for him, coinciding with the time of his birth and by which he had been worshipped during a significant phase of his life - a time that had initially been the most glorious for his Clan. But it had ended up being a name that he wished he could eradicate entirely from his history – along with every cursed thing that had happened whilst he'd borne it.

After the calamitous event that had occurred, however, everything had changed. Their temples had been destroyed and eroded, until they no longer existed – and neither did the names they had carried for so long. They discarded them and the surface gods, their powers inhibited and fuelled by the desperation to blend into their enforced mortal surroundings, reverted to their original names, finding no further cause to keep them secret – because humans no longer believed in them as deities, anyway.

Sakura wondered why he was not answering. A whirlwind of questions was spinning furiously in her mind; if Hades was an old name mortals had once used for him, why was she muttering it in sleep? Why couldn't she ever _remember_ saying it? And why didn't he use the name anymore?

He turned to regard her steadily, answering her question with a statement of his own.

"Your name."

She blinked, confused and caught off-guard.

"What?"

"Sakura," he drawled silkily, slinking away from the fireplace with the grace of a black panther prowling toward her. "Is that your real name?"

"Of course it is," she frowned, folding her arms automatically across her chest as he drew nearer. "Sasuke-" she tried to direct the query back at him again, but the God of Death, who had stopped immediately before her, was carrying on.

"Who named you?"

Sakura stared at him. Was that a trick question? A _joke?_

"My mother," she said confusedly. "Sasuke, what's-?"

"Not," he interjected, "your father." It wasn't a question.

"No," she swallowed and looked away, suddenly uncomfortable. She never talked about her father to anybody and had given up asking her mother for information about him many years earlier. But Sasuke, she reminded herself, was a deity – one who had made it clear that he did not judge the living.

Somehow, that reassuring fact made it easier for her to breach the sensitive topic.

"He walked out on us two months before I was born." Shaking her head, she added, "You know; I've never even seen a photograph of him." Hugging herself, she finished with conviction, as if seeking to convince herself, "It doesn't matter. We've never needed him."

"…" Sasuke watched her. He said nothing to that.

Sakura glanced back at him, eager to change subject. Frowning again, she said perplexedly, "But why would _I_ be saying that name in sleep? How could I know it? That's just impossible."

His charcoal eyes searched hers unwaveringly. When he answered, something in his tone caused little prickles of alarm to surface on the bare skin of her arms.

"Is it, Sakura…?"

Her brain felt like it had turned to incoherent, sticky mush, making thinking clearly exceptionally difficult. She was having phantom dreams and apparently speaking a name that humans had assigned to Sasuke long ago – certainly long before her time. What was going _on_? What was even more alarming was that the god standing before her did not seem to have a direct explanation, either – unless he simply enjoyed spinning circles of deceit around her.

 _No_ , she dismissed. He was not deliberately weaving confusion over her. She knew it. There was no mistaking the tension in Sasuke's shoulders. He seemed edgy. _Bothered,_ even _._ It made her feel even more nervous. He was always so cool and collected – so in control.

"Maybe," Sakura clutched wildly at straws, "I was just echoing the memories of the souls in the Plain, somehow."

Immediately, he refuted the idea. "You cannot. You are living."

"Well how long ago were you known by that name? Maybe I just heard it somewhere. Maybe-"

"No," he cut her off sharply. "This is no coincidence."

"But I can't remember," she raised her hands to her head in distressed despair. The need to solve the baffling mystery was chomping away at her. "Why can't I _remember_ what I'm dreaming about?"

Another weighty pause hung between them. Then, without warning, Sasuke turned and moved toward the double-doors.

"Rest," he said curtly – and left the room.

Sakura blinked, surprised by his hasty exit. That was _it?_ That was all he had to say about the matter? Before she could reconsider, she moved impulsively to hurry after him, pulling the doors of her chamber back open. She wasn't thinking about her actions. She only knew that she felt oddly restless – and she did not want to be alone at that moment.

She needed _answers_.

"Sasuke! Wait!"

He was already nearly halfway down the stretching corridor, but did not halt at her call. She had to run to catch up to his long strides.

"I told you to rest," he muttered underneath his breath, but his words seemed distracted.

"I'm fine now," Sakura insisted, as they continued further down the velvet-carpeted hallway, passing ornate marble statues. "Where are you going?"

He did not respond. Sakura struggled to match the swiftness of his gait, clutching onto the longer over-skirt of her gown to prevent her feet from catching the chiffon material and stumbling.

Sasuke's mind was too busy working away to dwell on the fact that the foolish girl had chosen to trail after him. He had tired of the goose-chase he'd been caught up in for so long. He was going to find out the truth – once and for all.

They passed the polished marble pillars that heralded the plush landing of the royal staircase. Sasuke seemed to glide noiselessly down while Sakura had to watch to make sure she did not miss a step. They descended onto the grand entrance hall and Sasuke headed straight to the throne room.

The wide-eyed awe Sakura would have otherwise experienced seeing the vast, glorious chamber once again was significantly dampened by her preoccupied thoughts. The lengthy walk down the central strip of carpet to the raised dais that supported the imperial throne seemed to pass in a flash. The death deity ascended the platform's steps and moved to the cloth-covered table by the stained glass panels behind the King's seat. Sakura, who had just stepped up onto the dais, saw him lift up a gracefully fashioned helmet, black with coils of icy silver.

It seemed to glow with a mysterious power. She had the inexplicable urge to examine and touch it.

"What's that?" she questioned inquisitively.

He seemed to remember then that she was still behind him, for he turned to her, his dark gaze as fathomless as a black ocean. He crossed back to where she was standing by the throne, and placed his left hand atop her petite right shoulder.

"Stay here," he commanded, his tone making it clear that this was as far as she could go.

Frustration crested within her – and she hoped that Sasuke could see it flare in her eyes.

"But where are you _going_ -?"

With a single, firm push – one that was surely gentle by his standards, given the destructive power she knew flowed through his veins - he forced her back – straight into the regal chair. As she fell into it, Sakura was struck by just how spacious (and comfortable) the throne was. Funny, how she had never really noticed that when Sasuke had occupied it before. She blinked up at him, momentarily speechless, her heart pounding with disbelief – and something else – as her brain came to terms with the realisation that she was _sitting_ in a king's – a _god's –_ place, the place from which he judged her kind.

The hand at her shoulder lingered as he took in the sight of her tiny frame, dwarfed by the imposing splendour of the throne. Then he drew back. Before Sakura could say or do anything else, he lifted the helmet to his head – and promptly vanished from her sight.

* * *

"This is-" Gai was shaking with emotion. "This is- UNACCEPTABLE!"

"I can't believe it," Kurenai echoed softly.

"Unnatural," Iruka shook his head. "He must be stopped!"

"If there are more like this – if this is an experiment in its early stages – then we must act now," Asuma agreed.

They were seated around the assembly room's round table. A stunned silence had initially followed Tsunade's announcement and Shizune's demonstration.

Kakashi scratched his silver head thoughtfully.

"So, this junior doctor has been working at your hospital all this time," he sighed tiredly.

"I can't believe it," Ino near-shrieked. "I remember Sakura mentioning him, but he seemed so _ordinary."_

"Is that any surprise?" Shikamaru remarked. His tone was almost bored. "Of course, being in league with Orochimaru would make him a natural at concealing his true intentions."

"Son of a bitch," Asuma's hands curled to form angry fists. Kurenai placed a comforting hand lightly on his tense arm.

"Even with his uncommonly high IQ level, he could not have created this alone," Jiraiya spoke loudly from where he was seated languidly in his chair. Tsunade's grip on the phial tightened and she had to force herself not to snap at him to be quiet. "Orochimaru has clearly been whispering forbidden secrets into this human's ears for a while. In any case, two clear options stand before us."

"We destroy it!" Gai exclaimed immediately, slamming a fist atop the table. "We find his lab and destroy everything in it!"

"We already raided his basement," Shizune answered. "There were only two samples there."

"He could have more at another location," Kurenai argued.

"So we find them!" Ino gestured. "We track him and we get to the bottom of this before that freak can carry out any other twisted experiments."

Tsunade released a bitter sound – not quite a laugh. "That snake is watching his every move," she reminded them.

"Then we track him from a distance," said Shikamaru.

"A fine idea," Jiraiya approved. "I'll send my toads immediately."

"We don't need your help," Tsunade bit.

He waved her words off. "In denial as always," he dismissed.

"But if Orochimaru catches on…" Iruka began uncertainly.

"What have we to fear?" Asuma demanded. "Kabuto has likely already informed the serpent of Tsunade and Shizune's visit to his home."

"It seems only a matter of time until _he_ knows," Shikamaru added. "If he doesn't already, that is."

"You say the other phial vanished?" Kakashi sought confirmation.

"Just like that, into thin air?" Iruka blinked.

"Yes," Shizune nodded. "Unless its contents spilled onto the grass and were lost."

Kakashi was silent. A thought was trickling prematurely into his intelligent, quick-witted mind – a thought far too troubling for him to articulate.

"What does he mean to do with these- these _Zetsu_ freaks?" Ino shuddered. "You'd think they were trying to build some kind of an army-"

"Yes!" Iruka cried. "That's exactly what they must be doing!"

"It's almost like what happened before," Kurenai frowned softly. "When they tried to poison the world… except this time, they're using tampered samples of blood to create unnatural warriors."

Tsunade ground her teeth. "There might be a trace amount of her blood – it's too contaminated to identify clearly. That bastard must have kept a small sample from the war."

"You're sure Kabuto hasn't obtained a direct sample from you?" Shikamaru pressed. "You're absolutely positive?"

"None of the phials are missing," Shizune affirmed. "I checked them all. There was no way he could have accessed them directly, and Sakura's blood – if he managed to take a sample from her – is not capable of activating anything in its current state."

"Then HOW could he have created these monsters?" Gai wondered aloud.

Silence met his question.

"We'll watch him," Kurenai vowed, her slender fingers closing to form angry fists. "From a distance – I'll summon my buzzards and report back as soon as they discover anything." She rose, indicating that she intended to act immediately. Asuma followed loyally after her.

"Stay sharp," Jiraiya warned as they reached the door. "I have a feeling Kabuto, Orochimaru and Suigetsu are not the only ones we are dealing with, here."

"Who else could it be?" Ino stared at him in dismay.

"Someone stealthy indeed." Jiraiya mused. "Now, we must find the blasted missing sample."

Tsunade glowered at him. "We told you, the phial disappeared! You make it sound like locating it will be so simple."

"With me on the case, it will be," he flashed a broad, cocky smile at her, prompting her to roll her eyes in unimpressed disgust. Then, locking his twinkling gaze with Kakashi, Jiraiya winked cryptically as he rose, "Let us go for a little walk, Kakashi."

Kakashi's sole eye glanced toward Tsunade. She seemed uncomfortable with the proposition, but nodded tersely.

' _We're done here for now. If that_ _idiot_ _tries anything stupid, tell me immediately,'_ she communicated in his mind.

Kakashi nodded briefly back at her, before rising to follow after Jiraiya.

"A fine, clear night, is it not?" Jiraiya commented, as they teleported way beyond the base's protective enclosures, alighting atop a hill overlooking a field. The grass, which ought to have populated the natural expanse generously given the season of year, was brown-yellow and stumped in its growth. A perpetual reminder of their troubles.

"A little chilly," Kakashi admitted, directing his attention up to the starry sky.

"That is to be expected," Jiraiya said. Then, "It's been a while since we last conferred. What have you been up to all this time, Kakashi?"

Kakashi, who had anticipated this query, shrugged. "I've been keeping my ears open."

"And what have you learned?"

The silver-haired man hesitated despite himself. A part of him wanted to confide in Jiraiya. Unlike Tsunade, he had always thought highly of – and trusted – the man's counsel – despite his many, glaring faults. But another part whispered in warning against acting prematurely. He could not vouch that Jiraiya would keep the information secret – and neither could he predict the elder's reaction.

"You clearly know something, to be deliberating so much over your answer," Jiraiya turned to him, his slanted eyes keen.

Disclosing part of the truth was better than speaking a complete lie – and Kakashi knew that Jiraiya could see quite easily through deceit.

"Naruto didn't listen, as usual," he confided quietly. "He ignored my instructions and tried to gain Sasuke's cooperation but-" he sighed heavily again. "Let's just say, things didn't go too well."

The old hermit's grey eyebrows lifted.

"Have you informed the others of this?"

"No. They'd skin Naruto alive for acting without their permission and endangering himself."

"But he is obviously still alive," Jiraiya pointed out.

"Yes," Kakashi nodded.

"He is in one piece."

"More or less," Kakashi mumbled.

"Then we could argue, could we not, that things went quite swimmingly?" Jiraiya grinned.

Kakashi shook his head. "If I hadn't anticipated his irresponsible actions and arrived in time to aid him..." he trailed off. There was no need to finish off his sentence. The implications were as clear as glass.

A stretching silence followed.

"So you see for yourself at last, just how much your old sparring student has changed," Jiraiya remarked.

"Yes," Kakashi acknowledged quietly.

Jiraiya turned his eyes to the stars in turn pensively. "Young Hades was always a smug, swaggering peacock in his fledgling years, wasn't he? But he was never truly diabolical. He now seems more similar in aura to-" he stopped here, more for Kakashi's sake than anything else.

"Cronus," Kakashi finished dully.

"Strange, is it not?" the hermit pondered. "How the cycle continues. Hatred and hunger for absolute power – and the madness that ultimately consumed him - was what drove Cronus to do the things he did."

Kakashi's gaze darkened. "Sasuke has not fallen quite that low."

"Not yet, perhaps." Jiraiya said pointedly. Then he added directly, "I believe he has a hand in all of this. That damned stubborn shrew won't hear a word that comes out of my mouth, but I will not be deterred."

Kakashi's pulse began to pick up pace. He said nothing. He dared say nothing.

"I know it does not please you to hear it," Jiraiya went on, mistaking his friend's silence for unhappy pain. "But we cannot continue to ignore this."

Kakashi was quiet for a long minute. Finally he said, very softly, "No. I suppose we can't, after all."

* * *

The position atop the dais allowed her an unhindered view of the great throne room in all its unadulterated grandeur. Her seeking, dazzled eyes kept taking in new, fabulous details around her, from the glinting veins set in the impeccably constructed columns and marble flooring, to the resplendent finishes of the elaborate, high vaulted ceiling. Even the rich swathes of bound curtains on either side of the royal podium were outrageously luxurious. But Sakura sat stiffly in the throne that was far too big for her slight frame, unable to relax the tension in her body. Sasuke had told her to stay – but had he literally meant _in_ the King's chair?

She couldn't. It felt so- so _wrong._ Sacrilegious, somehow.

 _That's not the only reason,_ accused a voice in her head.

Sakura, however, was prepared to hear no more. She squirmed and then wriggled out of it, leaping away as if its majestic brilliance had scalded her skin. The further she stepped away from the throne, the more the tension melted away.

She turned to the cloth-laden table. One other item rested upon it – a two pronged spear. Gleaming pure silver, the pointed ends looked impossibly sharp. Its hilt was matte black, set with decorative crimson stones at the end of the long pole. There was an inscription, scrawled elegantly in silver runes belonging to a primordial language that was unfamiliar to her. Sakura exhaled appreciatively. It was an elegant, beautiful and deadly weapon that seemed to radiate raw power. Her fingertips suddenly tingled to touch it, to feel the cool kiss of metal beneath her skin – but surely she would be breaking some forbidden rule if she did so. Surely Sasuke would disapprove.

Candlelight glinted off the slicing tips – and the allure was much too strong to resist. She drew closer and reached out, hesitating for only a fraction of an instant before running her right hand lightly over the long, slender hilt. It was probably far too heavy to lift, she thought, as she tried to close both hands around it.

She was right. The spear did not budge a single inch under her tugging. It was almost as though it were _glued_ to the table. Pouting unhappily, Sakura gave up and turned away.

' _Touching a King's toys? Not very wise, young Sakura…'_

Sakura tensed and yelped, looking around her in surprise. It took her a bewildered few seconds to realise that the voice had come from _inside_ her head – rather than around her. It sounded vaguely familiar. In fact-

The voice cackled and with a leaping heart, Sakura finally recognised it.

' _Then again, I suppose that our handsome young King can never stay displeased with you for too long... eheheheheheh!'_

' _Goddess Chiyo?'_ Sakura thought out hopefully.

' _Well_. _You remember.'_

' _How can I hear you, when you're so far away from me?'_ Sakura asked silently.

' _Do not be so surprised, young one. I watch the crossroads. The very air responds to my will.'_

' _But-'_

' _I do hope you enjoy flying.'_

Sakura's eyebrows drew together at the arbitrariness of the statement.

' _Huh?'_

The only response she got was the sudden appearance of a glowing yellow circle at her feet. The arcane symbols around it began to spin ferociously, and a howling whirlwind rushed up, funnelling around her, sending her hair whipping into disarray. Sakura, her feet leaving the floor, did not even have time to scream.

When the world finally ceased its stomach lurching rotation and Sakura was gently deposited onto a soft pile of blankets on the solid ground, her nose was overcome with the heady scent of brewing herbs and spices. There was something almost reassuring about being back in the golden dimness and warmth of Chiyo's snug hut again. Sakura sat up, gasping, pushing her windswept tresses out of her eyes.

"I definitely don't like flying," she wheezed.

Chiyo chuckled at her. She looked the same as Sakura recalled her; the deep lines in her aged face, the short hair, the acute bright eyes.

"I see young Sasuke has been treating you well," the goddess remarked, taking in Sakura's healthy appearance. "You now have a mode of transportation."

Sakura looked down at her hands, clasped neatly together. She did not know what to say to that. Because the truth was, Sasuke _had_ ensured she was well-fed, warm and safe – and he had given her extra provisions, too. Unexpected provisions.

"You wonder why," Chiyo rasped on. "And yet, you know the answer. The question is, whether you can accept it."

Sakura swallowed. It seemed wrong to question a goddess as ancient as Chiyo was – but her discomfort at the topic they were breaching made her blurt, "Why did you bring me back here?"

Chiyo stirred the cauldron by the hearth beside her.

"It is you who called to me, young Sakura," she croaked. "I decided to heed your call."

Sakura stared at her, nonplussed. She had called? _When?_

"I don't remember-" she began, flushing with embarrassment. She seemed to be forgetting an awful lot. "I'm sorry, Lady Chiyo, I don't think that I-"

"Perhaps not consciously," Chiyo interjected, raising the wooden spoon to her thin, cracked lips and sipping from the bubbling brew. She scowled and continued to stir. "It is your subconscious that has requested my aid."

As Sakura's brain tried frantically to process this, Chiyo went on unhurriedly, "But as always, my assistance does not come without price. You have many questions, young Sakura. Some I may answer. Others I will not."

A silence followed, punctuated only by the flames and the sound of thick, boiling liquid.

"What is the price?" Sakura finally asked. Even as the question left her lips, she regretted it.

"A single lock of your hair."

Sakura's lips parted as she raised a hand self-consciously to her hair. That was it? Was that really _all_ Chiyo asked for in return?

"That's all you want?"

The crone eyed her with gleaming eyes. "Do you wish to offer me more, young one?"

"No-" Sakura fumbled. "I mean- it seems like nothing."

"Not everything is always as it seems," Chiyo commented mysteriously.

Sakura hesitated. What if giving the goddess some of her hair resulted in horrible consequences, like- like being turned into a snail, or worse, some other unnatural creature?

 _Don't be ridiculous_ , Sakura scolded herself. But she couldn't shake off the sudden feeling of uneasiness that had settled over her.

Sensing her uncertainty, Chiyo beckoned her forward.

"Come closer, child."

Sakura rose and moved to her.

"Sit," the crossroad deity gestured to the ground at her feet, and Sakura lowered herself onto it.

"Lady Chiyo-"

"Chiyo will do," the old deity grinned toothily. "You do not call your King ' _Lord',_ after all."

"He isn't my King," Sakura corrected automatically.

"Nor am I your Lady – though he is more your King than I your Lady, and less my King than you his Lady."

Sakura stared up at her. _What?_ She thought, baffled. She'd lost the meaning of the words somewhere along in the mystifying sentence.

"Try my brew. It will soothe those little nerves of yours."

"I'm not nervou-" Sakura began.

"Silence," Chiyo narrowed her eyes at her like a disapproving grandmother, drawing back the wooden spoon. For a terrible moment, a flinching Sakura feared she would be smacked with it. But Chiyo simply prodded the large eating utensil toward her.

"Drink."

Now Sakura really _was_ nervous. It was strange, how she felt both comfortable and edgy at once in the presence of the goddess. Obediently, she drank – and very nearly spat out the bitter concoction. Terrified of offending the deity who was gazing expectantly down at her, Sakura fought nausea and gulped it down.

"It seems to be missing something," Chiyo mused, reading her face perfectly.

"Some sugar?" Sakura dared to suggest.

"Sugar," Chiyo repeated, as if the word was alien to her. "Hmm. Indeed. Perhaps I ought to throw some Sakura in?"

Sakura released a startled gasp. Chiyo blinked – and then cackled.

"Eheheheheheheh!" she reached out and laid a knobbly hand atop Sakura's head, very lightly. "Fear not for your life, child. Young Sasuke would hardly relinquish it to an old hag like me!"

Sakura managed a watery smile. Chiyo was even more frighteningly unpredictable than Sasuke! Or perhaps that was because she did not know the goddess well enough to anticipate when she was serious or joking. Sasuke, in stark contrast, never joked.

Whatever she had put in the horrid stew, however, worked like a charm. Sakura felt pleasant warmth overtake her body, relaxing the tension she had not even realised was present in her shoulders.

As she stirred the brew some more, Chiyo spoke on, "A lock of hair – and in return, I shall answer one question of yours."

 _Only one?_ Disappointment filled Sakura. The crone chuckled, as if reading her thoughts.

"Greed for knowledge is still greed, little flower."

"I'm sorry," Sakura apologised. Then she nodded, and snagged a silky lock in between her fingers. "Alright. Here."

Chiyo set the spoon aside and turned her full attention to Sakura – who was trying hard to ignore the way the fluffy tawny owl in its open cage was staring so unblinkingly at her. She dug into the pocket of her time-worn, wrinkled cloak – and drew out a small pair of clipping scissors.

Reaching out, she took the lock in Sakura's hand – almost gently – and snipped a small portion off. Sakura felt a strange sense of melancholy as the strand fell away. She watched as Chiyo slipped the hair in a leaf-like wrapping – before placing it safely in her robe pocket. Patting it with satisfaction, the crone flashed another unnerving smile at her.

"What knowledge do you seek, little flower?"

Sakura had lots of questions – too many, in fact. The realisation that she could, in theory, have _anything_ answered, dawned upon her, and for an instant, she was struck by its magnitude. A train of thoughts whirled through her mind – all the possible queries she could pose to the wise deity who was extending what Sakura knew for certain was an extremely rare opportunity.

She could ask about the secrets of the world. She could ask for knowledge that philosophers had dedicated their entire lives to discovering, knowledge they had spent countless centuries trying to acquire; knowledge that people had likely been _killed_ over in the past.

But in the end, there were two queries that burned more brightly than any others. They scorched inside her skull, demanding the resolution Sasuke had not given her.

Meeting Chiyo's eyes, she disclosed, "I'm having dreams I can't remember. I speak the name 'Hades' in sleep - Sasuke said it was his old name - but how can I know that?" Shaking her head, she added, "And what happened to his family?"

Chiyo's eyes drooped low.

"You ask two questions - both of which I will not answer," her voice was quiet.

Sakura opened her mouth to protest that she had been promised a single question of her choice – but the goddess continued before she could say anything else.

"However… you may perhaps find what you seek within the Orbs."

Orbs? Sakura stared at her, uncertainly. "What are they?"

"The Orbs are oracles of ages long past. Mirrors spun from the endless threads of time itself. If you choose to gaze into them, not even I can foresee what they might reveal to you, for every eye is shown a different path."

It sounded ominous. Sakura's heart had started to pound to a slow, almost sickening rhythm. The ends of her fingers were tingling.

"Some knowledge, child, is best left unknown. Untouched." There was something foreboding in Chiyo's tone.

Looking into perilous time mirrors was a terrifying notion. Sakura swallowed apprehensively.

"Will I be in any danger if I look into them?" she questioned.

"Encountering a void in time will cause you to forget what the other Orbs revealed to you. A small inconvenience."

"Is that all?"

"It is as I told you. I cannot foretell what the Oracles will reveal to your eyes."

There was a lengthy pause – in which all Sakura could hear was the rushing of blood in her ears and the echo of the crone's warning.

_Some knowledge, child, is best left unknown. Untouched._

Could she really go through with it? Even when the goddess of the Crossroads herself could not predict what she would see?

What if Sakura's mind couldn't cope? Was it a good idea to tamper with what she knew for sure Sasuke would never permit her to access?

But if there was somehow a way to shed even a little light on the darkness clouding her mind…

"Well, little flower," Chiyo's voice came to her again. "Will you look into the Oracle?"

* * *

He slunk like an indiscernible shadow through the night, his left hand resting atop the hilt of his sheathed sword as he manoeuvred fluidly through the trees. The building he sought was just up ahead. Sasuke flash-stepped forward and closed the remaining distance between himself and the high front gates in a second. He slipped past the flimsy barrier they formed, to the front door, where he edged left, peering into the illuminated double-glazed windows.

Tsunade had returned home and was seated on the sofa, staring down at a framed photograph in her hands. Shizune joined her, setting down twin mugs of hot beverage on the coffee table. Then she moved to the window and drew the curtains.

Sasuke scoffed. As if that could keep him from seeing and hearing them. A heart-beat later, he materialised into the house, lingering by the wall that separated the living room from the entrance foyer. There he listened intently, waiting for them to speak something – _anything_ \- of Sakura.

He did not need to wait for long.

"Please drink, Tsunade-sama," Shizune spoke softly. "It will help to soothe your agitation."

"She almost looks the same," Tsunade's response was low, as she tenderly stroked the image of a smiling Sakura in the photograph she held. "But sometimes, when I look at her, she seems so different."

"That is to be expected, Tsunade-sama," came the gentle reply.

"She was stronger before. I-" Tsunade swallowed, confiding in her companion the truths that were closest to her heart – that she shared with nobody else. "Perhaps I raised her too sheltered. Perhaps, if I had allowed her a little more freedom… then none of this would have ever happened."

"It isn't your fault," Shizune's voice was hushed. "What happened before – what is happening now – you could not have prevented it. Not unless you'd held her prisoner in her own home-"

Tsunade's tone turned angry. "Maybe I ought to have done that! I would not have lost her for a second time if I'd kept her right under my nose at all times!"

"She was always closely guarded by the others. You could not have done things any differently-"

"I made the same mistakes! I let the others watch her! That bastard Jiraiya is right. Maybe I should have listened!"

"She is still alive, Tsunade-sama." Her friend tried in vain to calm her. "We have not lost her-"

"Damn it." Tsunade seemed not to hear. "Damn it! It's been over two months, Shizune. Two damned months!" She drew a shaky breath as her composure rapidly began to splinter. "She could be locked away in a cell, cold and hungry. Unconscious at this very moment! She could be crying, calling for me, and I can do nothing for her. What if she-?" she inhaled sharply. "What if her body has been-?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Had any other deity stolen Sakura away, then Tsunade's fears would be completely justified.

"Stop it," Shizune exclaimed in alarm. "Stop torturing yourself. Please. Sakura is alive. We _will_ find her."

Tsunade exhaled. "No," she muttered. "No. If this was a simple trade, that bastard would have contacted us by now. Whoever has her doesn't mean to hand her back."

"You mustn't think like that-"

There was the sound of glass clattering. Sasuke heard Shizune's alarmed gasp, and could guess what had happened. Tsunade, who had always been known for possessing a notoriously short temper, had likely knocked the hot drink off the table.

"WHAT _ELSE_ AM I SUPPOSED TO THINK!" she erupted. "MORE THAN TWO MONTHS HAVE PASSED, AND I'M NO CLOSER TO FINDING MY CHILD!"

The only sound that ensued directly after was the ragged intake of breaths as Tsunade released a choked sob.

Sasuke's gaze lowered to the ground. The image of Sakura's wistful eyes in Elysium floated behind his vision. The memory of her smiles as she had turned her face to the phantom sunlight caused something to shift – albeit slightly - deep inside him. Furiously, he shoved the recollection away. If Tsunade had truly cared, if Sakura had meant so very much to her, then she would have never allowed the girl to vanish for even a _second_ beyond her watch.

Especially if she had 'lost' her once before. This information had him intrigued – but he still did not know enough to understand what they were talking about. Just what had happened to Sakura in the past?

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune's voice was tearful.

"I can't," the other woman mumbled, covering her face forlornly with her hands. Sasuke had to lean forward to catch the words that followed.

"I can't sustain the life on this earth alone. My power isn't enough. It never has been. Nature calls for the one who can sustain it. And the more persistently it calls, the more she will feel it." Her voice thick, Tsunade continued miserably, "If she isn't given ambrosia in time, she will suffer, Shizune. Without the correct dosage, the essence will begin altering her blood chemistry. She will start seeing things, the things I swore I would never allow her to see. If I am not there to monitor her, it will begin to poison her."

The air in Sasuke's lungs stilled. Every muscle in his body froze as he stared at the banisters on the stairs, horror tearing like a rip-tide over him. The only thing he could palpably feel was the disconcerting _thump, thump, thump_ of his heart slamming violently against his ribcage.

So it was true. Sakura really _was_ the one who sustained Spring – or at least, housed the essence that did. He exhaled a disjointed breath. He had _known_ it. He had predicted and anticipated it, and yet-

And yet it made hearing the reality no easier to stomach.

Beyond the numbing shock something else was brewing – something malicious and dreadful - a deep-pitted, uncontainable rage, stemming from somewhere deep inside his gut. Slowly it expanded, until it coursed through his entire being, like white-hot lava searing through his blood, until it finally found its home, settling in his chest where it bubbled away like a tumultuous volcano, on the verge of unleashing the full extent of its devastating fury.

Tsunade had locked an essence that was capable of _poisoning_ her daughter, if not monitored correctly? Why would she do such a thing? What could she mean by it? Couldn't she have found any other vessel? What kind of mother would endanger the life of her own child?!

And Sakura. Poor, sweet, _wretched_ Sakura – she had _no idea._ She naively assigned her attacks to a mysterious medical condition.

He imagined how she might react, if he told her of the reality that he knew would frighten her senseless. He imagined how betrayed she would feel – whether she would be able to absorb and accept her situation at all. Now he could see, all too clearly, why they had kept everything shrouded from her.

Sakura had the equivalent of an unstable time-bomb ticking away inside her – a bomb that activated in springtime – and its clock could only be steadied and 'reset' with carefully measured doses of ambrosia. It was something he could not diffuse or remove from her; for how could he access something he could not even _see?_

Sasuke barely registered that he was near-shaking from the force of his wrath. He wanted- he wanted to _tear Tsunade's head right off._

"She cannot see," Shizune's voice was now a whisper. "The seal will prevent it-"

"So he told us." Tsunade sounded angry again. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Who were they _talking_ about? Who had placed the seal on Sakura, if not Tsunade?

"But it cannot stop her blood from altering. And her human body cannot survive the change without-" the blonde woman broke off abruptly, inhaling deeply. "Whoever has her… whoever is letting her suffer… I'll rip their heart out. By Zeus, I'll crush them to pieces."

The long silence that ensued informed the death deity that the topic of conversation was over. His pulse still thundering, Sasuke noiselessly took his leave.


	38. Chapter XXXVII

**Chapter XXXVII**

* * *

_On fleeting fancy the heart takes flight,_

_Fluttered in frenzy, strewn alight,_

_So easily clipped, these glass wings shorn,_

_Scattered to dust, to ash and scorn,_

_He whispers to her that she will never learn,_

_And lo! See how her heart doth yearn._

* * *

The dark, damp passageway seemed to stretch on endlessly. Sakura was grateful for the dim illumination glowing from Chiyo's lantern ahead of her – without it she would have been unable to make out the outlines of her own feet shuffling cautiously forward. Every now and then, the walls caught the light from the flame and pigmented flecks inside the rock-faces glinted briefly before ebbing away into the shadows once again.

After she had accepted Chiyo's offer the goddess had turned to the roaring hearth and with a swift snap of her knobbly fingers, snuffed it completely out. To Sakura's amazement, the crone had then beckoned her through the fireplace – which had turned out to be the unexpected entry point to a secret tunnel.

"The only way to access the Oracle is through my den," Chiyo croaked as Sakura continued to follow after her. "None tread this path without my knowledge."

Sakura made sure she kept close. "Does Sasuke ever come here?" she asked, trying to ignore how the fluffy owl, perched on the crone's hunched shoulder, was staring so unblinkingly at her.

The old goddess cackled. "Sasuke? He has little use for the Oracle. His eyes see everything that befalls his realm, after all."

"Who made the Oracle?" Sakura questioned next, as they followed the path around a gentle curve to the right. Chiyo's branch-like wooden stick struck the stone ground steadily, producing a pronounced echo every time it fell.

"They are the servants of The Fates." Chiyo answered cryptically.

"Who are The Fates?"

"The Fates - three sisters who determine the destiny of all mortals. They weave the thread of life, spin it as they see fit – and clip it when it reaches its journey's end."

Sakura was intrigued – and somewhat confused. "But I thought Sasuke controlled death?"

"He rules the Dead and passes judgement upon them," Chiyo clarified. "He is responsible for ensuring each soul reaches its final place of rest. He does not reap souls from their bodies - though the power to do so is in his blood. No," she shook her head slowly. "That role belonged to another."

"The Angel of Death?" Sakura guessed.

Chiyo snorted. "Angel? Far from it." Seemingly as an afterthought, she added musingly, "Well. Perhaps in beauty, alone, yes. Such beauty."

Sakura side-stepped around a dip in the ground. She had the funny feeling that the entity the role had originally belonged to was somehow related to whatever had happened to Sasuke's family. Certain that she would be granted no response to queries pertaining to the death deity's past, she wisely chose to change the subject.

"So where are The Fates? Can I see them?"

Chiyo released a dry chortle. "Our handsome King would never permit that. They are not for your eyes to see in any case, little flower."

A disappointed Sakura was about to protest that she had already seen the heavens - which arguably had not been for her eyes to look upon, either - when a glimmer of white light in front of them diverted her attention to the changing scenery ahead.

As they drew closer, the tunnel walls began to change in hue and structure. The air temperature around them had been steadily decreasing, prompting Sakura to shiver.

"Is that… ice?" Sakura squinted, peering up at the walls in bewilderment. Sure enough, a glistening icy sheen was now covering the rock-faces on either side of them. Icicles hung from the low roof. Sakura gaped up at them in wonder. She supposed she would never fully get used to the Underworld's diverse landscape. The path ahead wound to the right, disappearing around the corner entirely. It seemed to be descending in a manner similar to a wacky helter-skelter slide and looked very, _very_ slippery.

At the sight of it, Sakura had the nagging feeling that she was in for trouble.

"We cannot proceed on foot," Chiyo informed her. Sakura, her teeth chattering, rubbed briskly at her arms.

"Th-then how do w-we get down?" she stuttered.

In response, the goddess struck her staff to the ground. "It is a long way," she stated cheerfully. "Best hold on, child."

"Huh?" Sakura blinked. "Why-?"

The rest of her question was lost when the ground unexpectedly lurched and lifted beneath her feet with a strange groan. She looked down, staring stupidly at her cold feet, to find snow-dusted wood beneath her sandals.

 _Snow?_ Sakura thought to herself. _How can there be snow here, too-?_

She wasn't given the chance to contemplate this conundrum further, for in the next instant, she found herself speeding helplessly down the winding tunnel. Freezing air whipped her hair back behind her like a pale rose banner, biting into her skin until she was numb all over. Her terrified screams seemed to amuse Chiyo, who was controlling the nimble little wooden sleigh, which she had seemingly summoned out of nowhere, with surprising agility and competence – as well as worrying enthusiasm. Sakura hung onto the sides of the sleigh for dear life, her stomach leaping continuous somersaults, turns that sent wave after wave of motion sickness crashing through her.

"Ugh!" she groaned. "Please stop! I'm going to be _sick!_ "

"Eheheheh!" The goddess chuckled. "Enjoy the ride, little flower! The cold is so refreshingly rejuvenating for the skin!"

 _Rejuvenating?!_ A petrified Sakura begged to differ.

"Aaaaahhhhh!" she shrieked, when the sleigh rocked precariously to the left, scraping deafeningly against the icy slope as it wound down the slippery route. Everything was whizzing past them in a frenzied flurry of white as gravity took over, careening them full-throttle down the unstoppable decline. Sakura could see her chilled breaths as she rapidly exhaled. The poor owl on Chiyo's shoulder was flapping fretfully – from fear surely, also – but the crone seemed to be oblivious to it - as well as Sakura's – evident distress.

Down and down they plummeted, at such heart-stopping, head spinning velocity that Sakura's eyes watered, blurring her vision. She was certain that her lips had turned as blue as her nails. It would take a miracle for her _not_ to fall sick after this… what _would_ Sasuke say when he found out what mischief she had gotten herself into this time?

She told herself that she would have preferred the death deity to be steering. Somehow she was certain that the ride would have been much less nausea-inducing, and a much smoother experience.

She ground her teeth as the sledge veered sharply to the right, sliding down toward a temporary widening in the glittering, icicle strewn tunnel. They raced over a wide, frozen lake, before entering once again into the narrow caverns through the opening in the opposite rock-face. Up and down they went, over bumps and gentle inclines, and if Sakura's stomach had housed anything substantial in it, she knew she would have already hurled out its contents.

The plunge was even steeper in the new route, and the way the sleigh creaked and rattled so perilously from side to side convinced Sakura that the ancient travelling device was surely on the verge of falling apart. She yelped when they dove down a particularly deep dip in the path, and made sure that Chiyo knew how she was feeling.

" _I can't take much more of this!_ "

An exhilarated hoot was Chiyo's only response.

Sakura despaired. The goddess was utterly _insane!_ Sakura didn't care that at that precise moment that the thought was likely a blasphemous one, and surely enough to warrant her being flung into hell – all she knew was that there had to have been a more pleasant way to reach the end of the route they were travelling through. Chiyo even put _Naruto's_ road rage to shame with her extreme toboggan antics.

The sledge swung heartily from left to right and back again, occasionally bouncing off the walls and jittering Sakura's nerves further. It was the most dizzying and dreadful ride she had been on, _ever._ She supposed part of the problem was that the sleigh looked almost as prehistoric as Chiyo herself. And was it her imagination that the handles felt like they were about to snap and splinter into millions of tiny pieces?

To Sakura's great relief, however, the sleigh did _not_ crumble. Eventually it rounded a corner and the path finally straightened and smoothed out before them. Then it drew to a halt so abrupt that Sakura very nearly lost her grip on the sides and almost went flying off the shabby looking toboggan.

"Always such an invigorating ride," Chiyo grinned toothily, and hit her staff against the ground again. Sakura watched, trying to calm her chaotic pulse, as the sledge sunk back into the floor and vanished, leaving nothing behind but a thin plume of mist.

 _Invigorating?_ Sakura smoothed back her hair, frowning. Thankfully, the area they had descended to was warm again.

"Was that the only way down? Where did you get that sleigh from?" she demanded.

"My, my, so many questions, questions," Chiyo waved her staff. "You had better keep quiet before I turn you into something unsightly."

Sakura paled and gulped as she followed after the old goddess. The walk to the tunnel's end was thankfully a short one. When they reached it, she exhaled at the sight before them.

Now _this_ place was much more to her liking.

A sparkling cluster of graceful silver-white trees grew in a circular grove of ash-grey grass. Little butterflies, their wings aglow with dazzling colours, flittered delicately – but there were no other signs of animal life. On all sides of the contained space were black rocky walls, climbing up to a sky that was pitch black and littered with stars. Sakura gasped, delighted. The trunks and boughs of the trees twinkled like lustrous diamonds, beckoning her closer. Their leaves rustled radiant silver.

"They're just like the trees in the palace," Sakura observed, touching the slender trunk of the nearest masterpiece to her left.

Chiyo, who had been standing stationary and observing her interaction with the trees, gestured with her head.

"The archway ahead will lead you to the Oracle. I shall wait for you here."

Sakura was taken aback. "You aren't coming with me?"

The goddess flashed another wobbly smile. "You shan't be devoured, child." The grin waned, as the crone added warningly, "But remember; you enter at your own risk."

Sakura glanced toward the opening in the rock-face. A silver archway heralded the plunge into unknown darkness. Apprehension caused goose-pimples to prickle along the skin of her arms. Did she really want to do this, after all?

 _Don't be such a wet blanket,_ Sakura scolded herself. With a resolute nod, she headed forward, pausing only to cast one final look back at the old crone, who had perched herself onto a flat rock and was ruffling her pet owl's feathers affectionately – probably in an attempt to soothe over the plump bird's earlier trauma.

Sakura swallowed and turned her attention ahead again. She stepped through the archway and into another dark passage. Keeping her fingers against the rough walls, she walked blindly in the blackness, straining to hear anything beyond the crunching of gravel beneath her sandals. She gasped when she almost stumbled down the unexpected steps that eventually met her. They led straight down, a long, descending route into mysterious territory.

The glimmer of gold light at the bottom, however, was reassuring. Sakura followed them down, counting exactly seventy four to the bottom. She stepped through another archway – to find herself standing in a circular, enclosed room. The floor was paved in smooth stone and led to a beautiful, shallow fountain, constructed from white marble. Two angels with gold wings held large mirrors in their elegant hands and were stationed as if on sentry on glorious either side. The fountain was enclosed by six pillars. Its rippling water was crystal clear, untainted.

As impressive as the fountain's architecture was, however, Sakura's focus was entirely consumed by what was floating inside it – the source of illumination in the room.

The Oracle was not a single sphere, as she had anticipated – nor did it look anything like the mystical crystal ball she had so fancifully imagined in her head. Instead, it was a cluster of perfectly transparent spheres, spun as if from the finest, most delicate of glass, each glowing with near-fluorescent gold, silver and pale blue light. She watched, entranced and delighted, as the magical globes hovered silently ahead of her, lighting up the otherwise pitch-black space. They rotated at regularly timed intervals in the air, tinkling gently, as if propelled into motion by an invisible cogwheel.

 _Step into the pool, child,_ Chiyo's voice echoed in her head.

Sakura quickly untied her sandals and hurried up the three smooth steps that led to the fountain's shallow basin. She dipped a foot inside, delighting at the water's pleasant coolness against her skin. But she did not have long to dwell on it. Her gaze fell to the silver orb closest to her. Within it, she glimpsed incredible clarity; like a mirror reflecting a bewitching spectrum of colours. The harder she gazed, however, the more the shimmering array of colours swirled and merged until they began to form a discernible image.

Her heart began to pound as the sphere floated quietly toward her. The image mirrored within shifted, like a changing still from a slide-show. Sakura tensed in trepidation. Was she really prepared and willing to take such an unknown risk?

 _What if I'm making a big mistake?_ Her rational voice worried once again. _Sasuke warned me before about seeking too much knowledge- if Goddess Chiyo herself can't even predict what I'll see, then maybe I shouldn't look. It's not too late to turn back- if I look away now then Sasuke will never have to know-_

But it was too late. The orb seemed to grow in size – and it suddenly felt unnervingly like her mind was being drawn – no – _hurtled -_ intoit. Her cascading thoughts whirred to a screeching halt as the image inside the globe shifted again – but this time, it began to move – like a streaming movie. Sakura, caught somewhere between rapt fascination and disabling uncertainty, watched with baited breath as a scene slowly unfolded before her, like a flower uncurling its petals for the first time.

A field of wheat, golden and ripe for the harvest. It rolled on and on, and beyond it was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. She could almost _feel_ the breeze tickling against her face, could smell the richness of the grain. It caused something to ache oddly and longingly inside her. Enchanted, Sakura reached out, gripped by a sudden, irrational desire to touch the sphere. It dispelled at contact, dispersing into tiny, tinkling sparkles that suspended in the air – which drew back together before reforming once again.

Sakura snatched her hand back, clasping it close to her chest. The orbs rotating around her seemed to be multiplying. Another floated by her head, and she glimpsed a different image. Following it with her eyes, she saw a blue sky. Distant laughter echoed in her ears. And a whispered name.

' _Apollo!'_

The orb passed her, and another spun up in its place. Sakura stepped back, the water at her ankles swishing gently in response to her movements. This one was a pale blue, and at first, Sakura couldn't see anything inside it – save for her own reflection. She saw large, startled green eyes, her irises rendered unnaturally vivid by the glowing lights around her. Then the image fractured, like a mirror cracking and she found herself staring at a huddle of people dressed in black.

 _A cemetery?_ Sakura squinted, leaning forward for a better view. Then she gaped as recognition collided into her. Sarutobi's funeral! He had been a well-respected and much loved member of the community; a wise old man who had always struck her as an old soul who knew so much about the world – but had grown weary with the knowledge he'd carried.

She had been fifteen, going onto sixteen. She remembered it so well- like it had been only yesterday-

A figure in black stood by a lone tree. One that did not belong to the huddle of people that had gathered to pay their respects. It seemed to be waiting.

Something twisted unpleasantly deep inside her gut as recognition once again tore its way inside her skull.

_Sasuke._

Sasuke was standing there. But why was she seeing that? Chiyo had told her that she could see anything from the past – not necessarily just her own – but this _was_ a part of _her_ past. So why was the death deity there?

A sudden possibility presented itself to her. A possibility that seemed more and more like a certainty, the more she gazed at the scene.

 _Is that… when he first saw me…?_ Sakura wondered dizzily. The phantom-Sasuke was turning, as if to leave – but stopped abruptly. She released a quivering breath as she realised where his gaze was now directed. She wanted to look away. Her body felt cold, and she faintly registered that her hands were shaking. But she couldn't avert her gaze from the hypnotic sphere. The orb drifted off and was once again replaced by another.

The new stream's colours branched out and merged until they formed an ocean. The waves were lapping at the golden shores of a sandy beach. She heard faint laughter again. The sphere floated away. Sakura's eyes darted to the next. She saw entwined hands. One tanned, another pale. An endlessly starry night sky.

' _Follow me. I want to show you something.'_

The image was swallowed up by a rainbow of colours. She looked to another sphere. This one showed a forest. It shifted from the lush green undergrowth, to what looked to be an imposing stone temple of some kind.

' _Quickly, before your mother returns!'_ Another ghostly voice spoke.

Sakura frowned. The streams were getting quicker. She was starting to struggle to keep up with them. She turned to get out from the circle of the rotating spheres, but more kept rising to eye level, assaulting her with seemingly random images.

Her mother nursing her during a bout of flu, stroking her hair lovingly and humming a familiar lullaby. Patients at the hospital she had met in the past. A strange, twilight celebration, with lots of singing, dancing and wine. An image of her, staring into a mirror in the Fun House at the previous year's Spring Festival – and catching the glimpse of a dark silhouette she had thought she'd imagined at the time - a shadow she now knew had undoubtedly been Sasuke watching her from the shadows.

Hinata's fifteenth birthday. Her mother locking away a container.

"Stop," she whispered. Her discomfort was beginning to turn to prickling panic. She didn't know why she suddenly felt the dreadful, urgent need to _cease_ looking.

Yet another globe had caught her in its spell. Sakura felt her lips parting in shock. A burning field. She heard screams, saw people fleeing – women with children, stumbling to the ground. They didn't get up again.

Another orb. A crying child. A mother pleading to the heavens for mercy, her hands raised to a blackened sky. A man mortally wounded, trying in vain to comfort his sobbing young son.

Scores of dead bodies littered on charred earth. Bloodied hands. More screaming. More echoing words.

' _You cannot stop it. Her blood has been poisoned. She is dying, and with her, the earth.'_

' _No. No! You can save her!'_

' _I bring Death. I cannot reverse it.'_

Gibberish words – chanting in a language she couldn't understand.

The spheres kept coming faster and faster. Sakura couldn't block out the terrible images and sounds that were overcoming her senses.

A little girl, her arm ripped from its shoulder, the wound gushing blood. An old lady, on her knees before a crumbling temple. Praying, Sakura realised, exhaling. Her entire body was now shaking uncontrollably.

' _Why have you abandoned us?! Oh Goddess of the Harvest! Have mercy! Our fields are sullied! No more crops will grow! Death will claim us all!'_

A sword. A cawing raven. Lightning. Thunder clouds. Luminous blue eyes, the rippling train of crimson hair, wrapped around a slender index finger. A colossal white mountain. She heard singing and a musical instrument that sounded like a harp. Laughter again, and acres of flower fields.

She glimpsed herself with Sasuke at the Carousel. The point at which their eyes had first met. The ride's haunting melody flooded into her ears. She covered them, tore her gaze away, only to find another orb suspended before her.

What she saw in it made something wrench violently inside her chest. Like a dagger twisting cruelly, opening up a gaping wound she had not even known she'd carried.

Moonlight. Tightly entwined fingers. Pale, long tresses. Limbs entangled beneath the concealing cover of grass. Lips trailing ravenously over heat-flushed, sweat glistened skin.

Panting breaths. Taut muscles. A soft, pleading moan. The flash of a haughty smirk, so _tantalisingly_ familiar-

And then, another name, sighed yearningly, as if whispered by the wind itself.

' _Hades...'_

Every muscle in her body froze as Sakura watched, her lips parted in wordless horror. It was _wrong._ Wrong to spy on a moment so intimate between past lovers – but she could not look elsewhere. Her numbed mind struggled to process the vision playing out before her. She was trapped by the sight of slender fingers raking slowly, tantalisingly through dark hair. Prisoner to the sight of little toes curling with pleasure as shadowy, silhouetted bodies rocked to a passionate rhythm that propelled the sweethearts into the greatest heights of ecstasy.

The flash of a silver chain. A pendant with a familiar emblem. The _Uchiha_ family crest. Plump pink lips, parting with open invitation, claimed ravenously by another pair.

She scarcely realised that her breaths were now escaping her lips in shallow, panicked bursts. Her body was tingling with dread and her skin had turned cold and clammy. _No._ She didn't want to see any more. _No more!_

But she was seeing more. Two figures meeting in the darkness of a forest. Embracing. Fleeing together through the dark cloak of night. Two masked figures, concealed to them, watching from the shadows. Smiling gold-green eyes. A racing, dark chariot. Scattered flower petals.

Sakura whirled away – only to find another pale blue sphere that seemed to rush up to meet her.

She saw a massive army, clad in black with gleaming silver armour. Slender, elegantly fashioned helmets, crowned with elaborate, raven plume crests protected pale, regal faces, out of which peered scores upon scores of intense crimson eyes. In their hands were slender spears, sturdy shields and slicing blades, and around their shoulders were fastened black cloaks, secured by silver brooches bearing the Uchiha insignia. Long black banners with the emblem printed upon them flowed in the wind, held high by the warriors at the flanks.

Sakura released another quivering breath and reached up with trembling hands, as if to touch the orb. Was this what she had been waiting to discover?

The colossal army was standing upon the edge of a slanting hilltop, overlooking a stretching, grassy plain. The sphere panned out and rotated – then something very peculiar happened – something against which Sakura could not have prepared herself.

The orb seemed to throb and glow brighter and brighter, until its blue light became positively blinding. It grew bigger and bigger, swelling to the size of Sakura's head.

Without warning, it pulsated - then exploded.

Sakura opened her mouth to scream but any attempt to make a sound lodged feebly in her throat. She covered her eyes as an icy blast of wind assaulted her, flinging her tresses across her face. The air howled in her ears, merging with the rushing of blood being circulated by her thundering heart.

When she finally dared to crack her eyes open again, the sight that met her was enough to send her heart plummeting to her feet.

 _No,_ she thought dazedly to herself. _This is impossible. This isn't happening. This_ _isn't_ _happening._

But to her utter dismay, it _was._ Something had clearly gone terribly wrong – for the world inside the Oracle sphere had somehow _expanded_ to life around her and she was now somehow _enclosed_ and contained within it. She was standing directly between the lines of tall, graceful Uchiha warriors – so close she could see their angled jawlines and aristocratic noses in perfect clarity.

She made the fleeting, inappropriate acknowledgement that beauty clearly ran in their genes.

As she whirled she stumbled over her own feet and squeaked when she fell right through one of the soldiers. The air continued to howl in her ears, mixing with a sound that was like rushing, overflowing water. Then she realised that she could still see the borders of the orb. Blue, rippling light pulsed around her, but when she tried to move toward it, the walls kept rotating and shifting, blurring away all perceptions of reality.

What was _happening?_ She pushed forward through the army's ranks. Each soldier stood at disciplined attention, faultlessly composed and prepared for battle. None of the men – and _women –_ Sakura noted in astonishment – showed any signs of noticing her presence – because she was not really there at all. She was a foreign body from the future, trapped in a phantom reel from the past – and she did not know how to escape from it.

Was this what Chiyo had meant when she'd warned that she could not predict what would happen if Sakura gazed into the Oracle? Sakura's heart was beating so hard that it was like an unstoppable force quaking through her entire body.

Then, over the din in her ears, she heard a voice speak – a voice that made her freeze in place. It was deep and powerful – a voice of pure, ruthless authority. The sort that made people stop in their tracks and impelled them to listen.

" _Gaze upon our enemy, my children! They, who would have us cast to the shades for all of eternity, while they revel in the glory they have stolen from us!"_

Sakura weaved onwards through the throng, until she came to a stop at the first row. Standing at the forefront of the army was a tall, broad-shouldered man. Long raven hair fell wildly down his back, a silky mass of spiky disarray.

There was something about the sight of him that sent alarm whispering through Sakura's veins. She did not need to see his face to know, _instinctively,_ that here before her was the apparition of a man who had once been majestic and formidable, pitiless and cunning, who had ruled with an iron fist. He exuded power – and unbridled menace.

An aura similar to Sasuke's, a startled Sakura realised with a near-painful jolt.

Unlike the scores of soldiers he commanded, the man was dressed in crimson red armour plates. Beneath it he wore the same black battle garb as the rest of his Clan.

Sakura's gaze lowered to the slender blade in the man's right hand. He was obviously so confident in his strength and abilities that he deemed it entirely unnecessary to wear a helmet or wield a shield of any kind. When he spoke again, Sakura found herself rooted to the spot, drawn in by the dark, hypnotic baritones that seeped into her ears.

" _They keep us from Olympus, because they fear Death! Death, which is superior to all life! Today, we will claim our victory at last. Dismantle their ranks! Show them no mercy! Their blood will saturate the soil of this wretched earth, and from it, a new era shall rise!"_ He lifted his blade to the early morning sky, before directing its stabbing edge forward. _"Tonight, children of Night, Zeus's empire shall fall, and the crown of Olympus will be ours!"_

A deafening, defiant roar followed his declaration, one that rattled Sakura's bones. She could practically hear the thirst for bloodshed, the buzz of anticipation that formed a suffocating, murderous cloud of malice around her.

And then came the chanting. One name, which struck an unknown, trembling terror in the most enclosed chambers of Sakura's heart.

" _Cronus! Cronus! Cronus! Cronus!"_

Over and over they called the name, like a demonic mantra. In the horizon, Sakura saw the rising sun and released another unsteady breath. A massive army of warriors, clad in white and gold armour, was marching steadily toward the fighters in black, their forms illuminated by golden, fiery light. In contrast to the shadowy auras of the army behind her, the approaching military force glowed with hallowed light. The golden plumes in their slender helmet crests were long and flowed behind them. At their front lines, a man rode on a glorious, winged white steed. By his side was a woman on a similar mount. Even from the great distance at which she stood, Sakura could make out the flame colour of the woman's braided hair.

A deep laugh rumbled from Cronus before her.

" _Come to me, Zeus,"_ he hissed. " _I will show you true strength."_

Sakura blinked. In that split-second, she had switched places, crossing miles over the battlefield in a single heartbeat. Looking around in astonishment, she found herself standing between the stationary, winged white horses. Behind her were countless rows of disciplined soldiers in white and gold. Their armour was more elaborate, etched with decorative, whirlpool-like swirls and their swords and shields gleamed, polished silver and burnt gold. Many of the warriors had white wings – _angels,_ Sakura realised. She turned back to regard the figures on the horses. They sat tall, elegant and proud. Other than the woman's remarkable red hair, she could make little else of their physical appearance.

Then the man reached out and took the woman's hand. And when he spoke, it was not a voice of nightmares and sinister black velvet, as Cronus's had been. It was cool and quiet strength – laced with deadly poise.

" _Stay close to me."_

Sakura saw the woman's slim fingers in their graceful gauntlets squeeze back firmly. Her voice was like liquid honey, and somehow Sakura knew that she had to be very beautiful.

" _You can't get rid of me so easily. Someone must keep an eye on you, after all."_

And just like that, they began to vanish. The vision was rushing around her. Darkness was rapidly closing in, infringing like thick, inky poison. The man on the horse was saying something else – but she could no longer hear it. Panicking, Sakura turned, to find the army blurring out of her sight, blowing over like a sandstorm, turning to grey and then to ominous shadows. The shades seemed to shift and morph around her – until with a start she realised that she was not alone but was now standing behind somebody else - someone tall, clad in a long dark cloak, with black feathers adorning the regal, high-necked collar.

Straight, glossy raven hair flowed from a high ponytail. A slicing, intimidating blade gleamed in the figure's right hand – held with a grandeur and composure that indicated superior fighting prowess.

Sakura's heart was racing into overdrive. She felt physically sick. Her mind was humming and she had broken into a cold sweat.

This person's aura was _dreadful_. So unbelievably smothering that simply drawing a breath felt like an awful struggle, a tug of war that left her lungs depleted. The air was frosty and charged with strange static electricity - so much more potent than anything she had ever experienced in Sasuke's presence.

Then, without warning, the figure shifted. She glimpsed an ornate, burnt golden mask, concealing the stranger's face up to the flawless tip of a noble, straight nose.

" _Thanatos!"_ A voice echoed urgently around her, but Sakura's seeking eyes could not locate its source in the pitch-blackness. _"It has begun! We_ _must_ _hurry!"_

There was a brief pause, in which Sakura frantically wondered why she could no longer distinguish the edges of the sphere. Suddenly it felt so frightfully _real_ – like she was actually there, trapped in a freezing void, lost in the tumultuous rage of time. She was so cold, her knees kept knocking together.

But nothing could have prepared her for the intensity of her body's reaction when the elegant stranger finally turned to direct a piercing, crimson stare directly at her.

Those _eyes_! Sakura was immediately and brutally dragged back to the Uchiha shrine room, to the portrait of Sasuke's family and the striking young man standing unsmilingly by Sasuke's side. The man with eyes that had stabbed straight through her soul.

This stranger's eyes were precisely the same; looking into them was like being skewered into place by a thousand needles. It was like a bodily blow that left her stricken and incapacitated.

Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. His beautiful eyes were all she could see, and the name, _Thanatos,_ was all she could hear, reverberating deafeningly in her throbbing skull, over and over and over again. And when the figure swivelled fluidly around and seemed to take a step toward her, she was once again overcome by the same irrational, deep-rooted fear. Her heart hammered against her rib-cage with such might, it was as though the organ were seeking to burst from her chest.

"No!" she choked. "No! Stay away! Get _away_ from me!"

In the distance, somebody was screaming. It took Sakura a stunned second to realise that it was her own throat making those horrible noises. She felt wetness all around her, like she was sinking into water and squeezed her eyes shut, thrashing and screeching, trying to fight off the oppressive liquid. Her brain felt like it was on fire, and throbbed with searing pain. The figure of the masked man was waning, but it did nothing to reassure her. If anything, being left alone in the shadows only served to intensify her anxiety.

When something physically grabbed her, she scratched and clawed and tried to kick herself free.

He had gotten her! The masked man had reached her!

" _Sakura!"_

At first, her near-delirious mind could not recognise the owner of the urgent voice. She continued to struggle with the force of a rabid animal, trying to flail and bite at the restricting grip that had locked around her.

" _Tch."_ A purely irritated exclamation was followed by a disapproving hiss. _"Stop it."_

"I won't let you!" she sobbed senselessly, her voice broken and hoarse. "I won't let you kill me again!"

A sharp intake of breath. Then her name was spoken again, and this time it sounded much closer.

" _Sakura._ It's _me._ Wake up."

The voice seemed to drive the blackness away and the darkness began fading. The world turned in on itself and she felt like she was falling very fast from a great height. Then the orb's blue-white light returned and with a gasp her eyes flew open – just in time to see the sphere floating harmlessly away.

Steely arms around her midriff were keeping her own firmly at bay. The tension seeped from Sakura's body in one swift rush, leaving her panting and drained. She slumped back against a solid chest and became aware that she was now sitting in the pool. Her fine dress was completely soaked.

Sasuke, who was kneeling directly behind her and supporting her weight, did not seem to care that his feet and legs were wet too. He stared down at the top of her pink head of hair with wide eyes, wearing an expression she could not see. One that was openly perturbed, as his mind torturously replayed the words she had spoken.

' _I won't let you! I won't let you kill me again!'_

For a long minute, they remained in silence, Sakura catching her breath and willing her limbs to cease their incessant quivering, while Sasuke simply held her. She found that she did not mind the proximity at that moment – without his warmth, she supposed she would have been shaking even more violently from the cold.

Finally she broke the dragging quiet, lifting her right hand to grip onto his forearm, signalling that it was safe for him to release her.

"Sasuke," she exhaled. Her scattered thoughts were spiralling from all the things she had seen. She wanted to tell him – but part of her was fearful, anticipated his wrath over the fact that she had pried and meddled once more, when she had given her word to him before that she would not do so again without his explicit permission.

He did not let go. The Oracle spheres continued to drift innocently around them, tinkling softly, their colours clear once again. Sakura wondered why she couldn't see anything else in them – but was grateful for it.

"I told you to stay put," he stated. To Sakura's incredulity, his smooth voice was level. He did not sound furious, as she had expected.

She swallowed thickly. Somehow, not gazing into his eyes made it easier to speak. Her body had stopped trembling – but she still felt displaced and disorientated. Perhaps Sasuke could sense it, and that was why his arms were still wrapped so snugly around her.

"I did," she explained. Her throat felt sore – probably from screaming so much – and she could feel dampness against her cheeks. How strange - she couldn't even remember crying. "Goddess Chiyo transported me to her hut. Then she led me here."

Sasuke scowled but stayed silent, thoroughly troubled by the disclosure. Chiyo _never_ interfered, and it was not like her to grant anybody – mortal or otherwise – access to the Oracle. That she had chosen to accompany Sakura to the spheres personally…

What was the annoying old hag planning? The death deity loathed not knowing – but what he _did_ know for certain was that Chiyo had all the answers he sought relating to what Sakura harboured inside her. And she was certainly up to _something_ , allowing Sakura to look upon forbidden things.

"Are you hurt?" he questioned next, catching Sakura quite off-guard with the quietness of his voice.

"I'm fine," she said. Suddenly she _wanted_ to see him – and at the precise moment she had thought it, his arms drew away from her. She turned instantly, sloshing in the shallow water and getting herself even wetter - but that wasn't important – and peered up at him.

He stared back at her, resting an elbow casually on his right knee cap, his expression as indecipherable as always.

Hesitating for just an instant, she blurted, "Aren't you mad at me?"

Dark eyes searched hers for a lengthy moment. He seemed to be considering his answer carefully. At last, he blinked.

"No," he replied simply, coolly.

He _wasn't?_ Sakura was thoroughly startled. His answer caused the last of the lingering tension and apprehension, which she had not even consciously realised she'd still been shouldering, to melt away as she exhaled in relief.

"Please don't be mad at Goddess Chiyo, either," she went on. "I asked her about how I could know your old name- she told me she'd answer a question of mine if I gave her a lock of my hair, and after I did she said-"

"Your _hair?_ " Sasuke interrupted, his eyebrows knotting together in a light frown. Why in the name of Elysium would the ancient crone make such a bizarre request?

Sakura nodded "After I gave it to her, she told me she couldn't answer my question but the Oracles might help-"

Something flickered in the death deity's smoky irises – and suddenly he _was_ angry. How uncharacteristically reckless of the goddess! She had lived for far longer than Sasuke had, and understood the Oracle's mysterious powers better than any other deity. And yet she had exposed Sakura, so brazenly and unconcernedly, to great danger!

"That _hag_ ," he muttered in exasperation, directing an appalled glare at the hovering spheres surrounding them. "The Oracle is treacherous. Look deeply enough, and it can break your mind."

Sakura remembered the immense mental strain and terrible emotions she had experienced, and shuddered. She would _not_ be prying into them again in a hurry.

"I didn't know," she whispered. "Goddess Chiyo never said it was so dangerous…"

This information only seemed to irk Sasuke further. There was another prominent pause, in which he watched the spheres and Sakura watched the way the lights danced so entrancingly over his features. Then the God of Death glanced back at her and regarded her with an intensity she had never seen before. Sasuke had always looked at her in a certain manner that had made her heart quicken. This look, however, was entirely different. She could not quite identify it.

"What did you see?" he demanded.

Her heart leapt. Suddenly her lips felt oddly parched. How would he react? What if she had seen too much? What if he really _did_ lose his temper? Was she prepared for it?

 _I had no control over what the Oracle showed me,_ Sakura reassured herself firmly. Steeling herself for his disapproval, she disclosed everything she could remember – including the scenes of her past and the random, unfamiliar streams that did not belong to her memory. She faltered at the recollection of the silhouettes of the lovers in the forest, flushing embarrassedly. Did Sasuke really _need_ to hear it? But she had heard _Hades,_ his old name, so of course it _did_ concern him. She _had_ to tell him.

And deep down, she was still dumbfounded by the staggering revelation that he had actually been with somebody in the past. Sasuke did not strike her as the romantic, affectionate sort – but surely he had to have been different all those eons ago – before he had lost his family.

She wondered what the goddess had been like, what kind of appearance and personality she'd had, and looked at the death deity. He was staring at her so absorbedly, as though he were weighing every single word that was leaving her lips. He wore an expectant expression, clearly waiting for her to reveal more.

Oh, how to word it! She knew what Ino would say; _oh yeah, by the way, I also saw you making out with some chick in the woods._

But she was not Ino, and could not speak of such intimate affairs so casually.

"I… umm… ah…" Sakura felt the blush in her cheeks deepen. _Damn it!_ It wasn't any of her business! Surely there was no need to say it- even when she really, _really_ wanted to _know_ who the girl had been- in fact, it was surprising, even to her, just how _badly_ she wanted to know…

Sasuke tilted his face slightly, mirroring her head's agitated movements. "Well?" he prompted, and she could sense that his impatience levels were hurriedly escalating.

"W-well," Sakura cleared her throat. "I saw two people. Together. They were together. Yes. Ah… and… hmm. It was dark. Uh… yeah. Really dark. And they were-" she bit her lower lip anxiously.

There had been no question of what the pair had been doing. It was faint, but she swore that she could still see their silhouettes writhing in the shadows in her mind's eye.

The death deity was now looking at her like she had sprouted donkey ears. She wished the fountain would just swallow her up and save her the mortification she was feeling.

Sakura crossly told herself to just _get it the hell over with,_ and blurted, "I'm so sorry! I saw you with a woman. At least, I'm sure it was you. She said _Hades_ , and you were together in some forest- uh…" her skin, she was positive, had surely turned tomato red. "I only saw shadowy outlines- but you were both-"

Sasuke, who had noted her discomfort, blessedly caught onto what she was trying to articulate. His gaze widened, as if he could not quite believe what he was hearing - then his palm shot up hastily to silence her.

"What are you babbling about?" he demanded harshly.

"I saw you with this woman-" she tried again, and gulped when he snapped at her.

His eyes blazed bright with indignation, as he bit out, "No such thing happened."

"I'm sorry," Sakura apologised again, making a lost, awkward gesture with her hands. "I don't know _why_ the Oracle would show me such a thing- but I heard her sigh _Hades_ and I thought _-_ "

"That's _enough_." The death deity rose swiftly to his feet, riled and angered by her admission, his hands closed to form furious fists by his sides. What utter _madness_ was she sprouting? A _woman_? He had not been with any woman back then. He would have remembered! Sasuke had always silently appreciated beauty – not that any onlookers would have ever been able to decipher this from his stony demeanour – but before Sakura, no girl had genuinely caught his interest. Countless females had chased after him, of course, before he'd ascended the Underworld's throne; fussing for his attention and throwing themselves his way – however, their desires had been limited to physical lust, only. Their intellects and personalities had always been severely wanting.

Now, here Sakura was, proclaiming that she had seen _Hades_ with a mystery lady. The very notion was ludicrous. He had heard of the Oracle playing tricks on the eyes of those with weak minds. Sakura had clearly been deceived by a false vision that belonged neither to her past nor his own. A meaningless illusion that held no merit or value.

It disturbed him all the same – though he could not fathom precisely why.

Sakura clasped her fingers together, not certain what to think. Had she been mistaken? But she had seen raven hair – she was sure she had! And the Uchiha pendant on the necklace the man had worn… Yet if it was true, why would Sasuke deny it? He was openly rejecting the occurrence – had there not been a special girl, after all?

She stood up and pushed the vision to the back of her head. There was more he needed to know.

"Cronus," she recalled the name, and knew from the way Sasuke's spine stiffened that she had remembered correctly. "That was the man who led your Clan, wasn't it?"

Sasuke pivoted around to stare at her with a degree of incredulity that he did not even bother to keep in check. He stepped closer, and as she went on, the disbelief on his features gradually heightened.

"I saw him leading the Uchiha army. He said something about defeating a _Zeus,_ and taking over an Olmpa or something-"

"Olympus," Sasuke corrected automatically.

"Yes," Sakura blinked at him. "What is that?"

The God of Death seemed to deliberate whether or not to answer for a long moment, before reluctantly conceding, "The seat of power."

Sakura considered this, before going on, "I saw another army, and a woman with red hair- then everything went black and-" she shivered. She couldn't remember what had happened next. Just thinking about it made her mind ache.

A hand on her right shoulder drew her attention back to Sasuke who was scrutinising her closely. "What did you see?" he pressed.

Lifting a palm to her forehead, she shook her head. "I can't remember."

"You said something," the death deity prompted. "You said you wouldn't let someone kill you again."

Sakura's mouth parted. She gaped at him, at a loss for an explanation. "I don't-" she fumbled. "I did? I don't remember." Shaking her head perplexedly, she exclaimed, "Why would I say something stupid like that? That doesn't even make any sense."

Sasuke's jaw clenched. _Because it wasn't you,_ he thought to himself, looking into her confused green eyes. _It was the voice of what you carry inside you._

He knew it with certainty. The essence had been responsible for the things she had seen – an essence that had evidently lived back in the time when his Clan had still been alive. But something had obviously happened to its physical body – something he still needed to figure out – and the essence had somehow been contained by Tsunade and the surface gods – who had then proceeded to lock it away in a mortal shell.

Why Sakura, though? Why burden her with something that, if not kept carefully controlled, could ultimately destroy her?

He ought to have felt angry that Sakura had seen things of his past that he had never intended for her to witness. What had happened on that day all those millennia ago had been so unspeakably horrific, even his divine memory had tried to suppress the most bloody of it. Instead Sasuke was outraged on her behalf. She had no control over what was inside her. She didn't even _know._ The essence had no right to occupy her body – or torture her mind with visions she could not understand.

Before he was consciously aware of what he was doing, he reached out and placed a palm against her chest, just over her heart, and stared at it. He could feel the organ thumping quickly. Where was it – the spirit she carried inside? If he stopped her heart, temporarily, could he extract the foreign aura inside of her? But what would happen if he did? Would it flee? Would it vanish into nothingness? What would become of Sakura's body if he tried?

He swallowed. He could not risk it. He did not know the precise nature of the seal that held it in place. It would surely hurt her dreadfully-

Sakura's breath had stilled. Sasuke was looking at his hand with a most peculiar expression on his face – one that was beleaguered with such heavy _unease._

For a god who never allowed his emotions to break to the surface, the sight was bewildering – and very, _very_ distressing.

 _Why is he looking at me like that?_ Sakura worried. _He looks like there's something awfully wrong with me. What is he thinking?_

"Sasuke?" she lifted her hand to brush over his. "What is it?"

He blinked at her touch, and the expression walled off completely. His features were a blank canvas once again.

"Nothing," he replied dismissively.

 _He's lying._ The thought deposited itself into Sakura's mind with resolute conviction, but his hand had already lowered. He snaked an arm around her waist and Sakura blinked – only to yelp when she found that he had transported them in that split second back to the grove with the silvery trees.

"Ah. I have been expecting you," Chiyo, who was sitting in the exact same place Sakura had left her, smiled at their arrival.

Sasuke's arm slipped away from Sakura, and he stepped forward, keeping himself stationed purposefully between her and the old crone.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded icily.

The goddess stroked the owl's fluffy neck. "I promised the child a favour. I am certain she has already spoken to you of all the details."

Sakura looked from one deity to the other apprehensively. She didn't want to be the cause of a divine dispute – but anger was pulsing from Sasuke's fine form in menacing, steadily waves. He was decidedly _peeved._

What disturbed her was that Chiyo looked extraordinarily untroubled by the fact.

"You should not have brought her here," he hissed.

The bird hooted, ruffling its wings as if offended.

"Do not be so impertinent as to tell me what I should and should not do, _little_ King," Chiyo's mirth instantaneously vanished and she peered at him with narrowed, sharp eyes. "She would not have looked upon that which you would forbid her from seeing had _you_ not carried her to the Shades of the Underworld."

"You test my patience," Sasuke snapped. "What game are you playing?"

"I could ask you the same," Chiyo's eyes twinkled. "Be careful, young Sasuke. There are many things I know, and many she does not. You would not wish to cause her undue sorrow, now, would you?"

Sakura scowled, her own temper flaring. They were speaking as if she were invisible – like she wasn't there at all! She moved to step around Sasuke – but he held up a halting, warning hand, without even looking back at her.

Sasuke's glowered hostilely at the old goddess, and chose to continue telepathically – cutting straight to the chase.

' _Why has Tsunade sealed the essence of a deity inside her? And why can't I see it?'_

Chiyo's irises gleamed. ' _Prying into affairs that are not your own, little King? You tempt Fate, indeed.'_

Sasuke ignored this. ' _Answer me,'_ he retorted cuttingly.

' _Ever so obstinate. You propose that the child houses something within her, yet your eyes perceive nothing of the kind.'_

' _Enough of your riddles. What would happen if I attempted to remove it?'_

Chiyo chuckled dryly. ' _The flower has told you what she has seen, has she not? Perhaps you ought to listen to her more carefully.'_

"What's going on?" Sakura demanded, knowing that they were speaking in their minds and frustrated that she could not hear it. "Sasuke?"

' _She said she would not let herself be killed again.'_ Sasuke's heart started to quicken as his brain began to weave the tentative strings of a plausible conclusion. Had this happened before? Had the essence been extracted in the past – and that was what had led to its original vessel dying? Was that why it had to be protected? He met the hag's knowing gaze – and something in the way she was looking at him told him that he was right.

His lungs stilled and he stepped forward. ' _Who?'_ It was scarcely a thought whisper, severe in its insistence. ' _Who killed the original vessel?'_

The crone lowered her keen gaze, grinning toothily. ' _Your lady seems quite upset, little King. So discourteous of you to indulge her ignorance. Whatever would your mother have said…?'_ And with that, Chiyo's form winked entirely out of sight.

Sasuke glared murderously after her. But his thoughts were all over the place, a chaotic mess firing off different possibilities – some wilder than others – as to the origins of the spirit contained inside Sakura.

A touch at his left arm made him tense and wrenched his focus back to Sakura, who was gazing up at him unhappily, her hands planted sulkily on her hips.

"What just happened?" she demanded. "Why did Goddess Chiyo leave?"

Sasuke did not deign to inform her that it was a thoroughly vexing habit the hag had always practised – vanishing – or getting rid of others - when faced with too many questions.

"We're leaving," he muttered, reaching out to pull her close again.

But Sakura stepped away. "No," she refused, surprising him – and herself – with her sudden display of boldness. "I'm sick of being left in the dark all the time. I want to know what she meant. She said there are many things she knows and many I don't, and that you wouldn't want to upset me anymore-" She evaded Sasuke's seeking hand again. "Wait!" she continued, retreating as the glowering death god began to prowl unhurriedly toward her. "Are you going to tell me what happened in the war?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he continued to advance, slinking forward with the feline grace of a black panther. "Why do you want to know?" he challenged, his voice hard-edged.

"Because-" Sakura was unprepared for the bluntness of the question, and her lips floundered as she searched for the reason. "Because now that I've seen a part of it, you can't just expect me to forget about something as big as a war between gods-"

"No," Sasuke rebuffed. She was only deluding herself. Did she not realise that he could read the real reason why she wanted to find out so much? It was a reason she would not admit to herself – and that vexed him all the more.

She gawked. "What? But _why_?"

"This isn't about the war between gods," the death deity accused, glaring such daggers at her that Sakura was amazed that her legs were still keeping her upright.

"It _is-"_ she protested. "I just want to know how _-"_

"You want to know _my past_ ," he deadpanned, the frankness of his words causing Sakura to freeze in place – at the exact instant her back hit against the solid bark of one of the milky trees.

"I…" she began breathlessly, stunned by the realisation that he was perfectly right – the root of her need to know _was_ that she was just being shamelessly nosey. In a heartbeat he had closed the gap between them and was now leaning down, his face just inches from hers. His eyes glittered like onyx diamonds – daring her to deny what they both knew was the truth.

She did not bother. Tired of hiding behind false pretences, she lifted her chin and met his gaze squarely. "Yes," she admitted. "I want to know what happened to you."

One corner of his lips twitched – not quite forming a smug smirk. The irony! She wanted to find out more – just as he was hunting for answers about her. He decided to see just how much he could push her. Intrigued, he reached up, curling a lock of her unique-hued tresses around a slender index finger.

"Why, Sakura?" he murmured.

She knew what he was really asking. _Why would you even_ _care_ _to know?_

Her pulse hurtling, Sakura bravely stood her ground. She made no move to place distance between them and willed herself to maintain eye contact as her brain cycled almost desperately for an acceptable answer.

But it only came up with all the things she could not and did notwant to say – all the things that sounded completely improper and heralded the way to treading on hazardous thin ice.

_I want to know what made you like this – so distant and distrusting. I don't know_ _ why _ _I would care. What were you like before? What was your mother like? What must it have felt like, being alone for so many generations? Because maybe if I understood what happened to you, what you went through, then maybe we could finally understand each other._

_And because you're so different to how I ever imagined a god would be – and this world - wouldn't that fascinate anyone? Wouldn't anybody else be curious, too?_

She had never ever held anybody's gaze for such a lengthy period of time. Whether a minute had passed, or an hour – there was no way for Sakura to tell. His eyes were like sparks that made her feel like she was kindling on slow burn. Still she had no response for him.

She did not know that Sasuke had already read her reasons from the expression on her features. The unyielding line of his mouth softened slightly – but the barely discernible shift was lost entirely to her.

Inside the cyclone of his tumultuous, private thoughts, the Underworld's ruler was trying to grasp the dawning realisation that Sakura was truly and genuinely interestedin what had happened to him – because she wished to understand his character.

The connotations of this – that she was starting to look _beyond_ the fact that he was simply a deity alone – and his consequent, conflicting feelings over such a significant development - were thoroughly unsettling.

They automatically spurned his defence mechanisms into action, mechanisms that sought to test her – even as a part of him - a part that left his proud persona utterly aghast and speechless at the preposterousness of it - was _tempted_ to share a portion of his history with Sakura – before he had fully unravelled the mystery of her!

"You wish to leave," he said nonchalantly when she remained silent, regarding the silky strand in his grasp with a sort of clinical interest - but the abruptness of his statement caused the air to whoosh out of her chest. Lifting his eyes pointedly to hers, he added, "Don't you?"

It shocked Sakura just how quickly her answer seemed to spring from the depths of her throat and swell to the tip of her tongue, an awful weight she had been carrying for so very long, obscured behind the guise of compliance. She distantly registered that she was near-trembling again. Perhaps it was the gravity of the words she had been waiting to say, words she had swallowed down each and every time – but she could not stay them then. Or maybe it was his closeness, the way he was looking at her, that was responsible.

The voice of reason inside her head was screaming at her to deny it. She thought fleetingly of how hard she had worked to get him to trust her up to that point. But it was no use. Her heart's wishes would not be quelled. Still she exercised caution, disciplining her tongue to answer prudently. She responded to his question with one of her own – something he had frequently done to her whenever she'd queried him.

"If you could," she whispered, "wouldn't you want to see your family again, too?"

He seemed to have been anticipating this answer – or a very similar one - for something like triumph flickered across his opaque gaze.

"You wish it," he confirmed, just as quietly, and there was a hint of _something_ in his voice which caught Sakura completely off guard. Leaning in close enough for her to discern the arresting intricacy of the lighter grey flecks in his irises, he finished emphatically, his palms moving to cup her face upwards toward his, " _So why should I tell you_ … _?_ "

So diverted was she by the warmth and unusual tenderness of his touch, that it took her a stupefied moment to process that he was referring to his past – that she had no right to know it if she intended to leave and stay away forever – but any attempt by Sakura to protest against the unfairness of this was swallowed up by the blinding funnel of light that rushed up to whisk them out of the grove.

When she next opened her eyes, she was sprawled on her bed in her chamber, staring dazedly up at the rich canopy high above her. As she pushed herself into a sitting position, she saw that Sasuke had gone and was nowhere in sight.

 _Nice one,_ her inner voice mocked sardonically. _You've just screwed yourself over and probably undone everything you were working so hard to build up._

"Shut up," she told herself angrily, feeling oddly tearful – which only made her even more livid at herself. _She_ wasn't the problem here – she had every _right_ to demand to see her mother and the surface again. It was _Sasuke_ who was the issue. Sasuke, who spun everything with such marked proficiency that he left her head and senses reeling.

So shrewd. So _sly_. How instantly he had turned the tables to leave _her,_ rather than himself, on the defensive!

 _But I was honest!_ She tried to reassure herself. _If I had lied, he would have seen right through it. I never said I wanted to leave. I just implied I wanted to see my mother again-_

She smacked a fuming fist onto the nearest silk pillow beside her. Sasuke had deliberately sought to catch her out – and like the _idiot_ she was, she had been caught unaware and let him trap her with his words. So _easily_.

 _Damn it,_ she inwardly cursed. She _hated_ the games he played with her on every level – mental, physical and emotional. He had accused Chiyo of doing so in kind – but it paled in comparison to the rings he continuously spun around her.

 _Is that it…?_ A smaller voice whispered from a corner of her mind to which she did not often listen. _Are you just going to leave it at that, and do_ _nothing_ _else about it? Are you just going to let him win,_ _all the time?_

Her breath caught in her throat. She knew what she hadto do. But before she could do it, she needed to clean herself up and change out of her damp clothes, first.

* * *

**_(Three surface days later)  
_ **

* * *

Sakura huffed distractedly as she flipped the thick, leather bound book shut with a dull _thud_. She had to use both hands to slot it back into its place on the shelf. Not even reading, it seemed, could divert her from her troubled ponderings anymore. Rising to her feet, she exited the library and made her way back to the grand entrance hall. It was empty – as she had expected.

The same inexplicable sense of paranoia crept over her – one she had been fighting for a while to subdue. She could not help but give into it, then. For the longer she went without seeing Sasuke, the more she became certain that he was deliberately avoiding her.

Any attempts to ask Ume and Chizu - or any of the other servants - to disclose where their Master had vanished to had been futile. Nobody had spotted him. Sakura had looked everywhere, roaming the palace grounds with feigned casualness. She didn't want it to look _too_ obvious that she was searching for him, after all.

She'd trawled the expanses of the royal ballroom, the art gallery, the banqueting hall, the lounge and study, the gardens and the throne room; she'd even visited the _kitchens,_ which she'd discovered had been stone-walled and ginormous with roaring hearths, and brimming with every kind of food under the sun – and she'd realised when she'd spoken to the red-faced chief chef - underground, too.

Her quest to find Sasuke had sent her peeping into the unexplored rooms on the first floor also. She had opened endless arched doors that led to even more ornately furnished bedrooms and various guest lounges.

Another set of imperial double-doors she had come across at the end of a previously unchartered corridor had opened up to an awe-inspiring, sprawling hall, littered with rows upon rows of gilded, black marble columns. Its vaulted ceiling had boasted twinkling crystal chandeliers but other than those and the goliath pillars, there had been little else in the enormous space. A long central strip of cobalt blue, gold trimmed carpet had stretched down the middle of the room. At its end had been another pair of exquisite golden doors. When she'd pushed them open, she had been delighted to spot a second ballroom, equally as majestic as the first she had seen. It led to a spacious balcony which overlooked the palace's enchanting gardens.

Sakura had stayed there alone for a long while, content to simply stare admiringly out at the twilight beauty. Everything had been so _silent._ She had duly given up her hunt and returned to her bedchamber to rest soon after. When she had woken up, she had searched all over the palace again, once more without luck. She had even knocked on his quarters – but a tentative peek inside the death deity's room had revealed it to be empty.

Her frustration had crested, and she had gone to the armoury, forge and then to the stables, seeking comfort from her horse, Eos, who had been only too happy to oblige her and nuzzled her affectionately. But Sakura's confusion had grown when she had noticed that all of Sasuke's dark steeds were accounted for; they'd glared at her with their fiery eyes – and Alastor most vehemently of all.

Afterwards, she'd returned impatiently to the library. She could not think _why_ he would be evading her. He had never left her alone for such an extended period of time – not even when they had argued. Sure, he had a habit of disappearing every now and then – he had many responsibilities, after all – but this was different. She could _feel_ it.

She had even spoken to Suigetsu about it – but the Ocean God had seemed unconcerned by the news.

' _He's probably throwing the mother of all strops over something,'_ Suigetsu had yawned in boredom. ' _Don't worry. I'm sure his grouchiness will be back soon. No need to send out a search party just yet.'_

Sakura had no way of knowing how much time had gone by. She only knew that _a lot_ of it had passed, and Sasuke was _still_ nowhere to be found.

She felt restless, like she needed to do _something,_ something productive. Something physical, that would keep her hands and mind busy. She was far too tense to arrange flowers or engage in any similar calming activity.

Then she had it. She would spar. It would provide her with a good outlet to vent her inner infuriation. She headed to her room, where she swapped her cream dress for deep red and grey-leather training gear. Pulling her hair into an untidy ponytail, Sakura tied her silver sandals and yanked on her arm gauntlets. Securing her sword to her belt, she marched back out of her chamber – only to collide into Ume, who squeaked and very nearly dropped her laundry basket in surprise.

"Sorry!" Sakura apologised.

"No, forgive me, Mistress," the little maid entreated. "I fear I was not watching where I was treading."

"There's nothing to forgive," Sakura reassured her. Then she ventured, "Is Sasuke still not back?"

Ume shook her head. "I have not seen the Master."

Sakura scowled and rested her hands on her hips. "Does he normally disappear for this long?"

Ume looked oddly uneasy. "We would never be so bold as to dare to track his Lordship's movements-"

Sakura sighed. "Alright," she shrugged, saving her attendant any further trouble as she waved in parting. "Well, I'll be in the training dome for a while."

She made her way to the room with the platform that descended to the arena below and pulled the lever, sending the platform grinding along the spiralling tracks. As she waited for the long journey down to come to an end, Sakura found herself looking forward to a good workout. Maybe she could find something to smash. She was certainly in the mood to cause a ruckus.

Maybe, she thought mischievously, as she finally reached the bottom and stepped into the cool sparring dome, she could even pretend that something was Sasuke's arrogant head and keep hacking at it until-

She bit back a startled choke, her feet freezing in place as her disbelieving eyes fell upon the spacious, lowered area enclosed by the familiar ring of five steps.

 _Sasuke_ was standing there, his back turned to her.

A distinctly _shirtless_ Sasuke.

A black strip of cloth was tied around his head, blindfolding his eyes. He was surrounded by seven wooden, circular boards. The bulls-eye of each target was marked by a small red dot. She watched as he flung seven kunai into the air, aiming at the handles of three with the pointed edges of the others in order to deflect them to their intended targets. Each and every one hit the central mark. _Of course._

It surely had to get tiresome, Sakura thought dubiously to herself, being so _perfect_ at every single thing one did.

Then she swallowed, her throat feeling peculiarly parched. She didn't want to spar with Sasuke. Certainly not when he was only _half dressed_! Just her luck that she had been searching for him all this time, only to happen upon him here when she'd been hoping to train innocently and in peace!

Both _innocence_ and _peace_ were words that decidedly did _not_ go hand in hand with the death deity standing before her.

She knew he had heard the platform descend – but that did not mean she had to remain. She spun around with the intention of leaving instantly, and passed by one of the pillars – only for a kunai to whistle within inches of her right ear. She blinked as it stabbed into the column and remained there, vibrating from the sheer force with which it had been thrown.

Spine rigid, she turned – at precisely the same instant Sasuke did. He lifted his blindfold and tossed a sardonic glance her way, one eyebrow slanted upwards in that outrageously haughty manner of his.

"Sakura," he drawled, elongating the first vowel so very intolerably, and as if on cue, her traitor pulse began to skip to a much livelier pace.

She stared at him – then ordered herself to be casual by folding her arms pointedly across her chest.

"So this is where you've been hiding all this time?"

He removed the blindfold completely, tying the fabric around his right wrist. His forearms, she noted, were bound with strips of white, bandage-like material. It made him look even wilder and more rebellious than usual, somehow.

"You were looking." His voice was condescending. Sakura's inner-self wished, for the millionth time since she had met him, that she could plant a fist smack in the middle of that sinfully beautiful face.

"I wasn't." The lie had rolled off the tip of her tongue before she could stop it. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her briefly – then he turned away with an indifferent snort.

It was the opening she needed to make her hasty retreat – but the second she turned to move away again, his voice rang out after her.

"Spar with me."

She had seen the directive coming the moment she had seen him standing there. Sakura chewed down on her lower lip. When was he going to realise that she wasn't some kind of puppet that he could just control on a whim?

 _When you start showing him,_ the same little voice she had listened to before whispered. She remembered the resolve she had felt after he had deposited her, less than graciously, onto her bed and left her for what could have been days or weeks, for all she knew.

"No, thank you," she declined politely, pleased to hear her voice was clear and steady. She wasn't about to let him pull her into another of his games – especially _not_ looking like he was right then. Without turning around, she marched away, almost allowing herself a grim smile of victory as she neared the platform.

But of course, with Sasuke, things were never quite so straightforward. Before she could even comprehend what was happening she felt a strange pressure around her arms, like something thin had wrapped tightly around them – then a sudden tug jerked her forcibly backwards, sweeping her feet cleanly out from underneath her.

She gasped. The next thing she knew, she was staring up into Sasuke's face. He was supporting her tilted weight with his left arm. Wound around his right hand were lengths of glowing, pale-blue string. It took Sakura a shocked second to register that he had wrapped the thin thread around her torso and used it to physically haul her back to him – and into the lowered circular arena.

"You-!" she began furiously, her cheeks ablaze with anger. Any attempt to wriggle free was obstructed by the painful sensation of string digging almost cuttingly into her skin.

"Don't," the death deity warned. "With a little more pressure, these chakra strings could sever your arms."

Sakura grew still. Her eyes inadvertently dipped to the bare skin of his chest for a split second, before rising back to meet his.

"I said I don't _want_ to spar, Sasuke!"

"Then why are you here?" With a deft flick of his right wrist, the chakra string unwound before vanishing into thin air. Sakura immediately took back her own weight and stepped away from him.

"I came here to spar _alone_ ," she stressed the final word, hoping he would get the hint.

"And how would that help you improve?" he enquired indifferently.

"I could concentrate better-"

She instantly regretted the words, for Sasuke pounced, like a big cat snagging its prey. " _Concentrate?_ " he echoed, and the smirk that danced upon his lips was so unapologetically _sexy_ that it made her knuckles itch with the need to act. "Is something _distracting_ you, Sakura?"

Oh, she didn't just want to punch that face. She wanted to positively _pulverise_ it!

" _No,_ " she retorted – perhaps a little too loudly.

"Hn," he scoffed. Keeping an eye on her, he reached into the black pouch attached to his silver corded belt and pulled out something small and metal, attached to the ends of red string. It jingled softly in his hold.

Twin bells, Sakura stared at them – then directed questioning eyes back to the God of Death.

"An agility exercise," he stated. "Retrieve these bells."

She frowned, her eyes widening as she watched him clip the bells back onto his belt. He wanted her to get them off _him?_ But that would risk _touching_ him- skin to skin contact and she definitely didn't want that, she thought, as her gaze trailed fleetingly over the tantalisingly defined planes and ridges of his flawlessly sculpted torso _._

"Draw your blade."

His voice made her flinch and flush. She hadn't even _realised_ that she'd been staring at him…

Thankfully, Sasuke had already turned away.

"Wait," she gave herself a mental shake, telling herself to pull it together. If she was going to spar like he wanted, he had to compromise, too. " _Wait._ If I win, what will I get?"

He threw a glance back at her over his left shoulder. Kusanagi glinted in his hand, cold, cutting, ruthless steel. He seemed to deliberate her request for a lengthy moment, mulling over whether he wished to indulge her or not – before consenting, much to Sakura's inner relief.

"Well?" he prompted.

Now it was Sakura's turn to pounce. She knew that she had no chance of beating him by swordplay alone. Her win would have to come through another means - cunning and wit. Her chances of victory were slim, given the stakes she was about to place on the table; she knew Sasuke would have no intention of slipping up once he heard them. But she drew hope from the fact that she had managed to intellectually outsmart him before – though the game of human chess had been significantly less intimidating.

"You'll tell me what happened," she said firmly. "If I get the bells, you'll tell me about the war."

She saw the tension coil in his shoulders – and for an instant he seemed caught somewhere in between irritation and genuine incredulity that she was being so persistent over the matter. Then he turned to face her fully, his dark eyes glittering dangerously.

"Those are high stakes, Sakura," he remarked.

He didn't need to tell her that she would have to let him match them with a high demand of his own. But Sakura didn't want to think about losing – and what he would claim from her, if she did. She didn't even want to _hear_ it. Just the manner in which he was regarding cautioned her of the terrible mess she'd be in if she failed to retrieve the bells.

Which was why she _wouldn't._ She'd use any ruse necessary to win and get what she wanted – just as Sasuke had done so many times before.

"I'm ready," she said, steeling her nerves and drawing her sword, indicating that she had no intention of reconsidering. The more she dragged it out, the more likely she knew it would be that she'd back-pedal on her request and choose a much _safer_ prize.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed – but on the inside, he was begrudgingly impressed. She was foolish, believing that she had any chance of winning at all – but a brave and beautiful fool, all the same.

He raised Kusanagi, signalling his unspoken consent to her terms, and pointed its menacing tip directly at her.

"Then begin," he instructed.


	39. Chapter XXXVIII

**Chapter XXXVIII  
**

* * *

_Enter now unto despair,_

_Where hope is cast without a care,_

_Where shadows impel all light to flee,_

_As a raven, that caws in flightless plea,_

_The night doth shroud,_

_And dead in ground,_

_A stone heart weeps,_

_Without a sound.  
_

* * *

Adrenaline coursed through Sakura's veins as she carefully tracked the death deity's movements. Even the simple act of blinking was a risk – just one slight second of indecision and she knew Sasuke would be onto her in a flash. He was circling the perimeter of the arena with languid grace, his charcoal eyes locked onto her in turn. As if to make a deliberate point, he dragged Kusanagi's tip along the sandy ground after him, leaving a dusty trail in his wake.

Sakura could practically _feel_ the arrogant smugness rolling off him. And he had every right to be confident; his breath-taking speed and physical strength left her with little hopes of claiming victory. But she was determined _not_ to let her nerves get the better of her this time. It didn't _matter_ that he was inappropriately dressed, she told herself fiercely. It was a minor inconvenience that she would just have to do her best to overlook. She could not and _would not_ allow herself to be distracted by his appearance. There was too much at stake, after all.

She had sparred with Sasuke frequently enough to gauge his preferred combat style. Short and sweet, he liked to move in for the kill quickly and directly. Sakura predicted that he would seek to antagonise her first, of course. He always seemed to derive great satisfaction from making her feel as uncomfortable and agitated as possible.

As if on cue, he taunted silkily, "Afraid, Sakura…?"

Sakura gripped her sword tightly with both hands, her eyes firmly on Kusanagi. Every few seconds her gaze would dart to his feet, then his face – before returning to the slender blade in his grasp. With every step he took to his right, she mirrored him, maintaining a safe distance between them.

"Should I be?" she answered, keeping her concentration in check.

A tiny half-smirk danced on Sasuke's mouth. He could detect the tangible tension weighing heavily on her small shoulders and from the defensive manner in which she was holding her weapon. As if she expected him to pounce at any second. And she had every right to be anxious; she had no idea what his stakes were - what he intended to take from her once he made her concede defeat.

Sasuke's pulse quickened with anticipation at the thought of pulling Sakura close, of cornering her and ensnaring her. He could practically _taste_ the inevitable conquest; however, he would take his time to trounce her efforts. He would _relish_ doing so.

"If you surrender now, I will spare you," he offered.

Sakura's eyes flicked briefly, cagily, onto his. "Spare me _what_?"

This time he did not bother to keep the wicked smirk from manifesting itself upon his lips.

" _Pain,"_ he said emphatically.

Sakura ground her teeth together, promising herself that she'd withstand _anything_ if it meant wiping that conceited look off his face. She decided that it was far worse to wait for _him_ to come to her and waiting would only cause her uncertainty to escalate _._ She had no way of predicting what his first move would be. So it was better to do what she knew he least expected - test the waters _before_ he made his advance _._

Steeling herself, Sakura stepped forward.

Internally, Sasuke was pleased. Here was progress; she was being daring and acting first – even though her decision to do so left her more vulnerable to a counter-attack. Still, it mattered not who began the offensive – the end result – which he envisaged as being a flushing Sakura pinned and writhing beneath him - would remain unchanged.

She continued edging cautiously towards him, her eyes trained on his weapon – just as he had taught her. He slunk right, keeping his posture neutral, curious to see how she intended to bridge the gap between them without getting disarmed.

Then she surprised him again by charging straight at him, her sword stabbing forward, aiming for one of the more vulnerable spots he had informed her about in previous training sessions – the shoulder of the arm that wielded a weapon.

Effortlessly he lifted Kusanagi, parrying lightly – at nowhere near his full capacity. Perhaps he would toy with Sakura and indulge her with the opportunity to get close enough to at least _reach_ for the bells, before he swiftly turned the tables.

Sakura pushed forward again, this time aiming at his left wrist. He fluidly side-stepped, the same infuriating, faint smirk playing on his lips.

"You're being reckless," he warned.

She did not respond and instantly followed up with another string of attacks, slashing incessantly at him. He met her attempts lazily, which only told her that she needed to work so much harder. She swiped at his legs, seeking to keep him busy as she inched ever closer.

 _Keep focusing,_ Sakura willed herself, her heart pumping. _Keep looking at his hands and feet._

The death deity, of course, could see straight through her chosen – and utterly predictable – choice of strategy and evaded with little trouble. At her next slice, which she aimed at his right side, he met her blade with his own and held firm, locking their swords – and eyes - together.

"Sakura…" he uttered condescendingly. Without blinking, he applied a fraction more force, pushing down against her raised weapon. It caused the muscles in her arms to tremble under the strain – a stark reminder of the immeasurable difference in their power levels.

Her teeth sunk into her lower lip. She knew how to unlock the stance – but her follow up move would have to be quick. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed her arms marginally whilst simultaneously side-stepping to Sasuke's left. Metal contacted with metal as Kusanagi's sharp edge scraped against her weapon's length, just as she leapt out of the way of his deflecting counter-jab.

Moving reflexively, Sakura feigned a right hit but pulled back at the final moment and dashed left, grazing by his side. _There!_ The twin bells jingled enticingly at his waist – she only needed to reach out and-!

Sasuke whirled and immediately eluded her, targeting a disabling strike at her ankles. Sakura's heart leapt. He had allowed her a series of starting attacks and was finally beginning to return in kind. She needed to be _very_ vigilant.

She skittered back – only for the death deity to stab at her right elbow. Sakura jumped to avoid it, but Sasuke, keen to remind her of the kind of pace and agility he commanded, followed with an attack so fast that Sakura heard the hiss of cutting steel as it whistled through the air – directly toward her throat.

A killing blow. At the last micro-second, Sakura lifted her sword defensively before her neck. But the force of Sasuke's assault caused her to stumble awkwardly backwards.

It was at that precise moment that the death god chose to _really_ begin. A succession of clean strikes forced Sakura on the defensive. She deflected blow after blow and blocked his attempts at jabbing at her legs.

"Hn," he scoffed, as their blades locked once again above her knees. "Not bad, Sakura." His eyes narrowed pointedly. "But not good enough," he added.

Then he yanked his sword back and slashed upwards, aiming for her neck once more. Sakura yelped and fell back, losing her footing and landing less than ceremoniously on her rear. Sasuke aimed for her right arm again, and Sakura barely managed to scramble away in time. Hopping back to her feet, she retreated and circled him, seeking an opening. He stood in place, watching her keenly with hawk eyes.

Slowly, she edged in again, directing a sequence of blows at his less dominant side. But Sasuke was swift to turn the tide as he went on the offensive once more. Sakura's eyes flew up and down, left and right as she strained to match the blinding speed of his movements. Trying to keep up with the clinical proficiency of his strikes was exhausting – both physically and mentally.

Then, with a suddenness that was startling, Sasuke jabbed at her left shoulder. Sakura flinched and defended at the final moment. He did not give her time to recuperate. In a heartbeat he had lunged forward, bridging the gap between them to rain a cutting slash down upon her head.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed in alarm, raising her arm senselessly in a purely instinctive, protective gesture. But her attempt at parrying the blow was deterred as Sasuke's free hand shot out with rattle-snake reflexes and clamped around her wrist. Before she could even process what was happening, her blade had been flung out of her grasp and her right arm twisted painfully behind her back. Her startled gasp caught in her throat at the sensation of her feet being swept cleanly out from underneath her. Stars swarmed across her vision as the world briefly lurched on its axis – and the next thing she knew, she was lying flat on her back upon the sandy ground.

 _What the hell-?_ Her inner voice raged. How many more times was she going to let him catch her off-guard so easily?

Then she gulped as her eyes rose to find Sasuke leaning over her, his long, lean legs straddling her sides. One hand was locked around both of her wrists, keeping her arms firmly at bay above her head – safely away from the bells attached to his belt.

"You're not fair," she panted, and immediately regretted talking when Kusanagi slid beneath her chin, kissing the vulnerable skin of her throat.

"Making excuses again, Sakura…?" The death deity sounded oddly breathless, too – which she found strange, given that he hadn't so much as worked up a sweat up to that point.

" _No_ ," she denied fiercely. "You're not giving me a chance to-!" she broke off, alarmed, when Sasuke's face lowered, so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath fanning against her right cheek.

The manner in which she'd fallen had caused the hem of her top to ride upwards, exposing the softness and flatness of her stomach. The sensuous sight of bare flesh sang to his carnal side, pleaded for the ministrations of his fingertips. Without looking down, Sasuke deposited Kusanagi onto the ground and lifted his free hand.

Placing it upon her abdomen – which flinched down of its own will as if seeking to escape the coolness of the contact – he slid his palm slowly upwards, caressing her skin. It felt like liquid silk – how he hungered to feel more of it! His fingers lingered above the lower cage of her left rib, as he stared deeply into her wide eyes.

"Yield," he exhaled, and Sakura blanched when she felt his fingertips creep higher, as if in warning. Electricity seemed to surge through the ends of his digits, flowing directly into her nervous system, causing a strange tingle to settle in her lower belly. Her heart was thundering at the touch, so vigorously that she was positive he could feel it. Just a little further and his roving hand would infringe upon too intimate a territory…

Meeting his gaze full on, she bit back angrily, " _Never._ "

Something flicked within his smoky irises. To Sakura's horror, his fingers continued to roam upwards, millimetre by millimetre. Mere centimetres separated them and the lower swell of her breasts, concealed only by the lacy fabric of the crimson bra she wore.

Trying to keep panic at bay was becoming increasingly difficult. Sakura squirmed, but to no avail. He had her prisoner beneath him.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, embarrassed and furious beyond measure. She could feel the inferno roaring to life in her cheeks, and was even more riled by it.

" _Stop,"_ she spoke the word through tensely ground teeth.

The look he gave her was positively devious.

" _Make me,_ " he mocked.

 _Bastard,_ her inner self raged. He was _enjoying_ this. She could tell from the predatory glint in his eyes.

The fingers traced idle circles as they continued to swirl leisurely upwards. Sakura's mind raced. She _had_ to get him off of her! But _how,_ when both her arms were compromised? Her thoughts of escaping were side-tracked when the hand that had been tickling her ribcage diverted, slipping out from underneath her top. Her relief was short-lived, however, for it trailed upwards, trespassing on the valley between her breasts, where it came to rest – as if to feel the erratic drumming of her heart underneath.

"Give in," Sasuke pressed again.

"No," she refused defiantly. Then, with more boldness than she felt, she added in a burst, "I don't care what you do."

The corner of his lips twitched – as if he found her statement somewhat entertaining. Sakura swallowed, her bluffing act of bravado quavering, as he lowered his face so that the tips of their noses were touching.

"Don't you, Sakura…?" he drawled.

 _God._ He was so close that she could see every minute detail in his striking irises. She stared into them, aghast to find herself distantly admiring the intricacy of their flecks in the midst of a physical struggle. But suddenly, she couldn't help herself; she couldn't look away. They were a deep, charcoal, stormy grey, off-set by brighter specks of lustrous anthracite that caught the surrounding light luminously. It was strange, how she had at first believed that Sasuke's eyes were a flat hue of onyx that consumed all illumination, like bottomless black holes. For they were decidedly not – theirs was a shade she had never even glimpsed on the surface. A colour that always seemed to vary, depending on the source of light…

Sasuke, too, had frozen, the wayward hand now resting upon her clavicle. As if he had seen something in her eyes that had caught his rapt attention, also.

Unbidden, her lips parted, allowing rapid, shallow puffs to escape from her mouth – and Sasuke felt it against his. A strange sensation was washing over her, one that caused something to flutter frantically in the pits of her gut. Her entire body was prickling.

What was _happening?_

"Sasuke," she whispered.

The sound of his name was like a catalyst, spurning an unstoppable reaction. The steely hold at her wrists loosened. The death deity appeared temporarily preoccupied, thoroughly ensnared by the mysterious power that held his concentration so absorbedly. When the fingers fell away altogether and his hand moved to brush the side of her face, Sakura sensed an unforeseen opening and told herself that she couldn't afford to waste the opportunity.

She had sworn to herself that she would avoid physical contact at all costs. That she would not touch him. But she now willed herself to act. It was _necessary._

She reached up and laid a palm lightly upon his left forearm. Immediately the fingers that had been hovering below her chin clenched and she felt the ripple of muscles tautening beneath her touch.

His eyes moved to her hand – inspecting it as if it were something foreign and unknown to him. As if he was trying to make sense of it.

The air in Sakura's lungs stilled as a remarkable realisation hit her, as violently as a bolt of lightning hailing from a thunderous sky.

He had absolutely no qualms about touching her. But when she initiated contact on her own… when she reached out to him unexpectedly…

It clearly elicited some form of _reaction._

The God of Death was still staring down at her hand. Sakura decided to stall no longer. She raised her left one, hesitantly, as if to touch his other arm – but diverted at the last moment, snatching at his waist.

Before her fingers had even closed on thin air, Sasuke had retreated and was standing at a carefully calculated distance from her. His head tilted back aloofly, and his eyes formed cold slits, glowering icicles down at her.

It was disorientating, how swiftly he swung from one extreme to another. The remnants of whatever peculiar madness had passed between them fizzled out of existence as Sakura gave herself a stern mental shake.

Breathing heavily, she sat up, noting the position of her sword to her far right. She had to get it. But Sasuke saved her the trouble. He walked over to it and nudged it nonchalantly towards her with his foot. Sakura grabbed at it, finding reassurance in its familiar weight as she straightened herself into a standing position again.

This time, Sasuke was the first to attack. They exchanged relentless strikes – with Sakura mostly on the defensive - circling and dodging at a pace that made her head whirl. She was caught in a dangerous dance of blades with Death himself – a dance that looked increasingly like it was on the verge of ending unfavourably for her. Still she did not give up, parrying as best as she could manage and scampering away whenever she got the chance to place even a sliver of breathing space between them before Sasuke closed in again.

But despite her valiant efforts, her mortal lungs soon began to burn. The muscles in her arms began to tremble and ache and her body began to tire. A fatigued lapse in her concentration allowed Sasuke to slip behind her and deliver a crumpling blow to the back of her knees with the hilt of his weapon. Sakura's legs buckled and before she knew it, Sasuke's fingers were laced in her hair and Kusanagi was ruthlessly at her throat again. She felt a firm tug and then her tresses were spilling around her shoulders, freed from the messy knot she had so hastily bound.

She wheezed, gulping hungrily to fill her starved cells with oxygen. For a long minute there was silence. Then the tip of Kusanagi slid to her chin, angling Sakura's head to look uncomfortably over her shoulder.

She met Sasuke's penetrating gaze.

"Give up," he censured for a third time.

She glared up at him in response. Swallowing through the dryness in her throat, she croaked, " _You_ give up!"

He blinked down at her, internally baffled. _She_ was the one in a most disadvantageous situation, at his mercy with a slicing sword hovering perilously above her jugular vein, and she was telling _him_ to submit?

Was she really so utterly determined to know of his past? To poke her little button nose where it did not belong? He could scarcely comprehend it.

She was so stubborn and so completely _annoying-_

Sakura stabbed blindly backwards with her blade, aiming for his shins. He easily avoided it, and Sakura jumped up to her feet, pedalling away to restore space between them.

Sasuke adjusted his hold on the sword and began to move in once more. There was a look and air about him that screamed to Sakura that she was running out of time. The death deity was growing bored – and she could tell from his purposeful stride that he was eager to bring the session to an end.

She had to _do_ something! But what? Sakura's thoughts ricocheted chaotically around her skull as the plummeting realisation that she was staring into the jaws of defeat loomed over her. She couldn't match his strength. Neither could she catch him off guard. She was just too slow-

Then it hit her - the only possible hope she had. One that was devious and unfair – but if it meant that there was a chance of her achieving victory, she _had_ to take it.

Side-stepping right, she parried another blow, and as Sasuke continued to pound a fresh sequence of attacks at her, Sakura's posture sagged. Yet he was utterly unrelenting, hailing down strike after strike upon her. Sakura's heart hammered so dreadfully fast that it felt to her as though the life-sustaining organ had somehow managed to lodge itself in the base of her throat. Again she repelled his blade, and was grateful when she finally managed to place distance between them once more.

Sasuke could see that she was exhausted. Her stamina had all but been spent and her posture was slumping. He could hear the air escaping her lips in laboured gasps.

He was about to snap at her to submit for a fourth time – when she suddenly raised a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut – as if pained.

He forgot about speaking, then, and hesitated despite himself, watching her closely.

"Uh…" she whispered, and her right arm, which she had just lifted, fell limply to her side. She turned her back to him - and wobbled precariously on her feet. Her fingers loosened and her weapon slipped from her grasp to the dusty ground.

His irritation turned to immediate concern. In a heartbeat, he was behind her and reached out to steady her.

"Sakura-" he began.

But his hands closed around thin air as Sakura, without warning, swiftly threw her weight onto her left leg and simultaneously pivoted sinuously behind him. A second later he felt a firm yank at his waist – before the tinkling sound of jingling bells infiltrated his ears.

He turned rigidly – a part of him still struggling with denial and absolute disbelief - to find Sakura glaring up at him triumphantly, her apple-green eyes twinkling with victory.

She shook the bells mockingly again at him.

"I win," she exhaled breathlessly. The death deity blinked at her, and she couldn't keep the gleeful grin from plastering onto her face at the sight of his astounded expression. She could scarcely believe she had successfully pulled off her sensational plan – and revelled for a minute in her own ingenuity.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was having a terrible time accepting what had just happened. _Sakura_ – sweet, innocent little Sakura – had actually managed to _trick_ him. She had purposefully _chosen_ to feign physical weakness - playing on the unanticipated losses of consciousness that had always caught him off guard before, as well as the instinctive and protective feelings they elicited – and used it to steal an unexpected win.

He did not know who he was more furious at – her for actually _daring_ to resort to deception - or himself for allowing worry for her to briefly cloud his concentration and focus.

His incredulity, however, quickly turned to ire. The muscles in his jaw tightly clenched as he narrowed his gaze menacingly at her.

"You cheated," he snapped, his words loaded with accusation. Displeasure seemed to crackle around him like an electrically charged current.

Sakura wisely chose to retreat, taking careful steps backwards. To her relief, he remained in place, tracking her with blazing eyes.

"I didn't," she answered. "I _am_ tired." _And you're not smirking now are you, you arrogant jerk,_ she added to herself internally, a fresh, silly smile pulling insistently at the corners of her lips.

Sasuke glower was an interesting mix of disgust and derision. Unable to stop herself, Sakura giggled.

"You're a bad loser, aren't you?" she teased lightly.

As if in answer, he stabbed Kusanagi irately into the ground, with such force that Sakura's stomach somersaulted despite her sense of elation.

Then, with a suddenness that was unsettling, his expression walled off. Just like that. Completely and entirely, his face became a blank slate all over again – prompting Sakura's self-satisfaction to wither considerably.

"Hn," he scoffed contemptuously, closing his eyes briefly as he lifted his right hand and made as if to unwrap the bandaging around his forearm. Sakura couldn't help herself – the second his attention was diverted, her gaze involuntarily drifted lower, trailing over the defined ridges and planes of his sculpted torso.

Fresh warmth bloomed in her cheeks and she was appalled to catch her traitor brain thinking that the phrase ' _physically attractive'_ just didn't seem to do enough justice for the tantalising sight of bare, masculine flesh before her.

She hurriedly lifted her wayward eyes when Sasuke opened his again and paused before adding shortly, emphatically, "I _never_ lose."

And that was it. That was all the notice she got. She had scarcely blinked when a strange whizzing sound flew by her ears. Sakura gasped, her mind registering what was happening a split-second before her startled body could react. But it was too late. The same digging pressure wound around her arms and tightened, binding her wrists uselessly in front of her. She glimpsed the pale blue glowing chakra strings he had seemingly summoned out of nowhere – and then she was being hauled roughly forward, with such merciless force that her feet physically left the ground and her hair was sent flying behind her. The world breezed by in a dizzying blur.

When she blinked again, she found herself enclosed in the iron cage of Sasuke's arms. Her splayed fingers contacted against the solid wall of his chest and the touch was akin to blistering fire, sizzling against her skin.

The thread bound around her rubbed sorely against her exposed arms. Determined to show him that she was _not_ intimidated - although she was inwardly _freaking out_ at just how outrageously and unacceptably close their bodies were -Sakura lifted her chin rebelliously at him.

"You can't twist this one, Sasuke," she said, her voice wobbling despite her best efforts to keep calm. She could feel the scandalous redness in her face and hated herself for it. But what teenage girl _wouldn't_ blush in her situation? Sasuke was _shirtless_ and the feel of those strong pectoral muscles beneath her palms sent all kinds of forbidden ideas into her head…

Sakura swallowed thickly and forced herself to venture bravely, "You agreed to our terms. Now you have to tell me what happen-"

And that was the precise moment when his lips crashed angrily against hers.

Sakura blinked, astonished and stunned. He had struck with the callous swiftness of a death adder, catching its prey so unpredictably. Blinking was all she could do, as his mouth slashed dominantly over her own, engaging in an entirely different kind of battle. His touch was like an instantaneous, violent detonation, an igniting spark - and then her body was responding, coursing pure, liquid fire through her veins, a sweltering rush that left her senses reeling. She felt as though her heart had plummeted straight through her soles and buried itself a thousand feet into the ground. A smothered, protesting sound escaped her throat as Sasuke crushed her against him, his hold on her unbreakable, unyielding.

Inside the pandemonium of her mind, her inner self was gaping in abject mortification.

How had things spiralled so unexpectedly beyond her control?! It had happened so suddenly- there was no _way_ she could have stopped or physically prevented it-!

She squeezed her eyes shut, her arms trapped against the solid wall and scorching heat of his chest. Trying to break free was futile. The combination of the chakra strings, along with the way he was clutching her, so intensely to him, made it impossible to shift even an inch. She could feel his heart pounding, as surely and rapidly as she could feel her own, and tried _not_ to think about how his lips were causing such distressing, conflicting sensations to flood from the top of her scalp to the tips of her toes.

The blood in her ears was a deafening rush, synchronised with the wild drumming of her pulse. Apart from the fact that he had once more succeeded in catching her unawares, it was nothing like the first kiss he had stolen from her in his quarters. Perhaps that was what caused every muscle in her body to freeze, rendering her absolutely motionless in his grip.

There was nothing soft and hesitant and uncertain about it. Instead, all Sakura felt was raw hunger. Raw _need._ And she was staggered by it, by the full realisation of just _how much_ Sasuke desired her.

She had never felt desirable before – to anybody. That a mighty, immortal deity, one who could have the most beautiful women begging at his feet, would want _her,_ Sakura Haruno, a final year college student, so desperately…

Sasuke, meanwhile, was having trouble thinking straight. He had not exactly intended to kiss her. It had just sort of _happened –_ a spur of the moment, impulsive reaction fuelled by his irritation at losing - and like her, he found that he could do nothing to stop it. Even as he told himself that he had to sever it, even as he _willed_ himself to release her, he just _couldn't._ The feel and softness of her in his arms, the sweetness of her… it was as though he had been suffering for an eternity of terrible thirst, his lips parched for liquid coolness – and Sakura was the delicious, refreshing water he so profoundly needed.

She was like a destructive addiction – the more he tasted, the more intoxicating euphoria escalated. He didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't _want_ to pull back, to give her the oxygen he knew her lungs so urgently needed.

The world was revolving, taking with it all sense of clarity. The kiss had surely only lasted a few seconds, but to Sakura, it seemed like endless hours. With the same abruptness that had set off the volatile reaction between them, Sasuke finally released her, shoving her back at arm's length - as if he required the physical space as much as she did - whilst simultaneously unbinding the chakra thread. Sakura dazedly watched them fade from sight.

Silence roared, amplifying the tension that crackled in the air between them. His eyes burned into her, smouldering sooty coals.

It wasn't only her inner self that was stupefied. Sakura felt her mouth sag uncouthly as she gawked at him in disbelief.

 _That was his stake,_ she told herself nonsensically. _He didn't even win. He never won and he took it anyway-_

His chest was heaving. He was looking at her as if he expected her to either run or pick up her sword and fling it directly at him. Sakura did neither – though she felt the need to do both at once. She merely continued to stare at him in a mixture of dismay and numbed shock. Her lips, still tingling from the bruising pressure of his kiss, floundered almost comically, like a flustered fish. But despite her best attempts, her tongue could not form any words.

And the more she thought about the fact that he had taken what she was absolutely certain would have been his request had he won, the more incensed she became. Always he manipulated situations for his own gain! He'd strung her along into a sparring session, something he knew she had not been comfortable with, on the premise that the winner would be granted a favour of their choice. Now he had turned her victory against her, rendered it utterly _meaningless,_ and clearly had no _intention_ of fulfilling his word.

Fury bubbled and brewed inside her like boiling hot magma, ready to overflow. She could feel her body shaking from the force of her aggravation. Livid frustration crested at his unparalleled arrogance, how he thought he had the _right_ to take what he wanted from her, whenever he wanted it – to handle her in such a manner – to deceive her with false words and watch her work so hard to snatch an unlikely win, only to take it away from her at the very end!

Whether it was the bitter disappointment of her efforts being so disrespectfully disregarded or the crushing accumulation of _everything_ about Sasuke that had frustrated and upset Sakura up to that point – or perhaps both – _something_ was responsible for the near-audible snap of self-control splintering deep inside her.

Her rage exploded, spewing destructively like molten lava. Her right arm, which had lifted of its own accord, acted on a reckless, highly-charged impulse and her indignant brain's screaming commands to get even in _any_ way possible, to salvage whatever was left of dignity in any way she could.

Her open palm connected viciously with his left cheek – _hard._ The blow clapped like thunder and resonated loudly in the air – and then all was still and deadly silent, save for the irregular huffing of her shuddering breaths.

Time seemed to suspend. When it finally resumed, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Sakura blinked, as the enraged haze that had clouded her vision seconds earlier rapidly dissipated to give way to horrifying, stark realisation. She had actually _slapped_ Sasuke; Sasuke, the death deity, who had the power of terminating her existence with a mere glance. And this time, it hadn't been a sleep-induced accident.

He had frozen, too, as if he could not quite process what she had just done. The strength of her blow had forced his face to angle to his right, and left an angry red mark on his skin. The sensible part of her whispered that she was in for it – but maybe it was adrenaline that made Sakura's hands ball into tight fists and was temporarily kept the terror of her actions at bay. Suddenly, a slap wasn't good enough. She wanted to _punch_ him all the way back up to his stupid, _stupid_ throne room.

It was entirely _his_ fault, she inwardly vented. If only he had upheld his end of the deal – if only he hadn't _kissed_ her like that-! If he hadn't made her _feel_ all the awful things that were still circulating crazily in her blood-stream-

Flustered and breathless and unable to take the crippling quiet any further, she finally exclaimed, "You can't just _do_ that, Sasuke!"

He blinked, as if her voice had drawn him out of his own state of surprise. With pain-staking slowness, he turned his head to fix a withering stare at her. She was too preoccupied with her own distress to notice that his hands were clenched tightly, too. Yet still he said nothing.

Distraught by the furnace she could feel raging in her face, she ranted on, fully caught up in the heat of the moment, "You can't just kiss me whenever you feel like it!"

It felt satisfying – expelling her vehemence externally, rather than compressing it inside her as she had the first time he'd touched her lips with his. But Sasuke was looking expressionlessly at her like she was speaking a language he had never heard before - like he didn't even comprehend the concept of getting to know somebody _before_ romantically engaging with them. It came as no wonder to Sakura. He did not exactly strike her as the sentimental, wooing sort.

She remembered Suigetsu's words; that Sasuke took whatever he wanted – with little regard for consequences and the feelings of others.

Her flush intensified. She could feel herself getting worked up – a stark contrast to the disciplined composure that had quickly settled over him again. He didn't _understand._ He didn't know how upsetting it was for her. Kisses were intimate and special between two people who were in a stable relationship, and _taking_ them so casually and without permission was _wrong._

But then, Sasuke was a god, and gods clearly did not conform to the same rules of courtship as humans did. The realisation only served to further augment her frustration.

"Aren't you going to _say_ anything?" she demanded. There was a quiver in her voice now, an undertone of weakness that made her feel ashamed. After she had tried so hard to be bold and unflinching! However, she couldn't help it. His dragging silence was unnerving and she wasn't quite sure _what_ that peculiar expression in his eyes was. Surely he had to be furious that she had hit him? Why wasn't he retaliating?

He tilted his head marginally to the right – looking her over intently as if he was debating something - and then he was advancing again. Desperate to maintain her courageous front, Sakura yelled at herself to stubbornly stand her ground, rooting her feet firmly in place, reasoning that the worst had already happened, and he couldn't possibly want to kiss her _again_ after her fiery outburst.

He came to a stop, toe to toe with her.

"I won," Sakura felt tears prickling at her eyes – but they were tears of vexation. She battled them back, as she went on in a near whisper, "You agreed to my terms. You can't just change your mind and flip the stakes-"

She blinked, cutting off at the disconcerting sensation of fingertips trailing lightly along the right column of her throat. Sakura stiffened. Was he about to throttle her for daring to lay a hand on him? But his touch remained gentle and she registered with a startled jolt when she glanced up that something was happening to his irises.

They were changing.

"I," Sasuke hissed pointedly, "am _not."_

She watched with distance fascination as onyx bled to red. Black tomoes spun lazily as the Sharingan surfaced. She opened her mouth to voice her alarm, stumbling back, away from him.

"What are you doing?!" she gasped, but speaking suddenly felt like a tremendous chore, like her tongue had become heavy and could barely form even the simplest of words. Sakura told herself that she _had_ to look away. She remembered what had happened the last time he had captivated her with those frightening, beautiful pin-wheels. But she _couldn't._ For something was decidedly different about his eyes. The shapes inside the irises were shifting, taking on more complex forms – that of intricate, six pointed stars.

They were breath-taking to behold – and devastating. Gazing into them, Sakura felt like she was standing at the edge of a yawning, infinite chasm.

He prowled forward leisurely, those eyes still fastened firmly onto her.

"It's too late," his voice was soft, like a velvet caress. It only served to beguile her further. "You are already trapped in the illusion."

 _Illusion?_ What was he talking about? Sakura continued to retreat senselessly. Her legs felt strangely like jelly, like they were on the verge of collapsing beneath her.

' _You want to know,'_ a voice as dark as night rippled through her mind. Sasuke's. _'I warned you once about the price of forbidden knowledge.'_

She frantically tried to decipher his telepathic statement. To derive some semblance of meaning. But Sasuke was speaking again.

Aloud, he uttered ominously, " _Tsukuyomi."_

And that single word was the beginning of her descent into the unknown. The world was spinning around her, whirling and disappearing, faster and faster until it became a warping distortion that propelled her into the waiting clutches of boundless shadow.

* * *

Sasuke had caught her before she could fall to the floor. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly as he carefully controlled the visions he was projecting directly into her subconscious mind. A great part of him was restless. Agitated. He was allowing another to glimpse what he had kept so private and concealed from the world since his Clan's demise.

But he had made a decision. The second he had kissed her again, he had felt it and _known_ it. It was undeniable; Sakura was a part of his existence now, a part he had made permanentthe instant he had coaxed her to take a bite from the Forbidden Fruit. _No,_ he rectified. Their destinies had been tied the instant he had chosen to abduct her. He had let her see the Heavens, places in the Underworld that no mortal had ever been permitted to gaze upon. And she was starting, subtly, to change. Slowly but gradually, she was unfurling like a flower, showing him little snap-shots of the courage and feistiness he knew still slumbered deep inside her.

Little glimpses of the kind of woman he had always known she could become.

He had seen her frustration plainly. Felt it palpably in the physical hit she had connected with her palm. Her incessant want to know more, to learn of the past that had been kept from her. Not only because she was naturally curious. She genuinely wanted to know more about _him._

He had finally come to terms with this, and all its implications. The time he had spent away from her had allowed things to fall into perspective with a resounding click in his mind.

The other deities all knew of the massacre. The difference was that he was allowing her to see it from _his_ view point. Seeing what no other living immortal had seen.

How would she react? Would her opinion of him be swayed? He certainly did not desire her pity, and his pride outwardly rejected it. The truth was, he could not anticipate what she would do, had made no plans beyond the duration of the illusions. It was rather ironic, he thought bitterly to himself, that he had always mapped things out so painstakingly, so prudently before he had met Sakura. Now here he was, kneeling on the sandy ground with the girl sprawled in his arms and no clear idea of where it was they were both heading. What the Fates held in store for them both. He only knew that she was a definite part of his future – and could not envisage one without her.

His teeth clenched and the strain in his jawline was evident. Not everything. Still, he would not let her see it all, and some things he was not sure he would ever be prepared to tell. He would be sure to leave out the parts that would warrant particular explanations regarding the surface gods. There were some events and truths that she was not yet ready to know – not until he discovered exactly _why_ Naruto and the others had kept her ignorant of their identities.

 _Tsukuyomi_ was an eye-technique exclusive to his Clan; a deadly illusionary state that allowed its user to control the victim's perception of time and space. He could show Sakura whatever he wished, could make her feel like she was actually experiencing real events and emotions. She could not awaken until he dispelled the illusion from her mind. He was the master, the spell-weaver. And so he bent the visions to his whim, and let her see what he willed.

* * *

_Darkness. Everything was shadowy and still. She was drifting along the tides of an immense ocean of blackness, from which there was no discernible escape._

_Where… am I…?_

_What happened to me…?_

_The cliché questions, the age-old catch-lines. But she really had no idea._

_The first thing she became aware of was a cool caress against her face – the touch of a gentle, ruffling breeze. Then Sakura gradually began to feel the rest of her body again. She was lying on something bumpy and hard. She could sense her hands, her fingertips resting against something prickly and straw-like. She could feel the familiar weight of her motionless legs – and then, like a white hot blast, came the thunderous pounding of her head. It was like an incessant drum, thumping and thumping, compelling her eyes to open._

_They did – to find a perfectly clear, twinkling night sky that spun merrily as she sat up unsteadily. Thankfully, the vertigo was short-lived and swift to resolve on its own. Sakura rubbed at her forehead, was relieved when the headache melted away just as quickly. Shaking off the remnants of grogginess, she looked around in bewilderment._

_She had woken up in a vast field. The grassy earth beneath her hands was cracked with fissures, as if a recent quake had split through the crust. She rose to her feet, hugging herself despite the relative warmth of the air around her. She was still dressed in her sparring clothes – but where was Sasuke?_

_Sasuke. She tried to envisage his face in her mind, but any attempt to do so was met with a terrifying blank._

_Why couldn't she see him?_

" _Sasuke?" She was suddenly afraid. What was this void into which she had awoken? Why was she alone? For next to death and decay, she had always feared darkness and solitude most of all._

" _Sasuke!" she called again, spinning searchingly. She remembered his crimson eyes – the six pointed stars that had spun hypnotically at her. Was she dreaming? But it felt so very_ _real._ _The wind, the scent of grass… she told herself that she couldn't possibly be asleep._

_She blinked - and gasped in alarm when she found that her surroundings had abruptly changed. Now she was standing in a small cavern-like structure. She turned, and saw the soft flicker of candlelight to her far right, coming from an opening in the wall. As she drew closer, she heard the quiet murmur of an unfamiliar voice._

" _It is done. Everything is in place. Tomorrow, at dawn, we ride against Zeus."_

_She inched to the opening, keeping concealed behind the right wall. Inside she saw four tall figures, assembled around a table bearing a large, scroll map. Burning torches were fixed onto the walls. Fur rugs lined the ground, and about the circular space were stationed a multitude of wooden barrels. In the left-hand corner was a gold stitched, thick curtain that led to what Sakura assumed was another room._

_The people inside were all dressed identically in long black cloaks, but she could only see two faces._ _One belonged to a handsome, stern-looking, middle-aged man whom she immediately recognised from the portrait she had seen in the shrine room. He had the same dark brown hair, worn loose to his shoulders, and eyes that were dark and imposing. The same heavy, weary lines crinkled his brow._

_The other visible man appeared more youthful in disposition, had a face half-concealed by an ornate silver mask. His wavy hair was unruly and jet-black, feathering in all sorts of wild angles, and she could discern the sharpness of crimson eyes peering through the slits of the mask even from the distance at which she stood. The other two had their backs to Sakura – both wore feather lined cloaks, although the taller of the two, who had flowing, silky black hair pulled into a high ponytail, wore a higher collar of feathers that was moulded more closely at the neck._

" _Cronus will assemble us at the designated spot," the dark-brown haired man, who Sakura knew for certain_ _had_ _to be Sasuke's father, was going on. His voice was deep and level. Had Sasuke obtained his aloofness from this man?_

_He moved a pawn on the map with a gloved hand. "They will seek to use sunlight to drive out our forces. But Apollo will surely ride to the battlefield alongside his father, and your mother will use his distraction to cloak the sky to our advantage. Under the shroud of Nyx, we cannot be overcome."_

_He turned and placed a firm hand on the shoulder of the masked youth beside him._

" _Hypnos. Take care. They will seek to incapacitate you because of your power. They will not risk you getting close to Zeus."_

" _I should not be concerned," the masked man, Hypnos, answered lazily. His voice was smooth, unhurried and soothing. Sakura's mind felt strangely lulled by it. "I shall target Hera instead. We take his woman, we take his army."_

" _Do not underestimate Zeus's Queen," Sasuke's father censured gruffly. "She has tamed the Nine Tails in the past, after all."_

" _Heh," Hypnos grinned simply._

_Nine Tails? What was that? Sakura frowned to herself as she strained to hear more._

_Hypnos was going on, "And what of Cronus and the Nine Tails? How do we know he is not leading us to our deaths? He has misused his family before-"_

_Sasuke's father replied quietly, "Our people call him King and draw strength from his cause. His desire is the same as ours. He seeks to restore us to glory – and I believe that it is his intention to do just that."_

" _But the Nine Tails…" Hypnos started again._

" _His Mangekyo will not falter," the father said. "Of that we can be assured."_

" _He has never had any qualms about sacrificing for his own designs, though, has he?" Hypnos muttered with a sigh, running a hand leisurely through his boisterous locks._

" _Father," someone else spoke up – and Sakura was struck with a jolt. She knew that voice._ _Sasuke._

" _What happens after we acquire Olympus?" he was continuing. "Will he not seek to rule alone?"_

" _Come now, Hades," Hypnos clucked his tongue and tilted his head in mock sympathy. "Do you not see? With any luck, we shall all die in the fray and Cronus will ascend the throne alone. He may spare you, though, as his pet, since you are youngest."_

" _Enough, Hypnos," a quieter, silkier voice spoke up, and Hypnos immediately stopped talking. Sakura knew it belonged to the other individual standing beside Sasuke/Hades._

_The father directed a displeased scowl at Hypnos. "You see the jest, as always, in a grave situation. We are on the eve of war, Hypnos. Your impertinent words border on treachery, and if Cronus hears of what you have spoken, even Thanatos cannot protect you from his wrath."_

_Instead of looking concerned, Hypnos appeared even more amused. "I believe it is_ _I_ _who has always protected_ _ him _ _."_

" _We will follow Cronus into battle, and we will be victorious. He is our elder, our leader, and we must obey him," the elder man reminded him._

_Hypnos rolled his eyes. "I merely try to lighten the mood."_

" _We are not of light," the elder deity stated flatly._

_Hypnos was subdued by that. "Then forgive me."_

_The father shook his head and sighed, suddenly looking extremely tired as he gazed down at the map for a long moment. Then he looked up and squarely met the gaze of the individual standing on the other side of the table opposite him._

" _Thanatos. My first born. My son. You will ride with me, by Cronus's side. It is the greatest of honours, to be selected from amongst the highest calibre of our warriors, to protect your King."_

_Thanatos said nothing to that. Sakura saw Hades look to his right, at who she now knew for certain was his older brother._

" _As long as we remain steadfast, and together, there is nothing that can keep us from our victory." The father finished with a resolute nod. A silence passed then._

" _And what will I do?" Hades demanded, breaking it impatiently._

_His father glanced at the other two briefly, as if the answer to the question had already been decided beforehand._

_Then he said matter-of-factly, "You will protect your mother when she veils the sky in our favour."_

_There was a tense pause. Finally, Hades exclaimed stiffly, "_ _ What? _ _"_

_Hypnos shook his head. "Ah… I thought somebody had already informed him…"_

_Hades was glaring at his father. "You all ride out to battle, and I remain behind with mother?"_

" _There is no shame in that-" Hypnos began comfortingly._

_Hades's rigid body language suggested he was on the verge of throttling Hypnos and his unhelpful remarks. "Father," he entreated, and Sakura could hear the barely restrained frustration in his voice. "I am amongst our Clan's greatest warriors, also. I would ride out with you and my brother-"_

" _We must ensure your mother's safety," his father answered shortly. "When she returns, she may be targeted by Zeus's forces. My mind will be easy, knowing my youngest son protects my wife."_

" _She needs no protection-!" Hades began to protest angrily._

_His father slammed a palm onto the table, causing Sakura to flinch. A stunned silence ensued; even Hypnos seemed uneasy in the wake of the dispute._

" _Do not argue with me, Hades! You will go with your mother and remain by her side until you are summoned back to us."_

_With that blunt command, his father stormed out of the cavern, heading directly towards Sakura, who panicked and hid herself behind a nearby boulder. She watched as Sasuke's father disappeared, followed closely by Hypnos, who strolled languidly after him._

_Sakura counted to twenty in her head, her heart pounding. Seeing this side of Sasuke… a side she had never gotten to see, a side of him that interacted with his family and had arguments with a parent like any regular youth – suddenly made him seem so much more_ _ human _ _to her. Cautiously, she crept back toward the opening and peered inside again. She didn't know why she felt the need to keep herself concealed, even when she knew that she could not be seen. This past did not belong to her; therefore she did not exist within it._

_Hades was standing with his hands tightly clenched. His brother was looking at him, and Sakura could see that he, like Hypnos, also wore a mask that concealed the top half of his face. It did not matter; if anything, the mask served to make him appear all the more dangerously alluring._

" _Calm yourself, little brother," murmured Thanatos, reaching out to place a pacifying hand upon his riled sibling's right shoulder. "Your time will come."_

_Hades snatched his arm back before Thanatos could touch him. "You're just like them," he hissed, and Sakura could see the rage and accusation kindling in his irises. "I am not first in line to the throne – if father should be protecting any of us, it should be_ _ you! _ _ You _ _will be King someday, Thanatos. Not me!"_

" _You are upset," Thanatos replied, in that same steady, rational tone. "We will talk later."_

" _No," Hades snapped back at him, turning his back dismissively. "I have nothing to say to you."_

_A light sigh. Then a gentle, "As you wish."_

_Sakura watched as Thanatos seemed to linger for a long minute behind his brother. She saw him raise a hand, as if to try to touch him again – but drew back at the final moment. She shrunk to the shadows once more as Thanatos then took his leave and exited the cave. After he had vanished from sight, Sakura edged to the entrance of the opening and saw Hades staring down at the same map his father had been looking at._

" _Do not be displeased, my love," a soft voice that sounded like liquid music suddenly spoke. The curtain in the corner of the room was drawn back – and out stepped a tall, slender yet shapely woman, so achingly lovely that Sakura felt unworthy of even standing in the same vicinity as her._

_His mother, she realised instantly, and something ached oddly inside her at the sight of them together. Her straight tresses were long, flowing raven and cascaded down to her shapely waist like a river of black silk. She wore a rich gown of finely stitched silver, and there were pearls and silver crescents in her hair. Her skin was ivory white and her dark eyes glistened like midnight gems._

_Hades looked away from her, but he did not move. She drew closer, reaching a hand out to him as his brother had. However, he did not shrug her away and did not try to stop her when her palm cupped his left cheek and turned his face toward hers._

" _Who can assure my safety, if not you?"_

_Hades swallowed. "Do not patronise me, mother."_

" _Indeed, I do not," his mother replied. "You wish to serve your family, Hades, and you shall. My child," she reached out with her other hand to cup his other cheek tenderly. "Your father wishes to guarantee not only my safety, but yours also. You are precious to him, dearest one. More precious than you know."_

_Hades scowled. "He thinks me weak."_

" _No. No." His mother soothed. "He knows you are strong. As do I. As do we all. You have a gift, my love; a gift that not even your brother, with all his brilliance, can rival."_

" _And what is that?" Hades demanded. But his voice was now much quieter, and Sakura could see that the tension had slipped from his shoulders._

_In response, his mother smiled, and it was like looking upon the glorious moon, bursting out from behind the concealment of obscuring clouds. So radiant and brilliant; Sakura's lips parted, so entranced was she by the haunting beauty of the goddess._

_His mother said nothing more. She simply lowered her right hand, and placed it over her youngest son's heart._

_Then before Sakura's very eyes, the vision began to disperse and howling wind closed in on her. The world warped and rippled – before joining together again to form an entirely different landscape. In contrast to the intimate scene she had just witnessed, she now found herself thrust into one that was laden with utter destruction._

_Sakura turned, horrified to find scores upon scores of lifeless bodies strewn upon the battleground. Some were impaled with spears and blades and weapons she could not even recognise. Others had missing limbs and heads and crimson was spattered everywhere. Sakura placed a hand over her mouth and nose, trying hard not to gag at the crippling stench of blood and decay. She saw warriors in black and silver armour clashing ferociously with fighters clad in white and gold. Smoke and fire billowed from the earth up into the sky. When Sakura looked up, she froze at the awful sight that met her._

_The sky looked like something out of an apocalypse. Part of it, to the farthest east, was midnight black – the rest, an acrimonious, acidic, hazy yellow._

_The yells of the warriors mixed with the screams of the dying. It was the most unbearable thing Sakura had ever seen and heard. She cowered in place, watching with glazed eyes as the warriors annihilated one another, each believing their cause to be the righteous one._

_Then her eyes fell to the earth, and she gasped. The grass was a charred black. Not a single flower was in sight. Smoke surrounded the horizon, so that she could make nothing out beyond what was directly before her. She stumbled forward, trying her best to step around the fallen, nearly retching on numerous occasions when her gaze happened to land upon gruesomely misshapen bodies._

_Finally she came across two warriors locked in vicious battle. One of them had long, spiky raven hair and was dressed in red armour plates. Sakura was rattled with sudden recognition._

_ Cronus. _ _Here was the very same leader she had seen in the Oracle._

_The other was golden-haired and protected by polished silver and burnt gold armour. He had lost his helmet. A lightning bolt-like earring flashed in his left earlobe as he stabbed at Cronus with a slender spear. When Sakura caught sight of his face, she was awed by the hallowed light she saw within it – as well as his striking, clear blue eyes. They were intense and enthralling and shrewd and wise all at once. This devastatingly handsome deity… was this the mysterious Zeus who had caused the Uchiha Clan such great unrest?_

" _Is that your best, Zeus?!" Cronus taunted, and Sakura saw that he was beautiful, also. Something about his demeanour and aristocratic features reminded her fleetingly of Sasuke. "Perhaps if you surrender to me now, I will spare you the humiliation of begging for your pitiful existence!"_

_Sakura had only laid eyes on Zeus for a few minutes, and already she was certain that he could never be reduced to_ _ begging _ _. He seemed far too proud and regal in bearing._

" _You are blinded by your hate," Zeus responded. "What will such violent devastation accomplish? You will never own the throne of Olympus-!"_

" _You oppressed my people, banished us to the darkness while you revelled in the devotion of mortals! You stole the throne that was intended for ME!"_

_Zeus flash-stepped backwards, avoiding a deadly swipe from Cronus's blade. It dripped shadows, and where it touched the ground, the grass wilted. Zeus straightened and directed a measuring look at the darker-haired deity._

" _This is not about your Clan," the golden-haired god said and his voice was chillingly calm. "It never has been. You would sacrifice them to achieve your own selfish goals-"_

_Cronus bellowed with laughter. "Hahahahahaha! And have we not all of us sacrificed for our own benefits? You," he jabbed an index finger toward Zeus, "know this better than anyone."_

_Zeus's sky-blue eyes narrowed. He held out his left hand and Sakura watched in amazement as a mighty, crackling lightning bolt took shape in his palm._

" _I will stop you," he vowed with quiet confidence._

" _You," Cronus sneered, "disgust me! Sprouting talk of righteousness – always believing yourself to be the saviour of humankind!"_

_He lunged with a deafening roar – and Zeus hurtled his thunderbolt. The vision exploded into blinding light and chaos erupted in Sakura's ears. She covered them and squeezed her eyes shut – and when she opened them again, she was in darkness and silence once more._

_Before her was the familiar silhouette of Hades. He was standing, frozen – and Sakura quickly realised why. He was staring at two figures, slumped motionlessly on the ground before him. As Sakura moved behind him, she glimpsed a river of dark hair, a pale, slender, limp hand. A crown of stars and scattered pearls._

_His mother was lying lifelessly on the floor. And sprawled on top of her, as if he had sought to desperately protect her from harm, was Hades's father._

_A dark figure stood in front of them. Steel glinted as a blade was drawn portentously from a sheath. Crimson eyes glowed menacingly in the shadows._

" _Brother…" Hades whispered. "What is this…?"_

_Sakura exhaled shakily, her mind echoing the very same question. What was_ _ happening _ _?_

_The surroundings were whirling and merging again, transporting her elsewhere. Once more she was on the battlefield. The ground trembled and quaked, and a horrendous, blood-curdling roar shook her bones – a sound that was forged purely of nightmares. Sakura felt a massive shadow fall over her and turned – only for her lips to part in a horrified scream._

_The creature was humungous - a feral beast of incredible beauty and unspeakable terror. It had the form of a ginormous, nine-tailed fox. Its tail-ends seemed to Sakura to be as sharp as slicing razors and swiped dangerously, smacking the ground and causing it to tremor. Its eyes were a wild, glazed crimson and its tawny coat was stained with smears of blood. She could see countless spears and swords impaled inside its body – but they did not slow its carnage down. It swiped with its gigantic, clawed paws, sending warriors from both sides flying. The agonised howls that filled the air were nauseating._

" _CRONUS!" A voice screamed over the pandemonium hoarsely. Sakura turned and her heart leapt to her throat. Hades stood there amongst the litter of bodies, bloodied and near-hysterical. The sight of him stunned Sakura more than anything else. He looked so_ _broken_ _. "WHAT HAVE YOU_ _DONE!?_ _"_

_Cronus smirked callously. "Every great cause requires sacrifices, Hades. Your parents understood that."_

_With an enraged yell Hades charged at him, his blade drawn back. Sakura watched, her heart hammering, as they duelled at a speed that was blinding. But Hades was severely injured, and eventually Cronus got the upper hand, striking him on the head and knocking him unconscious._

" _Let the shades take you, boy," Cronus hissed, kicking the younger deity's head for good measure. "I gave you enough chances."_

_Sakura wanted to run and claw Cronus's eyes out. But she could not move. She looked back to the nine-tailed demon fox, which was savagely attacking two figures. One was golden-haired - Zeus - and the other, a woman with scarlet tresses. His Queen. Cronus was perched atop the beast's colossal head and was firing dark energy in an attempt to ward Zeus and his Queen back._

_Then she saw the Queen raise her hands and luminous, golden chains wound around the creature, strangling and suffocating. The beast struggled and roared, snarling and scratching and turning up great clumps of earth in a rabid attempt to escape. She glimpsed Cronus, also enchained, gazing down at the charred remains of his fallen army, screaming in rage. None of his kin remained to aid him._

_None save for one._

_She looked back to Hades. He had regained consciousness, and stumbled back up to his feet. She saw him gaze dazedly upon the scene of slaughter and massacre around him. His Clan, lying lifelessly in the dust. His family and ancestry lost. She saw it register on his face – a second before the ground beneath his feet rumbled._

_Then, without warning, it split open, and she saw shadowy hands snatching and tearing cruelly at the ends of his cloak. A choked sound escaped his throat as he tried to get away, openly rejecting the chilling summon, but everywhere he turned, the spirit-like, skeletal fingers snagged at him, pulling and yanking incessantly, as if they sought to drag him into the darkness below. He kept tripping and losing balance, but each time he tried to get to his feet again, tried desperately to break free of their clutches despite his visible exhaustion._

_She saw his face one final time, the dreadful face of someone who had lost_ _ everything _ _. It reflected the horror of what the appearance of the shades had to mean as it dawned upon him with indisputable clarity; that the Dead of the Underworld were calling out for their new King, for the single remaining living heir – that everybody else that mattered to him had perished – and then the earth was falling away around him, and he was plummeting into the bottomless chasm below._

" _HADES!"_

_She heard a voice howl his name in pain, before the world around her began to cyclone into the shadows again and she was falling too, falling down into an abyss of nothingness once more._

* * *

With a shuddering gasp, Sakura's eyes flew open, her mind spinning from the visions she had seen. She felt dampness against her eyelashes and face, and reached up in bewilderment to touch her right cheek as she stared numbly up at the canopy of her bed above her.

Tears. She was crying.


	40. Chapter XXXIX

**Chapter XXXIX**

* * *

_The discord in the dark, I am._

_The warning they ne'er hark, I am._

_The dread and the horror they find,_

_The black curse that misleads the blind._

_The screams in the abyss, I make,_

_The souls of the dead, I forsake,_

_Pain and affliction, I bestow._

_Until down into sickness, they go._

_All know of my venom and dismay,_

_Marionettes caught in a diabolical play._

* * *

' _Do you see anything?'_

Asuma shifted carefully in his position, concealed behind the sturdy boughs of a tall oak tree. Chewing absentmindedly on the slender wooden toothpick in his mouth, he raised the binoculars to his eyes again.

' _Nothing out of the ordinary.'_

It was true. The building was thoroughly unremarkable. To think that the junior doctor who inhabited it was conducting unnatural experiments in a secret basement sent a sense of unease crawling along his skin.

Just how much had Orochimaru told Kabuto? How far had his poisonous words corrupted the unfortunate mortal's feeble mind? He knew all about the slippery serpent's ability to mislead and damn those who were imprudent enough to listen to his insidious whispers – treacherous lies coated with sickly sweet syrup.

' _The lights are not on, Asuma.'_ Kurenai's voice rippled through his mind, as light as air. _'My birds aren't sensing any activity inside, either.'_

Asuma's eyes narrowed. _'He is expecting us to watch him, now. He certainly can't afford to be careless.'_

' _We_ _must_ _locate him,'_ she communicated urgently. _'Who knows what he has planned next? What he'll do now that we have taken one of his contaminated blood samples? If he isn't at the hospital, or here, he could be anywhere else.'_

Asuma lowered his binoculars and frowned. _'And nothing yet from Jiraiya, either. I wonder if-'_ he abruptly broke off, tensing, as a sudden sound, barely susceptible, rustled from somewhere to his left. He glanced sharply in the source's direction – and relaxed when his eyes met the keen gaze of a majestic buzzard. The bird tilted its head quizzically at him.

' _What's this?'_ Asuma lifted his eyebrows.

' _Well, I've got to keep an eye on you too,'_ Kurenai's tone was mildly teasing.

The strength of their bond had been something time had not worn away. The flame he bore for her was as bright as it had been the moment he had first set eyes on the Goddess of the Hunt, so long ago. She had been a difficult deity to impress, back then – all feisty independence and wild spirit. But his hard work and persistence had eventually paid off. A faint smile played on his lips as he reminisced briefly. Then he shook his head and looked back to the house.

' _Let's return at dawn,'_ he suggested. _'If he isn't here, we'll break in and hunt for clues.'_

' _Tsunade already checked at the hospital, earlier. Her staff told her that Kabuto hasn't been seen on sight since the incident.'_ Kurenai's telepathic voice was getting stronger, a sign that she was moving towards him.

' _He's got to be hiding somewhere,'_ Asuma replied grimly as the buzzard, heeding its mistress's command, opened its wings and flew away. Carefully, he manoeuvred along the branches, making his way down to solid ground. Kurenai met him as he landed. Making sure that the coast was clear, they slipped as quietly as shadows, their footsteps light as they navigated through the lamp-illuminated streets back to Asuma's car – a chunky black four by four car with tinted windows.

As the engine roared to life and Asuma pulled away from the kerb, Kurenai stroked the smooth feathers of the smaller bird she had summoned to accompany them – a spotted, chestnut kestrel.

"An army," she began thoughtfully, able to speak openly in the privacy of the vehicle. "Do you really think that's what He's trying to assemble?"

"It would make sense," Asuma mused. Keeping one hand firmly on the steering wheel, he dug into his dark khaki green coat's front pocket with the other and swapped his toothpick for a cigarette.

Kurenai pulled a chastising face at him. He knew how much she despised the habit.

He cast an apologetic look at her as he flicked the lighter and lit up. "It helps me think," he justified half-heartedly.

Kurenai pursed her lips, but said nothing.

"He never took it well," Asuma went on, indicating right at a set of traffic lights. "After the other Titans were locked away in Tartarus and he was forced to agree to the pact, he felt cheated. He got the throne at Olympus – but it's meaningless, now. Our names have faded from history. Humanity has moved on. He has no real power or influence."

"But why would he act now?" Kurenai wondered, watching as a handful of people walked down the streets, whilst others queued neatly at a bus stop. She often envied humans. How simple their lives were in comparison to the burdens she - and those she considered her family - bore.

"We can only speculate what he's been up to, all this time," said Asuma, as the lights turned green. He turned into a wider road that led towards a dual carriageway, intending to return them to Kurenai's house, when his cell phone suddenly beeped, indicating a new message. He passed the phone to Kurenai, who checked it.

"It's from Iruka," she read. "They're meeting Jiraiya by the Naka River."

"Why?" Asuma asked.

"He hasn't specified."

Asuma exhaled a puff of smoke. Kurenai pointedly lowered her window – even though she was immune to the ill effects of passive smoking.

"We'll have to reroute," he announced. "It'll take us over a damned hour to get there from here."

He took the first exit at the freeway and redirected. They continued to drive, the night-cloaked city passing them by in a stream of colourful blurs, eventually reaching the main, fast-speed highway that connected Konoha with neighbouring cities. The motorway was mostly empty, stretching on for miles and miles with only a sparse number of vehicles travelling on the other side of the painted road markings.

"He didn't succeed before," Kurenai scratched the crooning kestrel beneath its beak. "Maybe, with what Kabuto's doing, he's finally found a way to try to replicate the DNA he needs to amass an army."

"It seems likely. With the recent advances in human medicine, it's highly plausible," Asuma agreed.

A brief silence ensued. Finally, Kurenai said softly, "Do you think it was right?"

"What was?" Asuma's eyes flicked to the rear-view mirror when a bright light suddenly caused a glare to reflect off it. A dark grey car was coming up behind them.

"Was it right for Tsunade to keep all this from Sakura?"

Asuma, having finished his cigarette, lowered his window and tossed it out. "That's not for us to judge. We can only do our job and make sure that history doesn't repeat itself."

"But it's already happening. It's been two and a half months since she was taken."

"They'll find nothing extraordinary in her." Asuma reassured her. "The most important thing is that she's still alive. The blood they're looking for is in our possession. Suigetsu – if he's really behind this – is likely using her for leverage. That's all."

"It still doesn't add up. Why would he be so quiet for this long?"

"That's why he can't be the only one involved. He's working with someone else. They're planning something and biding their time."

"Could they have taken her to Olympus?"

Asuma's eyes flicked back to the car behind them. It seemed to want to overtake.

"If they had, I'm sure they would have gloated about it, by now-" he glanced quickly over his shoulder. "What's this bastard trying to do?" he cursed, indicating that he intended to pull over. The car overtook. It was another large four by four with tinted windows. As it sped away, Asuma honked angrily after it.

"Son of a bitch. Driving like a damned punk-"

That was when a loud, ripping sound exploded in the air as the tyres on Asuma's side struck against something unseen. Before the scream could even leave Kurenai's throat, the car was lurching to the right, the steering wheel spinning violently out of control.

"Shit!" Asuma swore. "Kurenai, hang on-!"

The tyres hit something in the road again, rocking the car precariously. The kestrel in Kurenai's lap squawked in distress and attempted to flee through the open window. Another stomach-wrenching dip sent Kurenai jerking forward, the protective fastening of the seatbelt digging into her chest so hard that it almost knocked the air out of her lungs entirely. Then the oxygen did flee from her, when the vehicle smacked against something that sent it lurching upwards, flipping it over. Asuma's cry of alarm and his hand flying out in a vain attempt to protect her was the last thing Kurenai heard and saw before everything faded to black.

* * *

Sakura didn't know how long she had been sitting for in bed, staring unseeingly at her hands, clasped neatly together atop the silken duvet. The last time she had been awake, she'd been in the training arena. Sasuke had obviously carried her back to her room when she'd lost consciousness.

_Sasuke._

The mere recollection of his name spurned an agitated flutter in her stomach, caused something to constrict tightly in her throat. Her chaotic thoughts were racing at the speed of light as she recalled, over and over, what she had seen. It was like a permanent imprint behind her vision. She could still picture everything so vividly.

Hades, standing with his father and brothers. Hades with his mother. The blood-curdling sight of motionless dead bodies. The decay and devastation Cronus had so heartlessly wrought.

And finally, the sight of a young Hades – _Sasuke –_ being dragged into the bottomless chasm by the Shades of the Underworld, clawing ruthlessly for their new King.

A King who had clearly been thoroughly unprepared to ascend the throne.

She swallowed thickly. Was it any surprise that Sasuke was so mistrustful, so cold and hateful toward everyone and everything? She tried to imagine how it would feel, had the same thing happened to her.

She couldn't. She could not even begin to envisage what profound depths of horror he must have experienced.

However, she found herself comparing it to her own situation. She knew it was wrong - for they were completely different - yet she couldn't help herself, for she thought that they were similar, too. She had suffered a great deal, also. While Sasuke had certainly never hurt her physically and had ensured that she was sheltered, well fed and kept safe, his decision to abduct her had caused her emotional and mental strife. But at least her mother and friends were still very much alive.

His loss, in stark contrast, was decidedly permanent. At least she still had the hope of _seeing_ her mother someday to cling onto and warm her in her loneliest of hours.

She drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them close.

What did Sasuke have…?

 _You._ The whisper that responded to the question was foreign, almost as though it didn't belong to her, at all.

She froze, her eyes widening.

 _Me…?_ She repeated the alien thought back to herself in shock.

What had happened to the death deity was undeniably awful. Even an impartial onlooker unacquainted with Sasuke would have surely felt some ounce of pity had they witnessed the massacre of his family and the cruel delivery of his fate. She felt more than an ounce, but she felt bewilderment and frustration, too.

Yes, their situations were different, but… didn't Sasuke see how they were very much similar, too?

Why would he choose to take everything away from her, the way everything had been taken away from him? Surely he had to know how much it _hurt._ Surely he, of all people, could _understand_ and _empathise_ with what she was going through?

So where was _his_ sense of pity? Where was his mercy?

 _He hasn't got any left,_ she thought, unexpected tears prickling at her eyes. _He's unmerciful, because his heart was ripped straight out of his chest on that day._

What must he have felt after the ground had swallowed him up, when he had woken up in the darkness and eerie stillness of his realm? How deafening must the silence have been? How much had his regrets crippled him?

Had he cried? Had he wept and screamed until his throat and lungs were raw? A peculiar sensation began to prickle over Sakura. She couldn't imagine Sasuke ever shedding tears. He was always so effortlessly composed. So aloof and taciturn. So resilient and thoroughly unemotional _._

But surely he _must_ have mourned. All alone, he had grieved his family's passing.

Suddenly, the intensity of his reaction when she had accidentally almost burned down the shrine room – likely the last remaining remnants of his loved ones – was completely justified. He'd had every right to be furious with her. She simply hadn't known it, back then. And how long ago did that incident seem, now?

How much must he have rejected his role of monarch at first, abhorring it and cursing it?

It was strange, Sakura thought to herself, how she had always assumed that Sasuke _liked_ his status as King of the Dead. It was a role that afforded absolute power, power of an unsurpassable kind. She knew now, however, from the unmistakeably _shattered_ look she had seen in Hades's glazed, panic-stricken eyes, that this was not the case. Or certainly had not been, at the start.

Bound eternally to a world of shadow. A world that was as beautiful and enchanting as it was terrifying and dreadful. As the last living heir of his Clan, he could never truly leave the Underworld.

He was a King – but in many ways, also a prisoner.

Just like she was.

 _Maybe that's why,_ Sakura's eyes blurred as the understanding she had so desperately sought from the first time she had awoken in the very same bed which she now rested in, washed over her. It left her feeling oddly overcome.

_Maybe_ _ that's _ _why he took me. The loneliness I've been feeling since he kidnapped me… how long has he been enduring the same thing?_

Because the truth was, _nobody_ wanted to be alone. It was human – and now she realised, deity nature, too – to seek company. And after she had glimpsed how close Sasuke had been to his own family, was it so impossible to imagine that he must have yearned for warmth and contact again over the endless, desolate centuries of his existence?

Contact he had to have spent millennia longing and pining for, in the most secret, guarded and hidden compartments of a heart that had frozen over and turned to stone the moment his family had perished. But at the same time, from the clipped, curt manner in which he spoke, Sakura guessed that he had to loathe that need, too. The prouder part of him – the part that was King first before deity – outwardly rejected all guises of company and companionship.

He probably thought he was above and beyond such weak desires, and was not feeble enough to actively seek them. And yet… here she was, living proof that even the greatest of gods tired from solitude and isolation. With only the dead for company, it was a marvel and testament to the steely endurance of Sasuke's character that he had not lost his mind completely.

Sakura exhaled shakily and wiped at her eyes. Suigetsu, she thought, would beg to differ. She wondered what he would have to say about the revelations that had been imparted to her. Would he shed more light upon them? Or would he tell her once again that it was risky for him to provide her with extra information?

She shook her head. The water deity had told her that Sasuke had always been selfish, taking things as and when he wanted. What he had done to her - abducting her at his whim from the surface - was still unpardonable. It could not be justified, and what she had learnt did not excuse his behaviour or make it right – but she could at least now _understand,_ to some extent, why he would want another living, breathing person in his world.

And the person he had selected for that precise purpose was _her_.

She pushed the duvet back. They _had_ to talk. She needed to clear the air, once and for all. She needed to know _what,_ exactly, his expectations of her were. And he needed to know what her wishes were, too.

Suigetsu had advised her to play the role of the compliant captive. But Sasuke had told her more than once that she was no prisoner. And the more she discovered about him, the harder it was becoming to stay focused on the original task the water deity had given to her.

Stealing Kusanagi and double-crossing Sasuke now - when she was _finally_ starting to make tiny steps of progress with him – seemed, more than ever, like an extremely perilous and downright _bad_ idea.

 _What are you thinking?_ She caught herself. _Are you making excuses? Are you seriously considering backing down?_

She rubbed at her forehead stressfully. _No._ She _wasn't_ chickening out. Absolutely _not._ But if there was any other conceivable way to leave the Underworld – any other option that _didn't_ involve betraying the God of Death – then surely it was better to take the safer option? She was only looking out for her own wellbeing – wasn't she?

So why did she feel so guilty when she tried to justify it?

_Because Suigetsu's been waiting in that cell for you all this time, and if you don't deliver, who knows how_ _ he'll _ _react?_

Sakura shook her head. At least she knew the nature of Sasuke's interest in her. His actions toward her had certainly spoken for themselves. What did she really know about Suigetsu's motives, in comparison? What if he was just leading her into _more_ trouble – and another trap? In her desperation to escape the death deity's Kingdom, she had consented to doing whateverit took _._ But a lot had happened since then. She had seen and learnt many things – and not just about the Underworld.

Sasuke wasn't simply the deranged psychopath she had first considered him to be and the Underworld wasn't all darkness and death. It sustained a rich variety of life, too.

 _What's happening to me…?_ Sakura worried. _It's like I'm constantly questioning things around me and my own thoughts…_

A stark, unsettling acknowledgement then struck her.

_I'm… changing._

She gazed at her palms, at a loss – as if they somehow held a rational explanation to this admission. The thought was a frightening one – but undeniable in its truth. The way she viewed things _had_ altered. How could being given the chance to experience another secret world, hidden away from the eyes of mortals, _not_ change her outlook in some way?

It wasn't only that, she knew. What Sasuke had shown her had changed the way she viewed him, too. He wasn't just a cold-hearted, arrogant and unforgiving god. He had real emotions – just as she did. They were hidden behind an icy exterior – but she knew they had to be in there still, somewhere.

She had proof, too. She'd felt his heart pounding when he'd kissed her again. With the way he had crushed her against him, it had been impossible to _not_ feel the organ thundering against her.

Sakura groaned to herself. The mess she had been flung into was just getting stickier and stickier. The very thought of seeing Sasuke again caused an odd anxiety to befall her. What would he say? How would he react? What would _she_ say to him? She knew he would scorn any displays of pity. It wasn't what he wanted from her, or the reason why he had shown her the vision. She shouldn't act as if things had changed between them.

But who was she fooling? Things _had_ changed. This wasn't the test she had thought it was, before. Sasuke _wanted_ her in his world – and he had lied when he'd first implied to her that she'd been stolen on a mere whim. The memory of his lips moving ravenously against hers flashed through her mind again, and immediately her pulse began to accelerate. She felt heat creep into her face as she recalled how it had felt to be pressed so tightly against him, his arms ensnaring her against the solid wall of his bare chest.

Then she remembered how she had slapped him afterwards – and clamped a hand over her mouth in disbelief. It was a marvel that Sasuke had simply stood there and taken it, and that she was still alive. Had it been anyone else, Sakura knew they'd be dead.

So maybe Sasuke _did_ have the capacity to feel mercy in small doses, after all. Hadn't he honoured his word and shed more light on the history surrounding the war?

But she had so many other questions! What had happened to Cronus in the end? Why had he chosen to lead his Clan to their deaths? What was the frightening, demonic fox creature she had seen? What had happened to Sasuke's parents? And what of Hypnos and Thanatos? Where were Zeus and his Queen, now?

Her head swimming from the confounding swirl of unsolved mysteries, Sakura slipped out of the bed – then caught sight of her reflection in the ornate, full-length, angel framed mirror.

She placed her hands on her hips, and huffed unhappily. Before she did anything else, she needed to freshen up first.

* * *

They had teamed up in pairs to look for any clues pertaining to Kabuto's whereabouts. As soon as Shikamaru had indicated that he was leaving base, Ino – naturally - had jumped up to follow after him. The only perceptible reaction she had received from the object of her affections had been a tired sigh.

She found it remarkably ironic that she was the one doing the following. It had never been in her nature – men had always desperately pursued _her._ Yet here was one who was seemingly immune to her feminine charms – or certainly very good at hiding his interest.

Ino told herself that it was utterly confounding and downright outrageous, how she _still_ hadn't lost interest in the handsome genius slinking so lethargically before her, given her infamous reputation for switching between suitors almost as quickly as Zeus had switched lightning bolts in ages long past.

Zipping up her cropped light blue jacket to keep warm, she increased her pace until she reached Shikamaru's side. Asuma and Kurenai had taken watch between the hospital and Kabuto's house. Shikamaru had suggested Konoha's Central Library as a starting point, but they'd had no luck there.

"Where to now?" she asked, rueing the fact that she had chosen to wear her brand new, indigo ballerina pumps for the outing. The fake leather was digging into her feet and the discomfort was starting to cross over into the pain threshold.

The things she did to look good.

"The University's Medical Faculty."

"Eh? Isn't that closed at this hour?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "He must have another lab somewhere, and it's better to rule out the most obvious places, first."

"So we see if any lights are on at the Medical School."

"Yeah."

"And then where?"

"We wait and see what the others find out."

Ino exhaled a puff of air, rubbing at her arms. She didn't like to dwell too much on the cold. It only made her think achingly of Sakura, of how much her best friend had always hated the cold – cold _and_ darkness - and how much chillier it was than it ought to be considering the time of year. The unseasonable weather and lack of flora blooming was making news headlines – but scientists were at a loss to explain a phenomenon that they had never before encountered in recorded history.

If only they knew…

She pushed the depressing thought away and turned her attention back to Shikamaru. "You mean you don't have some secret master plan in mind?" she questioned, genuinely surprised.

"If I said it, it wouldn't be a secret," Shikamaru pointed out dryly.

Ino felt a swell of pride. _Of course_ he had something else planned. Linking her left arm through his right as he studied the map on his phone with his free hand, she huddled close to him.

"My feet are killing me," she declared.

"Women." Shikamaru sounded positively exasperated. "How troublesome. I didn't ask you to come along."

"But you're so glad I did," she grinned. "Admit it."

"Whatever you say, Ino."

"Oh, come _on,"_ Ino giggled, allowing herself a few seconds to indulge in a spot of one of her greatest skills - flirting. "You know when this is all over, you still owe me that date," she murmured teasingly.

He didn't look away from the screen. Finally, he responded evasively, "I don't remember agreeing to anything."

"Sure you did. Before the war. Remember?" she prompted. "When you lost our bet?"

Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably in recollection. "Ah. That troublesome thing."

She merely clung on tighter. "You're running out of places to run," she whispered to him sweetly.

To her astonishment, he directed a lazy glance down at her.

"Who said anything about running?"

Ino's heart skipped a beat as he looked away – at the precise moment Shikamaru suddenly froze in place.

"Huh?" she peered up at him, still holding onto his arm. "Shikamaru? What's the matter-?"

His eyes were wide. He seemed stunned – as if he had suddenly heard – or sensed – something dreadful.

"Shikamaru…" Ino reached out with her other hand to him.

But he scarcely acknowledged her. All he could think about was the voice he had just heard in his head.

' _Shikamaru. We're on the road to the Naka River! Someone's-'_

Asuma's telepathic message had been cut abruptly short. Which only meant one possible thing.

Something serious had happened.

* * *

The hardest part, he had decided, had always been the waiting. For one as accustomed to immediate results as he was - one who had never placed much value upon patience - waiting had always seemed more akin to a punishment than a testimony of a greater mind.

He'd grown quite adept at it, counting the seconds, watching them trickle into minutes, the dreary minutes into hours, the hours into days and the days into years. Years had blurred into decades and centuries, centuries into millennia… and still he remained, confined to a throne that had lost all purpose and influence.

A throne that made a mockery of him.

With the passing of time, so too had his bitterness and hatred grown, splintering and tearing and gnawing away at his insides, leaving behind nothing but burning rage and the obsessive yearning for one thing, and one thing alone.

_Revenge._

It was a constant hunger, an incurable itch. It consumed his every waking thought, and in the solace of his ancient prison, he had calculated the demise of all those who had wronged him.

 _Vengeance._ Yes, he would attain it. The pieces were already falling into place. The agonising wait was finally giving way to the stepping stones that would pave his pathway back to glory. And this time, he would ensure that _nothing_ would stop him.

He could still taste it – the acrimonious humiliation of defeat. Searing sky-blue eyes and sunshine gold hair flashed tauntingly across his memory. The crackling sizzle of lightning bolts as their wielder had surpassed even _his_ speed. And he felt his hatred stir again, a malicious, festering force that could not be suppressed.

 _Zeus._ The former King of the Gods was no longer an issue. That was the single victory the pathetic _Ares_ had achieved, prior to his eternal banishment to the fiery pits of Tartarus, along with the seven other Titans who had plotted with him to remove Zeus from his seat of power. Arrogant Ares had boasted of his absolute mastery over the demonic _Kyuubi_ – a powerful, untameable creature born of Chaos, as ancient as the gods themselves – only to have his control of the beast wrestled from him unexpectedly by the brilliance of Zeus and his spirited wife Hera – aided by the cunning of one other deity.

A deity whose actions had spun the strings of Fate in Zeus's comrades' favour.

His fingers curled, nails digging furiously into the arm-rests of his throne, as a name he despised as much as he loathed Zeus's, floated into his mind.

_Thanatos._

The surface-bound deities did not know anything of their secret saviour, of course. But he had known. He had suspected Thanatos – and his shrewdly observant cousin, Hypnos – of treachery from the beginning. Always, Sleep and Death had watched him from the shadows. Hypnos's eyes had vigilantly guarded Thanatos – and vice versa. And while he had eventually been able to disable Hypnos, Erebus and Nyx's ingenious son had been decidedly more difficult to outwit.

 _Damn you,_ he cursed, enraged by the fact that he could never extract the vengeance he so desperately sought directly upon Thanatos, who had betrayed the Clan and sacrificed himself for Zeus's cause, weaving a deadly, forbidden seal which had ensured that the Titans and Ares were locked away in Tartarus – forever.

Thanatos's own brother had no idea of the extent of sacrifice his older sibling had gone through. Foolish young Hades had been on the battlefield. Clever Thanatos had ensured his safety from a distance. Zeus and his forces had not targeted Hades the same way they'd targeted others in the Clan.

But Thanatos was no more. And _Hades_ hated the surface gods as much as _he_ did. There was no voice of wisdom to dissuade the volatile deity of the dead from acting against what remained of Zeus's legacy.

Thanatos's great powers might have evaded him, but he intended to make full use of the devastating abilities Sasuke had inherited.

 _That,_ he vowed,was how he would achieve his ultimate revenge on Death. He'd take what he needed from his precious little brother – and then he would send Sasuke to the same place the rest of the Clan resided. Oblivion.

But first, he needed the Underworld's King on side. While part of his own power had been stripped, he still had a trick or two under his sleeve. Holding up his hands, he summoned a purple-black ball of energy and reached out with his mind, giving form to his intentions. Smiling darkly, he wondered how easy it would be to manipulate a distrustful Sasuke.

It would be like taking candy from an infant. He merely needed a little push. A little persuasion.

And he was a _very_ persuasive god.

* * *

He had left Sakura slumbering in the safety of his palace, to take his regular turn about his realm on Nyctaeus and had arrived on the other side of Acheron's banks when he heard it. A cry more compelling than all the countless others, it snagged Sasuke's notice immediately.

The lament came from a spirit who could not pass over on Charon's vessel – a middle-aged, stocky, bearded man who was weeping pitifully into his semi-transparent hands.

" _Oh, what will become of my family?"_ he exclaimed. _"The crops will not grow, and they too shall die of hunger…!"_

With a start, Sasuke halted his horse and stared down at the deceased man for a long moment. Then he heard another soul wail – a woman who he knew, just by looking at her, had died aged fifty two of hunger, also.

" _Why didn't our crops grow? What will become of my children? Without their father and I…"_

Then, as he tuned his ears to listen more carefully, he realised that others were saying similar things. Frail people who had lived in poor countries and had nothing but their own produce to rely on for food were regretting their premature demises.

" _The weather… it was just too cold…"_

" _Two and a half months! The earth should have started to produce something!"_

" _Please let my family live!"_

" _What can I do for them, now?"_

" _Where are we?"_

He tuned out abruptly at the last question and frowning, turned his snorting horse away. Was Sakura's absence from the surface finally starting to have significant effects?

Were the results of his actions causing the deaths of mortals?

He shoved the thought out of his head viciously. People died from starvation every day, everywhere.

Still, the grief of the dead nagged at him. The King of the Underworld did not take lives. He merely managed the influx of souls and the safe passage to their final destinations. That had been one of the first lessons his mother had taught him and his brother when they had been children.

 _No,_ he told himself vehemently. This was _not_ his concern.

He rode onwards, beyond the riverbank and the long, silver bridge that led to the Underworld's imposing entrance gates. They glowed with mysterious power and he slipped off his horse, petting the steed's head briefly as he instructed Nyctaeus to remain in place. Passing through the gates, he continued forwards, until he reached the jagged, rocky mouth of the Underworld.

Cerberus growled in greeting, lowering his mighty heads, eyes glowing like red hot embers. Sasuke noted that the beast's humungous left paw bore a tear. He knew that the hellhound enjoyed scraping rocks with his claws and had obviously scratched at a piece a little too enthusiastically.

Reaching out, he held his hand over the split wound, immediately healing it. In response, Cerberus's massive heads lowered, as if to slobber gratefully over his master – but Sasuke quelled the effort with a sharp, warning look.

One that communicated: _Don't even think about it._

Cerberus whimpered unhappily and drew back. He was a terrifying, ferocious beast who had the ability to rip anything to shreds – but in the presence of his owner, he was a dog all the same.

"Hn," Sasuke relented and placed a hand lightly on the side of the left head. Cerberus had served his family loyally for generations, after all. The central and right ones tried to clamour for a fleeting rare touch, too.

However, his master's attention had shifted away, locking onto the thick blanket of coiling mist ahead of them. He had sensed a sudden presence – one that was unfamiliar – and it did not belong to incoming souls. The spirits that were steadily passing through the Underworld's entrance were intangible. They only took physical form once they passed through the sacred gates.

No, this one was different. He couldn't quite place it. It did not seem to belong to a mortal, either.

The figure was moving almost noiselessly. Cerberus detected it too – and immediately straightened on alert, rumbling ominously. Sasuke stared hard, his left hand sliding to rest automatically upon Kusanagi's hilt as he waited for the stranger to identify themselves. The silhouette he could glimpse ahead was getting steadily closer and finally drew near enough for him to discern a feminine form.

The slender woman stepped through the mist – and Sasuke's eyebrows lifted.

She was naked, save for the long cascading brown tresses that covered her swollen breasts. Her skin was sickly in hue and wet and her eyes were a pale blue. She stopped before him. Sasuke could hear that her breaths were coming out in laboured rasps.

She was not dead. Neither was she human, or any other species he had ever encountered. There seemed to be something very wrong with her – her soul was erratic and dark. Impure.

Cautious and mistrustful, he spoke to her.

"Who are you? State your purpose."

She tilted her head and offered him a smile so unnaturally wide that it almost bordered on unsettling. Her teeth were stained yellow and chipped.

"I am what you denied," she said, her voice hoarse. "I am the proof you seek."

Before Sasuke could comprehend what this mystifying sentence could mean, she attacked. Just like that. He tensed, recovering rapidly from his surprise to unsheathe Kusanagi. With a gruesome shriek, her slender arms extended, flying out like rubber ropes, grabbing at him. Sasuke's lips curled back in revulsion as he told himself that she was no woman. And so there was no cause for him to hold back and to _not_ engage in battle.

He evaded her attempt to capture him and flickered behind her, seeking to disable her quickly. Cerberus's heads barked wildly, but he stayed back at his master's telepathic command. The woman whirled – and threw up a foul, acidic liquid directly at him. Sasuke cursed and managed to side-step out of the nasty projectile attack's path at the final moment, then placed space between them, his mind racing to identify just _what_ he was dealing with.

The woman - creature - _thing_ \- laughed and it was a sound akin to glass shattering.

"You underestimate _my powers,"_ she grated. As she spoke on, her voice began to change, became a demonic mixture of a woman's blending into a man's, until it began to sound vaguely familiar. _"Still so unwise…"_

At first, Sasuke could not place it. Then, with a sudden, shocked jolt, he recognised it. Kusanagi, which he'd lifted to ready another assault, lowered again fractionally as his lips parted in an uncharacteristic moment of open disbelief.

It _could not_ be. But he knew without a doubt that it was.

The voice belonged to someone he had not seen since the calamitous day of his family's passing.

A cruelly smirking face flashed across his vision. Long, raven hair. Spinning Eternal Mangekyō irises. With a violent lurch, Sasuke's mind was flung back thousands and thousands of years, to the seconds before the ground had opened up beneath his feet and the Shades of the Dead had claimed him.

_Cronus._

The death deity blinked and released a shuddering breath, his heart thundering from the force of the rage that rose up like a roaring rip-tide within his chest.

He _dared!_ He dared to possess a body and communicate to Sasuke through it – at the doorstep to his own Kingdom!

" _You believe that I have no influence from Olympus."_ The woman continued to speak echoingly in Cronus's deep, arrogant voice. _"Mark my words, young Sasuke. My powers still exist. Consider this a complimentary demonstration."_

With a malevolent laugh, the woman attacked again. Enraged, Sasuke flash stepped forward, drawing his blade back. He ducked when her hands extended for him a second time and closed the gap between them fluidly. Without hesitation, he stabbed the phantom body straight through the heart and yanked his blade back out, before grabbing onto the woman's slick left shoulder. Jerking her roughly around, he lifted the sword to her throat and swiftly slit it, before releasing her. The body crumpled lifelessly to the floor, spewing dark blood upon rock.

Sasuke warily nudged the body with his foot. It did not move. He waited for it to disintegrate – it did not. The black essence he had detected in it had vanished. The skin seemed to turn a deeper hue of grey but otherwise, the figure remained motionless.

After a few uneventful minutes, Sasuke finally allowed himself to relax.

"Finish off the body," he ordered Cerberus, and turned his back disgustedly on the vile sight. He began to walk back to the mouth of the Underworld – when his hound's heads barked loudly in sudden warning.

Sasuke froze. Stiffly, he turned – to find that the body was rising again. Like a grotesque, disfigured mannequin operated by an invisible puppeteer, it got up, bending its limbs abnormally until it reached full height, when its head snapped forward gruesomely and its eyes reopened. The pupils and irises had vanished. All that remained was white.

The black erratic soul had returned. Immediately, Sasuke held out his palm, intending to wrench it out of the body.

To his shock, the soul resisted. Another three attempts yielded the same fruitless response.

Sasuke's eyes widened, as he gazed on in barely-concealed horror. He couldn't even grasp the spirit inside the human shell. In any ordinary forbidden resurrection technique, his powers would have been able to override those of the summoner.

But he quickly realised that this was no ordinary technique.

" _You cannot kill what is immortal,"_ Cronus's voice taunted. _"Behold, the perfected Edo Tensei."_

That was when Sasuke became aware of another figure walking through the mist. A young, mortal man who looked dazed and disorientated. Sasuke stared at him in initial blank confusion – then instantly caught on to what was about to happen.

"W-where am I?" the youth stammered, drawing to a stop by the figure. His eyes widened as the sickly-skinned woman turned to him. "Huh? What the hell are you- aghhhh!" he cried out, as without warning, the resurrected body stabbed him straight through the heart – just as Sasuke had done to it.

The young man coughed up blood, convulsed – then slumped to the ground, dead. Sasuke watched, sickened and appalled, as the soul of the man left his body and drifted obediently towards him at first – as it normally would – then, with a distressed lurch, changed direction and shot straight back into the mortally wounded body.

The youth gasped – and his eyes opened. He sat up, looking bewildered.

"Wh-wha-wha-?" he was hyperventilating, trembling, looking down at himself, his hands clutched over his bleeding chest.

Sasuke exhaled. What manner of unholy technique was this? It was just as the snake Orochimaru had said. An Edo Tensei that united an original soul with its body once again.

" _You see,"_ Cronus's voice reverberated sinisterly. _"There are no limits to my power. Imagine, what you want the most, returned to you…"_

That snapped Sasuke out of his alarmed thoughts.

" _You_ took away _everything_ ," he said savagely. "And you expect me to _listen _ to you?"

" _His soul did not pass to the pure world,"_ Cronus's voice spoke on, as if Sasuke had not addressed him at all. What he said next made Sasuke freeze again. _"Your brother. Itachi. I can return him to you."_

Sasuke's pulse was hurtling. He felt physically sick, thoroughly disturbed by what he had seen and what he was hearing. His grip on Kusanagi was hard enough to almost snap the hilt.

Just hearing Cronus mention Itachi's name made Sasuke see red. His chest heaved with blazing fury.

"Shut up!"His words trembled from the intensity of his anger.

The human youth, who was babbling nonsensically, staggered to his feet. He began to stumble away – when abruptly he fell to the ground. Again his soul tried to reach Sasuke – and again it was forced back into its shell.

The boy sat up for a second time. This time he looked down at his wound and screamed. Before he could do anything else, he blacked out once more and his soul tried in vain to depart for a third time.

For the third time, it was dragged back into a vessel that could not sustain it.

The chilling sight was absolutely nauseating.

" _This technique overrides even your power,"_ Cronus mocked. _"Using this, I can restore any soul that has not yet entered your world."_

"You can't sustain it," Sasuke snapped back. He could practically taste his bitter hatred for the elder deity in the back of his throat.

" _Perhaps not right now. But it is only a matter of time before this technique will be perfected. And when it is, imagine the possibilities…"_

"No," Sasuke bit back acidly, desperately ruing the fact that Cronus wasn't standing before him in the flesh. He would have liked to stab him through the heart, too.

" _Still as obstinate as always. As expected. You are my descendent, after all."_

"No," Sasuke hissed again. "You're not of the Uchiha."

Cronus's possessed body threw back its ugly head and laughed. _"I am the dark. I am of Chaos. And so, too, are you."_

The death deity had heard enough. With a rejecting snarl, he lunged forward and with one, lightning fast strike, decapitated the ghastly zombie's head.

To his sheer repulsion, the head continued to talk.

" _Find what was taken from my subjects, and we can begin."_

"I said _shut up!_ " Sasuke snarled, impaling the head with his sword and channelling a stream of screaming _Chidori_ along the length of Kusanagi for good measure. When he yanked his sword back, all was still and silent for a heart-pounding minute.

Then Cronus's voice spoke again. This time, it seemed to echo all around him.

" _When you are ready to listen, you know how to find me,_ _Hades_ _…"_

And then, in a sudden whirl of smoke, both resurrected bodies vanished entirely from sight, leaving Sasuke breathing heavily in the thick mist, his stunned mind reeling.

* * *

' _Say, Pinky,'_ Suigetsu communicated casually. ' _Is it me, or are our fun little chats becoming fewer and farther in between?'_

Sakura had bathed and put on a fresh set of clothes – she'd settled for a pretty, pale green, knee-length dress and gold sandals – and had decided to check in with the water deity afterwards.

Now that she considered it, it _had_ been a while since their last conversation. Trying to make it seem like it was nothing, she shrugged apologetically.

' _Sorry. I guess I've been really busy.'_

' _Uh huh.'_ Suigetsu waggled his eyebrows suggestively. ' _Busy making out with Sasuke?'_

Sasuke's earlier, bruising kiss danced across her memory for the nth time and Sakura fought to retain dignified composure. She was pleased when she managed to not even flinch under Suigetsu's scrutinising gaze.

' _No,'_ she answered, adding a clear edge to her tone.

' _Huh.'_ Suigetsu blinked up at her from the water's surface. _'I'm only teasing you, yeah? No need to be a grouch about it.'_

' _I'm not grouching.'_

' _You look like you are.'_

' _I'm not.'_

' _Are too. Maybe that bastard's personality is starting to rub off on you.'_

' _It's not! I'm not- oh forget it!'_ Sakura huffed.

The Ocean God flashed a toothy smile at her. ' _Hey, don't get mad. I'm just so fucking bored in this cell, and without you to talk to as well, I'm going kinda crazy.'_

Spying her opening, Sakura dove right in. _'You're an immortal and you can't even break out of a cell?'_

' _Ouch.'_ Suigetsu feigned hurt. _'Where's this coming from, all of a sudden?'_

' _You never really explained it to me, before,'_ said Sakura.

' _Heh._ _Sure, I can get out of here if I want.'_ Suigetsu mused, scratching his chin absent-mindedly. _'It'd hurt like hell, though. Water and lightning don't exactly mix, y'know.'_

' _So that's why you need the sword…?'_ Sakura pressed.

' _It'll nullify the lightning energy in these bars, yeah. But that's not all. We need it to get us out of this depressing place,'_ he answered.

She stared, nonplussed. ' _How?'_

' _Well, we need the sword to unlock the Underworld's entrance gates. I can exit just fine but mortals can't leave the Underworld without the King's explicit permission – or his key.'_

' _The sword is the key,'_ Sakura stated in understanding.

' _Smart girl. So really, it's_ _you_ _who needs the sword to get out. Got it?'_

Sakura did. Then she said suspiciously, ' _So what's in it for you?'_

Suigetsu raised his eyebrows. ' _Wow, Sakura. What's with the interrogation, all of a sudden?'_

' _Actually, I've always had these questions,'_ Sakura pointed out. ' _I just haven't asked them.'_

' _Right…'_ Suigetsu gave her a peculiar look and then shrugged. ' _What can I say? I'm a sucker for damsels in distress. And you're a mighty pretty damsel.'_

He was lying. Sakura knew it. She couldn't imagine a deity consenting to being locked up and _waiting_ for so long in confinement, if they didn't have some kind of ulterior motive - if they didn't _gain_ somehow, in some way.

Seeing that she clearly didn't buy his answer, he rolled his eyes. ' _What does it matter? You get to go home; I get to be a hero, everybody's happy.'_

' _But what it's in for you?'_ she repeated.

' _I get to marry one hundred virgins.'_ Suigetsu grinned. ' _Maybe I'll let you be one of them – that's if Sasuke hasn't screwed you himself by then.'_

Sakura wished he wouldn't speak so vulgarly. Shaking her head at him, she said, ' _What's your real reward?'_

Now his expression was bordering on irritated. ' _You know, Pinky, there's a human saying about curiosity and cats. Now, how did it go, again…?'_

It was a clear signal for Sakura to cease her questioning. Suspicion flared in her mind. Why couldn't Suigetsu just tell her what he was getting out of assisting her?

 _Gods don't like being asked about why they do things,_ she reminded herself unhappily.

Suigetsu, however, had guessed her line of thinking and pointed at her. ' _I know what this is about. You're worried I'll dump you once we reach the surface. But I've already told you that I'm taking you back to that mother of yours.'_

Sakura silently wondered what would happen if Suigetsu _didn't_ get whatever it was he'd been promised by whoever it was that had sent him to find her. She decided not to communicate this. Messing things up with the water deity would be an imprudent move.

She decided to cover herself, and answered, ' _I'm just scared we'll mess this up.'_

' _The only way we'll mess this up is if_ _you_ _mess up on your end,'_ Suigetsu responded. His eyes had narrowed pointedly, and Sakura, her heart skipping a beat, thought for an instant that his words sounded more like a threat than a warning – or perhaps it was just her imagination, for a second later his expression had reverted to a friendly grin. ' _So. How's it going with you and Mr Sunshine? Karin's ready to get what we need. You ready from your end?'_

Sakura blinked. ' _Sasuke's been showing me around a lot.'_ After another pause, she added, ' _I know what happened to his family.'_

Suigetu's eyebrows shot up and his jaw slackened. ' _Huh? For real? He's actually let you in on that?'_ When Sakura nodded, his shocked look then morphed into one of open admiration. ' _Hey. Not bad, Pinky. Sounds like you're worming your way pretty far through Frosty's iron defences.'_

' _It's true, isn't it? A god named Cronus was responsible for Sasuke's Clan's demise?'_

' _Yeah,'_ Suigetsu affirmed. ' _Cronus was a real nut-case. You know he supposedly ate some of his own kids?'_

Now it was Sakura's turn to gape down at him. ' _What?'_

Suigetsu slapped a hand over his mouth comically. ' _Whoops. I've said too much. My bad, Pinky.'_

' _What do you mean, he_ _ate_ _his own children?'_ Sakura was appalled.

' _You know what eating is, right?'_ The Ocean God quipped sarcastically, acting the action out. ' _You sit down, get a knife and a fork, and a napkin if you're posh then chop up the food. Cronus found a fancy restaurant and asked them so serve up his sons as the main course-'_ Catching the wide-eyed look of abject horror on Sakura's face, he chuckled. ' _Pinky, you're so gullible.'_

Sakura frowned. ' _So he_ _didn't_ _eat his kids?'_

' _He did. Just not at a fancy restaurant.'_

' _So what happened to Cronus after the war?'_ Sakura hoped that in mid-flow, Suigetsu would get carried away with the conversation and provide her with more information.

To her disappointment, he did not.

' _Sorry, Sakura. Like I told you before, I can't tell you anything he hasn't. We can't risk blowing our cover.'_

Sakura swallowed down a frustrated remark. ' _Fine,'_ she said.

' _I promise you once we're out, I'll answer any questions you have. How does that sound?'_ Suigetsu offered with a wink.

Sakura grudgingly shrugged. ' _If we make it out,'_ she communicated.

' _Come on, Pinky. Have a little faith in me!'_

Sakura nodded and mustered a watery smile. In the secrecy of her heart, however, she felt more uncertain than ever. She barely heard the Ocean God's parting words, so distracted was she by thoughts of Sasuke.

' _I'll contact you again when Karin's ready. You just keep doing what you're doing. Just keep reminding yourself, he planned all this. This is the asshole that kidnapped you without giving a shit about your feelings. You're doing the right thing. Later, Pinky.'_

But Sakura wondered to herself, as his face rippled out of sight, whether it really _was_ right at all. As she pulled the plug and allowed the water to swirl down the drain, she considered Suigetsu's words more carefully.

He'd said Karin was ready. But Sakura didn't feel like she was, at all. Worse still, she hadn't voiced her true reservations to Suigetsu. She didn't feel comfortablewith the idea of effectively drugging Sasuke. She never had been – but now she knew things she hadn't before. The Underworld's King was offering her progressively greater degrees of trust, allowing her to see forbidden places, granting her a horse, and giving her glimpses into his past… and here she was. Plotting to betray him.

 _I shouldn't feel like a criminal,_ she told herself angrily, feeling a strange discomfort, which she assigned to the stress of her conscience contradicting itself, twinge deep inside her chest. _Why am I letting him confuse me so much? He's had this planned from the very start, like Suigetsu said. I shouldn't be letting what he showed me make me feel_ _sorry_ _for him. It doesn't change what he's done to me._

Abducting her had been wrong, but… did that qualify Sasuke as completely _evil?_ She was no longer viewing things from a black or white perspective. Suddenly everything seemed a murky grey, neither one nor the other. Suigetsu had painted to her a picture of an indefensible fiend; one who deserved every bad thing that came his way. The Sasuke who interacted with her had many, many faults, but he wasn't an absolute _monster._

A true monster would have treated her a lot worse. A monster wouldn't have waited for so long to steal only kisses from her. Sakura swallowed, her head throbbing. It was too much to think about. She felt like she was at war with herself.

' _You must choose your own path, Sakura.'_

The words Chiyo had spoken to her the first time they'd met echoed in her head.

Then she heard another voice. One that was faint and fleeting, like the distant notes of a flute. It seemed vaguely familiar to her, as if she ought to know it – but she couldn't quite place it. The harder she listened, the more it seemed to grow fainter. It was only when she stopped concentrating so much that she finally managed to decipher what it was saying.

' _We can't. We can't make the same mistake…'_

Sakura rubbed absently at the uneasiness in her chest. The voice didn't sound like hers. Who, then, was speaking to her?

_Who is this…?_

Silence met her ears. The discomfort in her chest was growing worse. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. Her skin was red from the rubbing. Sakura stared at herself in bewilderment for a moment - then winced when something suddenly constricted inside her. Her eyes widened as a familiar, rapidly escalating sense of panic began to creep over her senses.

 _Oh, no,_ she thought to herself, pushing away from the basin, fumbling for the lock at the door. _No!_

It was happening again!

A wave of dizziness assaulted her as she stumbled into the bathroom. The ache now felt like a furnace, burning away at her wind pipe. She couldn't breathe right. Her heart was thundering fitfully.

 _What's happening?!_ Sakura thought wildly, wrestling to keep herself from hyperventilating beyond control.

Again the strange voice whispered to her.

' _Don't trust him again. Don't let him in again…'_

Sakura couldn't comprehend the meaning behind the words. Panting, she fought against the nausea and vertigo and ran into her room. Every step she took caused the pain to escalate. It was like something was being torn from deep within her chest. She could feel something _shifting –_ as if it were about to burst out of her.

"N-No," she stammered, as her heart began to palpitate dangerously. She was having another attack episode and knew that she needed ambrosia – and fast. But the nearest crystal decanter was downstairs in the banqueting hall. How could she ever make it there, in time?

The last instance she had experienced the terrifying ordeal, her maids had been on hand to summon Sasuke to save her. Now she was completely alone. A sense of impending doom rushed over her. She could feel consciousness starting to slip away from her and battled to retain it.

Then something happened that had never happened before. Light flashed before her eyes. She thought she saw a face within it.

_What's… happening… to me…?_

The blood rushing in her ears was all she could hear at first – coupled with a high pitched, incessant ringing.

' _We gave into the darkness once. We gave him our heart, once. We can't do it, again,'_ the airy voice spoke up once more. It sounded louder than before.

 _What do you mean?_ Sakura hauled open her bedchamber's doors. Why did they feel so damned _heavier_ than usual? She barely registered that it was because her entire body was shaking violently.

_Who are you…?_

Her question reverberated deafeningly, mockingly in her mind.

_Who are you…?_

_Who are you…?_

_Who are you…?_

Then the voice seemed to laugh. A giggle that sounded like tinkling bells.

' _But you know me. I am you. I've always been you. You want to remember.'_

With the words came a fresh wave of excruciating pain.

"Stop," Sakura choked on a sob, her lungs heaving to suck in the oxygen they needed. She stumbled down the corridor, half-dragging her legs to move beneath her. It was sheer will-power alone that got her to the top of the majestic staircase that led down to the entrance hall. Miraculously, she managed to make her way down, leaning heavily on the banisters and half sliding, half slipping down the steps. By the time she got to the bottom, she was on her knees. Her skin had broken into a cold sweat, and her head felt like it was on the verge of exploding from internal pressure.

 _Keep breathing,_ she willed herself. _Keep breathing. In. Out. In. Out-!_

The corners of her vision were turning to grey. She began to see stars. Sakura tried to open her mouth to call for help, but could only muster a pathetic croak. She crawled to the banqueting room's door and after numerous clumsy attempts, was somehow able to open it.

 _Almost there-!_ Each breath in and out felt like a terrible burden. The temptation to give in, to lay her head down and stop fighting the pain, was overwhelming. Sakura struggled once more, inching slowly to the table. Her vision was blurry and her heart felt like it was on the verge of halting entirely.

She clutched at the table cloth and hauled herself up. The clatter of plates and the crashing of glass informed her that she was causing a mess around her – but she couldn't worry about that. Blinking against the haze, her frantic eyes searched for the glint of gold that was her salvation. At last, she found it. With a final, desperate surge of effort, she grabbed at the decanter and fell to the ground on her back amidst broken crockery. It took every last fragment of power to lift her heavy arms and place the decanter to her lips.

Sweet liquid coursed down her throat. She knew, medically, that the angle at which she was gulping was wrong and risked her choking to death, but she didn't care. She just wanted the unbearable pain to go away. Squeezing her eyes shut, she drank and drank, like she had never done before, pausing only to suck in a gasp of air before continuing. Even when the pain finally, blessedly, began to ebb away and was replaced by pleasant warmth and relief, Sakura found that she could not stop.

Gradually her foggy mind cleared, her oxygen levels restored – and then the alarmed command came.

_Stop! You'll intoxicate yourself like last time! That's enough!_

With great reluctance, she discarded the decanter. It fell with a thud to the ground, and Sakura lay wheezing, staring dizzily at the beautiful chandeliers high above her, waiting for the room to stop spinning. At last, it did. She tried to listen to the voice again, but everything had fallen to a hush in her mind. She stayed there for a long time, catching her breath, feeling the last of the tension leave her body – when the sound of the door opening and steady, sandal-clad footsteps entering the room caused her to stir in position.

Sasuke's eyes immediately locked onto her sprawled form, overlooking the fallen dishes entirely. Something wrenched unpleasantly inside him and he was by her side in an instant.

"Sakura." He leaned over her, placing a hand lightly to her left cheek. "What happened?"

She blinked up at him. "I had another attack," she explained, feeling the same familiar, instantaneous exhaustion that followed her episodes fall over her.

His dark eyes darted to the ambrosia decanter. He noted with some concern that she had drunk almost half of it.

"It happened in my room," she went on, and Sasuke could detect the fatigue in her voice. "I was so scared," she added in a whisper, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. "I thought I… wouldn't make it down in time."

Sasuke was silent. He told himself that he ought to have returned to her right away. Instead he had lingered at the Underworld's entrance – and Sakura had suffered unnecessarily in his absence.

"Sasuke…" she whispered to him, closing her eyes tiredly.

"Yes." He found his fingers stroking her cheek with a careful tenderness that felt alien to him. He watched his digits' actions with troubled puzzlement - as if he could not understand them – as if they did not belong to him.

"What's wrong with me…?" her voice trailed sleepily off, and her breathing slowed down to a steady, tranquil rhythm. He could see that she had fallen asleep.

Sasuke swallowed and shook his head. At length, he murmured, knowing she could not hear him, "Nothing, Sakura."

The fingers caressing her cheek withdrew, curling to form angry fists. She was perfect. It was those who considered themselves her family and friends, who were in the wrong. _They_ were the ones responsible for allowing Sakura to believe that something inside her was faulty and broken.

" _Nothing,"_ he hissed again, his rage absolute.

* * *

When she finally came to, Kurenai found herself in a very peculiar situation. Her head felt heavy and she could taste something coppery and metallic in her mouth. For the first few seconds, her disorientated mind struggled to recall what had happened.

Then it hit her like a devastating tsunami.

She realised that the strange sensation of weightlessness she was experiencing was due to the fact that the car had been flipped upside down. Only the safety belt had kept her from plunging straight through the cracked glass.

"Asuma," she croaked, turning her throbbing head to find that her companion was out cold. Distress fluttered within her. She could smell smoke and oil and knew that they _had_ to get out.

Coughing, she fumbled for the belt's clasp, depressing the button and bracing herself for the fall. She managed to manoeuvre enough to twist around, ignoring the stinging pain in her left leg and shoulder. With her window still thankfully open, she was able to slowly crawl out of the car. It was only when she sat back, that she saw the true extent of the damage.

Lifting a hand to her mouth in wordless horror, Kurenai shook herself out of her shock and scrambled around to Asuma's side. It had taken the brunt of the impact and the tough metal was heavily indented. To her relief, the safety belt had kept him rooted to his seat, too – but when she spied the deep gash on his head, it was difficult not to fear the worst.

She pulled at his door – but it would not budge. She tried again, to no avail. Cursing, she threw all rules to the wind in her desperation and tapped into her seal, summoning a small stream of chakra to her right fist. Covering her hand with the sleeve of her red sweater, she smashed the glass window in and reached inside to free Asuma of his seatbelt. He slumped down and into her arms. She heaved him out, adrenaline giving her the strength she needed to bear his greater weight. Finally, both free of the vehicle, she dragged them back, to the side of the road, panting.

She looked down at the man in her arms. The man she loved. He was unconscious – but thankfully breathing steadily.

Stroking his temple, Kurenai called to him. "Asuma. Asuma, can you hear me?"

The response she received was not the one she wanted, or expected. It made her blood freeze over.

"Truly a sentimental scene…" the slippery voice rasped. "It will perhaps be a great comfort for you to know, that your final moments will be spent together."

Her head whipped around. She fought back the sickening nausea and bout of vertigo and ground her teeth as her eyes, burning from the billowing smoke behind them, locked onto the very figure she had hoped to _never_ encounter again.

Orochimaru stood before her, a cruel, malicious smile on his thin lips. He was as sickly pale as she recalled – but his golden, strange eyes seemed disconcertingly brighter.

"Hello, Kurenai," he greeted. "It has been a while, indeed."

"You," she ensured her voice was even, giving nothing away. Her priority was to protect Asuma for long enough to summon help. "You did this."

"You must understand," Orochimaru said, in that slick, reasonable tone she despised. "Your meddling interferes with our designs."

"So it's true. You really _are_ working in league with Madara." She shook her head at him. "Knowing him to be the traitor he is… birds of a feather, flock together, after all."

"Of course, you would know all about such things," the serpent smugly licked his lips with an alarmingly long, forked tongue, prompting Kurenai to recall just how disturbing and repulsive he was. "The bird you have summoned for aid has already been incapacitated."

Kurenai made sure not to let her surprise about this register on her face.

"You follow Kabuto," Orochimaru continued. "But no place you search will yield you the results you seek. He is under my protection."

"You mean, under your spell," Kurenai shot back.

The daemon of Terror merely smiled. "Mortals are free to listen to what they please. You of all the gods and goddesses know this," he supplied, his gaze moving pointedly to the prone form of Asuma.

Kurenai's heart leapt. She needed to keep his attention on her!

"So what do you intend to do now?" she demanded, laying Asuma down gently on the road and shifting carefully in front of him. "Discard the oath and be rid of us both?"

"That," Orochimaru hissed, as she watched a pair of slender white snakes slide out from beneath the arms of his black robe, "is precissssely my intention."

The snakes reared their heads, drew back – and Kurenai finally moved. In a heartbeat she had directed chakra to her hands and fashioned a great, silver bow from the air. The feel of her trusty weapon was reassuring.

It had been a while since she had gone hunting.

Without hesitation, she pulled back on the string, and the motion called to place an arrow, shining with holy light. She aimed at the snakes and let loose, striking both through their heads. But two more shot out in their place, baring their poisonous fangs at her.

She grabbed the twin daggers hidden beneath her coat at her waist and flung it at them.

"You are wounded," Orochimaru sneered. "What hope do you have to overpower me?"

"I'll take my chances!" Kurenai cried. She raised her hands, and a rain of kestrels hailed down from the sky with shrill shrieks, assaulting the snakes and their master.

Orochimaru immediately shed his physical form and melted into the ground. Pulse thundering, Kurenai braced herself, trying to anticipate where he would reappear. Her birds circled her as she called to other great beasts to protect her lover.

In a flash of light and with a fierce growl, a pair of black panthers materialised before Asuma. They prowled around him, snarling menacingly.

"Kukukuku…" Orochimaru's voice echoed in the air around her. "You have not losssst your touch, Kurenai…"

She whirled – a split second before Orochimaru rematerialised. His serpents shot out at her, hissing. She ducked and fired again with her bow. The arrows whistled through the air and struck a pair of snakes that had been slithering towards her feet. Her birds dutifully attacked others, seeking to keep her from harm.

Kurenai's eyes flew to the panthers. They were biting and attacking an onslaught of serpents that had attempted to target Asuma.

"Where issss it?" the daemon demanded, materialising in place behind her. "The phial you sssstole from ussss…"

She turned and lunged at him with another dagger. "I'll never tell!" she slashed at him, but he summoned another snake at the final moment. Kurenai's dagger embedded into its thick skin – and she watched, with wide eyes, as Orochimaru called out another six snakes. They slithered out from his arms, and opened their mouths, extending glinting blades.

Kurenai stiffened, her movements compromised because of injuries she'd had no time to heal. She had never fought the daemon before, had heard of him only through Jiraiya and Tsunade's accounts. What manner of attack was this?!

"Your luck has run out, Kurenai," Orochimaru chuckled darkly.

"Really?" enquired another voice lazily. "Because from where I'm standing, I'd say it's _you_ who's running on borrowed time."

Kurenai's heart leapt with relief as Shikamaru nodded briefly in greeting at her.

"Sorry we're late!" Ino exclaimed, rushing to Asuma's side.

From the shadow of a nearby tree, Sasuke silently watched, the phial gripped tightly in his left hand.


	41. Chapter XL

**Chapter XL**

* * *

_There they swayed, under hush of night,_

_Beneath its clandestine cloak,_

_Their hearts burned bright,_

_And so Spring soared – as a kite,_

_That knew no bounds – nor wrong from right,_

_What hope had she, to heed or tell,_

_As Death's eyes wove their midnight-spell,_

_Enticing innocence to pleasure and sin,_

_Blinding her to the shadows,_

_Closing in._

* * *

"How delightful…" Orochimaru smiled sinisterly, eyeing up the latest additions to the fray.

Stationing himself protectively before Kurenai, Shikamaru raised his hands, ready to summon chakra forth from his seal.

"Your breaking of the sssacred oath will have ssserious consssequencesss," the daemon hissed in warning.

" _Sacred!_ " Ino shot back, checking for Asuma's pulse. She was relieved when a steady beat met her seeking fingertips. "Shut your hypocritical mouth, you ugly freak of nature!"

Orochimaru only seemed further amused by her insults, for he answered, "Far better isss it to be unsssightly, as you sssay, than to be powerlesss, young Aphrodite…"

Ino clenched her teeth, wishing that she possessed even a tiny fragment of her original abilities. She would have liked to break the disgusting abomination's heart into splinters.

"You're the one who attacked us, snake!" Kurenai braced herself for another round of battle.

"Had you not ssstolen the phial from usss, this would have been prevented," Orochimaru answered, in that same, maddening, reasonable voice.

Concealed from them by the Helm of Darkness, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he watched the confrontation in silence.

"What is its significance?" Shikamaru enquired calmly. "Why are you so desperate to get it back?"

Ino watched with revulsion as the serpent licked his thin lips, as if relishing the answer he was about to give.

"For too long hasss thisss world indulged in its falssse ssstate of grandeur and sssecurity. We ssseek to remind humansss of their true desssign and purpossse… to worship usss… to ssserve."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. He looked down at the container in his hand.

This… this held the power to rule? Was _that_ Cronus's true aim, to trap mortals in a meaningless existence – to dictate their actions and the state of the world?

"What the hell does that mean?!" Ino demanded.

But Kurenai, who had caught on, shook her head in dismay. "You are even more out of your mind now than ever before. You cannot enslave humans. It goes against the reason they were created!"

"Cronus is commanding you, isn't he?" Shikamaru already knew the answer. "If that's the case, and he intends to break the pact, then you know we won't just stand by and watch."

"Kukukukuku!" Orochimaru crackled. "Your time amongssst the humansss hasss weakened you! Your power is nothing againssst usss!"

Kurenai tensed. "Shikamaru!" she gasped, as the blade-armed snakes reared back their hissing heads.

Immediately Shikamaru was responding, calling forward from the soles of his feet six dark, shadowy hands that instantly wound around the incoming serpents, locking them in place. Kurenai drew back her bow, and sent three arrows whistling towards Orochimaru.

"Not quick enough," the daemon grinned, shedding the snakes effortlessly, allowing himself to move freely once again. He evaded the arrows, and with four rapid hand seals, opened his mouth, extending his jaws to an impossible width.

Ino felt that she was on the verge of being sick. She watched, horrified, as a snake slithered out of Orochimaru's mouth, and opened its own in turn, protruding another pointed sword.

"DIE!" Orochimaru screamed, and hurtled forward, his movements slithering and blindingly fast.

"Look out-!" Ino jumped to her feet, screaming in terror. There was no way, at their compromised levels of power that either of them could defend in time!

From where Sasuke stood, he could see it clearly, too. They did not stand a chance – but he did not interfere.

A flash of motion flew in front of Kurenai and Shikamaru at the final moment, repelling Orochimaru's attack with vicious force. The daemon was force back – and smiled wickedly when his eyes fell on the individual who now stood before him.

"Jiraiyaaaa…" he said, with visible delight.

Jiraiya's hands were glowing with red chakra energy.

"What do you say to me ripping out that damned tongue of yours, once and for all?" the elder deity suggested cheerfully.

Orochimaru smirked – but retracted his sword. Ino gaped, appalled, as the blade disappeared back down the snake's throat – which in turn was swallowed up by Orochimaru.

"Ugh!" she screeched. "That is so gross!"

"What's the matter, serpent?" Kurenai raised her bow at him.

"Backing down?" Shikamaru lifted his arms, signalling that he was ready to go again.

"He always _has_ been afraid of me," Jiraiya boasted.

The daemon sneered at them. Although he was sorely tempted to take them all on, starting with the irritating whelp of a blonde stationed beside Asuma, he knew that Jiraiya's arrival turned the dynamics of the encounter considerably.

"You cannot stop it," he said calmly. "You cannot deny it. Other forces are at play here. We will have our vengeance-"

"Stop him!" Kurenai exclaimed, firing another arrow from her bow. This one impaled through Orochimaru's right hand – but within a matter of seconds, his body had altered in form, turning into a white snake that oozed into the ground, even as Jiraiya lunged forward to prevent him from escaping.

"Damned bastard," he stomped on the position Orochimaru had disappeared through. Turning back to the others, he observed the car wreckage, and exclaimed, "What in Zeus's blasted name happened here?"

Shikamaru, recalling his chakra within the seal, remarked simply, "Cronus."

"That monster," Ino whispered. "I can't believe, after all this time, he's moving again…"

As Kurenai anxiously turned back to Asuma, Sasuke noiselessly took his leave, disturbed by the words the serpent had uttered. At that moment, he had absolutely no intention of letting the phial out of his sight.

* * *

" _Mother! Please, wait! Mother!"_

_Kore rushed to catch up to Demeter's procession of twelve wood nymphs, standing at the foot of the majestic temple's stone steps. They were clad in long, emerald, gauzy gowns, with sashes of gold tied about their slender waists. Crowned atop each achingly lovely nature spirit's head were rings of purple, red and yellow blossoms._

_Her mother turned to her, looking resplendent in an earthy, full-length robe, tied at the waist with a pleated belt of solid gold. A light shawl was draped over her shoulders. In her hand was a ribbon adorned straw basket, laden with the early autumn season's finest offerings. Her long golden hair was twisted in a braid, laced with leaves and crimson berries._

_Kore's heart skipped with a mixture of uncertainty and excitement as her mother's surprised honey eyes travelled slowly from her head to her feet – before trailing back up again. She shyly twirled for inspection. It had taken_ _a lot_ _of convincing from Aphrodite to summon up the courage to slip into her chosen attire, and Kore wasn't exactly sure_ _ how _ _her mother would respond. After all, she had never worn a gown that rode_ _ above _ _knee length before._

_It was a paler green than the ones that clothed the nymphs. At her waist, Kore wore an arrangement of pink and purple flowers, laced together with delicate chains of gold. A matching cluster had been expertly woven through the crown of braids pinned atop her head. The remainder of her gently waving, waist-length hair tumbled unbound about her shoulders. The hem of the short skirt was also lined with gold, and a lighter, semi-transparent overskirt trailed back to her sandal-clad feet. It was parted at the front, exposing her shapely, lightly tanned legs._

_Demeter, who had been struggling to contain a neutral expression before her daughter's glowing beauty – for all sorts of terrible thoughts had spiralled through her head at the sight of her child so temptingly dressed - tilted her face questioningly._

" _Kore," she began carefully. "I see you have spun a new gown."_

" _Oh, no, not I," Kore answered. "It was the wood nymphs." She gave another whirl. "Do you like it, mother?" she questioned anxiously._

" _It… is somewhat short," Demeter remarked, lifting an eyebrow meaningfully._

_Kore blinked at her. "But Aphrodite says it is perfectly acceptable-"_

" _Aphrodite," the Goddess of Harvest scoffed shortly, "considers it acceptable to walk around unclothed."_

_Kore's eyes widened with horror. "Oh, no, mother! That is a fib all those who envy her tell. She assured me herself!"_

" _Then her enemies are many indeed," Demeter muttered underneath her breath._

_She had never understood the unlikely bond her daughter and the Goddess of Love shared – and did not try to conceal the fact that she thoroughly disapproved of it. Aphrodite's near-scandalous reputation for mischief and flippantly toying with the emotions of mortals and deities alike preceded her; she was a bad influence and role model. But Kore, who delighted in her company, seemed to genuinely adore her like an elder sister, so the harvest deity reluctantly indulged her child and allowed her to spend time in Aphrodite's presence. The flirtatious goddess had sworn to keep Kore safely hidden away from prying, lecherous eyes and they always met within the boundaries of Demeter's fields._

_Kore was going on vehemently. "Aphrodite would never-"_

_Demeter waved her free hand. "Fret not of her, my child. The dress suits you well enough."_

" _Really?" Kore beamed, forgetting all about her best friend as she basked in her mother's unexpected compliment. "Truly, you think so?"_

" _Yes," Demeter looked her over again. She reached out and placed her palm to her daughter's flushed cheek. "You are beautiful indeed, my little flower."_

_Kore's eyes twinkled with delight. "Then you approve of me wearing it to the Festival?" she went on eagerly._

_Demeter blinked. Being sure to show her daughter that nothing was amiss, she stroked Kore's cheek softly._

" _The Festival," she repeated lightly._

" _Yes," Kore nodded at her. "You promised me last year that you would permit me to attend my first Equinox today, remember?"_

" _Ah…" Demeter_ _did_ _recall doing so – but she had done it in desperation at the time. Now she faced the same predicament. The reality was that unlike the Spring Festival, which was held in Kore's honour each year, and was celebrated by surface gods alone, the Autumn Equinox was open to deities who dwelt beneath the surface of the world, too._

_It was a celebration of balance between light and dark. And those of the formidable Clan who lived deep under the ground, led by the arrogant Cronus himself, always ventured to the surface to uphold the supposed 'good will' between the two Kingdoms._

_Kore detected the indecision on her mother's face and pulled away from her touch, frowning._

" _You promised me..."_

" _Listen to me, my child-" Demeter began._

_Kore's heart sunk. She knew that tone. She had heard those words countless times before – words that heralded the next excuse her mother was going to feed to her about why she could not attend that year. Frustration bubbled inside her chest. She had spent_ _ hours _ _getting ready – and now her mother was telling her that once more, she was to remain behind?_

_No. She could not stand it. This time, she told herself, she would_ _ not _ _back down – even if it risked breaching her mother's fearsome temper._

" _I have come of age, mother," Kore struggled to remain calm. Her arguments with the Goddess of the Harvest were few and far between – but she could already feel herself losing her composure. "Everybody will be there, and I'll be safe with you -"_

_Demeter glanced back at the waiting nymphs. "Go ahead," she instructed to them. "Await me beyond the forest."_

_Gracefully they curtsied and dutifully left them in privacy._

_Kore could feel her eyes prickling with tears. Her little fingers curled into angry fists. Her mother had told them to wait for_ _ her _ _– not for_ _ them. _

" _I do not understand," the Spring Goddess whispered. "I do not understand why you will not allow me to accompany you, why I am always to stay within the bounds of your fields or hidden within our temples." She swallowed thickly, at a loss over what to think. "Are you ashamed of me, mother? Is that why you hide me away…?"_

_Demeter's eyes widened and Kore could see that she had struck a nerve._

" _No!" Her mother reached out to her in dismay. "No, my child, I could not be any prouder."_

_But Kore turned her face away from Demeter's extended fingers. The stinging behind her eyes was growing increasingly persistent._

_Her mother sighed and set her basket down._

" _Daughter," she took a seat at the temple's bottom step and gestured for her child to join her. Kore perched down stiffly. Her mother shook her head and sighed again._

" _You know that you are precious to me, and I wish only to shelter you. The world is a harsh, dangerous place, and there are many out there who would seek to use and hurt you-"_

_Kore's head whipped around and Demeter saw in her child's eyes a feistiness that had been growing steadily over the previous years. It was undeniable – her little girl had bloomed into a lovely young goddess and her personality was changing – along with the development of her abilities._

_Demeter felt a twinge of sadness. In the past, she had never been questioned. Kore was her daughter, and she had expected her to inherit her temper eventually – however, she had hoped to hold onto the adoring, eager-to-please child a little longer._

" _All the other goddesses my age attend and no harm ever befalls them. I have your protection and Lord Zeus's. Apollo will be there too – all my friends are going. I shall stay with them at all times. Please, mother!" she took her mother's hands imploringly. "Nothing is going to happen to me!"_

_To her rising distress, her mother looked unhappy and unconvinced._

" _The Equinox is not like the Spring Festival," Demeter explained. "There will be other deities in attendance, as well."_

" _Why does that matter?" Kore demanded, releasing her hands again to fold her arms crossly. "You did not allow me to attend the Spring Festival this year, either! Every year you promise you will reconsider, and every year you change your mind!"_

_Demeter stood up, her temper flaring. "I do it to protect you!"_

_Kore sprung to her feet, too. "From_ _ what? _ _" she cried. "What is it you fear, mother?! If you would but tell me, maybe then I could understand-!"_

_Her mother paced in agitation. She had been pushed into a corner, and knew nothing but the truth would subdue her child this time. She ground her teeth, displeased. The girl had grown far too headstrong for her own good – something she blamed in part to Aphrodite's impertinent influence._

" _Do you truly wish to know_ _why_ _I keep you sheltered?" she retorted irately. "The nature of your gifts, if they fall into the wrong hands, would damage this earth!"_

_Kore's inhaled sharply. With wide eyes, she stared at her mother._

" _What do you mean?" she finally murmured._

_Demeter pursed her lips. "You have the gift of life and light. There are those who oppose it, who would wish for a world reigned by darkness and decay. One of these individuals will be present at the Festival, today."_

_Kore searched her face for any traces of mistruths. There were none. Her mother suddenly looked weary – as if she were carrying a terrible burden._

" _I don't understand…" Kore shook her head. "How could anyone wish such an awful thing…?"_

_Unbidden, she fleetingly thought of Hades. She had glimpsed his power – the polar opposite of her own. Her heart began to pound and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Surely her mother couldn't mean_ _ him. _ _But she could not dispel the irrational knot of dread that had formed in her gut at Demeter's words._

_In a fearful whisper, she probed, "Who is it…?"_

" _I will tell you in time," Demeter reached out and took her daughter's hands once more. "But I cannot this night."_

_She saw her child's eyes glaze over, the way they always did whenever she was upset, and something tugged deep at her heart. Demeter dismissed it and indignantly crushed down the nagging guilt. It was for the best, she justified fiercely. Kore was still so naïve and she did not understand the depth of her love – just how much she worried for her safety._

_Kore knew those words. Not this night meant that she would never know and no amount of arguing or pleading would change her mother's mind. Once Demeter made a decision, she was immovable._

_Despair overcame her. It was hopeless. She would be overprotected forever. Each year, she was denied. Each time, her mother mollified her with false promises. As a child, she had always trusted blindingly in her mother's judgement, but Kore was no longer an infant goddess. She was on the very cusp of womanhood – and she was curious about the world. She wanted to venture beyond the expanse of her mother's watchful borders. How she longed for more, to find her own place in the cycle of existence!_

_Earlier in the year, she had snuck into the Spring Festival with Aphrodite. Resorting to such underhanded measures went against her nature entirely, and she still harboured a crushing sense of guilt over her long-kept secret, despite Aphrodite's insistence that no harm had been done. Going behind her mother's back had been utterly despicable. But it had been the most memorable and wonderful night of her life. The colours and sights and sounds! The hypnotic music, delicious scents and joyful festivities…_

_And of course, it had been the night where she'd first set eyes on_ _ him. _ _The one she had glimpsed on numerous occasions in Apollo's presence – and a few alone – the one she had not been able to banish from her thoughts, many months onwards._

_She thought he would surely be there tonight. After all, she had heard herself that Hades was of the Underworld dwellers._

_Swallowing down her disappointment was difficult. Once more, her mother was keeping her in the dark. Once again, she would spend a night of merriment isolated from the other Olympians._

_She scarcely felt Demeter's lips brush tenderly against her forehead. Squeezing her hands, the Goddess of Harvest vowed, "Next year, I shall bring the Spring Festival to your temple. You have my word, Kore. Believe me when I tell you that all I do, I do for your safety. Now rest tonight. Stay inside the temple grounds with Arenee and Rheas. I will be back shortly after I fulfil my ceremonial duties."_

" _Yes, mother," Kore managed dejectedly._

_Her mother departed with one final lingering look. Kore remained in place, watching until she disappeared beyond the verdant vale, her emotions swirling until they crested in her chest and exploded in a cascade of tears. She dropped to the stone step, sobbing._

_Sure enough, the light pitter-patter of bare feet informed her of the arrival of her chaperone friends._

" _Mistress!" the familiar voice of Rheas cried in distress. "Whatever ails you?"_

" _I am fine," Kore wept, wiping at her eyes – but the tears kept falling._

_Arenee knelt down beside her, her long hair like a rippling river of silver around her._

" _What has saddened you, my lady?" she asked._

" _Nothing. It is nothing," Kore sniffled. "Do not worry for me."_

_Rheas curled an arm around her. "What can we do to banish those tears?"_

" _Perhaps we can sing for you, my lady?" Arenee's lovely face peered up at her anxiously. "Would that please you?"_

" _Not now," Kore shook her head. "Please," she added shakily. "Return to the temple. I wish to be left in peace."_

" _But Mistress…" Rheas exchanged an uncertain look with the other nymph._

" _We cannot possibly leave you so distressed," Arenee stated, stroking her bare arm comfortingly._

" _I will be fine," Kore insisted. "I just want to sit here for a little on my own." Waving, she ushered them off. "I will join you shortly."_

_When they continued to stare at her, she prompted, "_ _ Please _ _."_

_Arenee bit her lower lip. "If that is your wish…"_

" _Yes."_

" _You will call us if you have need?" Rheas touched her shoulder._

" _Of course. Thank you," Kore mustered a watery smile._

_Dutifully, albeit with great reluctance, the nymphs returned to the temple's inner grounds. No sooner had they gone back inside, Kore burst into a fresh round of quiet tears, covering her face despondently with the palms of her hands. She did not know for how long she remained there, crying miserably beside the flickering torches heralding the long steps that climbed up to Demeter's majestic temple. She only knew how wretched she felt._

_Why couldn't her mother understand? Why didn't she see that she had grown up, and was capable of looking after herself? What had she meant by her powers falling into the wrong hands? She would never allow anybody else to use them! Did her mother really have such little faith in her?_

_The terrible, damning thought made her sob harder. Her body heaved with the effort to keep her weeping silent, so as not to alarm her faithful chaperones again._

" _So this is where you hide away," a sensuous drawl - as smooth as black velvet - reached her ears._

_Kore stifled a gasp as her head snapped up in alarm. Immediately, her heart leapt violently into her throat._

_She knew that voice. She told herself she surely_ _had_ _to be dreaming – especially when her frantic eyes did not initially spy him in the night. But then he melted out of the shadows, as if he were fashioned from them, and Kore's lips parted in open shock._

_Hades steadily regarded her with eyes that glittered like smoky diamonds. He was clothed entirely in black, from head to sandal-clad feet. A flowing cloak was clasped at his left shoulder, pinned with a gold emblem clasp bearing his family's crest. He folded his smoothly muscled arms, which were adorned with burnt golden vambraces up to the elbows, and leant back nonchalantly against the trunk of the nearest tree._

_The way he tilted his head at her was utterly condescending._

" _You really_ _are_ _a child," he taunted, one corner of his lips curling up to form a disdainful sneer. "Hn." Closing his eyes briefly, he quipped, "Pathetic."_

_Kore rubbed hastily at her tear strewn cheeks. Seeing him was like a shock to her senses – like someone had thrown an icy pail of water all over her. Her entire body was immediately reacting to his proximity – not that he seemed to notice or care. She wondered whether Hades was even aware of the crackling, disquieting aura he exuded._

_Why wasn't he at the Equinox? She had not seen him for months – three and a fortnight to be precise, her pitiful mind helpfully reminded her, for it had deplorably tracked the days - and his coming was thoroughly unexpected. He had never purposefully sought her out alone before. The realisation that he had traversed all the way to her mother's temple caused Kore's heart to flutter more fretfully within her._

_Quickly, she rose to her feet. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. Glancing nervously back over her shoulder toward the top of the stairs, she added, "If anybody sees you-"_

_Hades looked thoroughly unalarmed. In fact, to Kore's astonishment, his expression verged on one of absolute boredom._

" _I had no trouble evading your mother's sentries," he remarked pointedly. Narrowing his eyes at her, he went on, "You only see me now because I permit it, goddess."_

_Kore gawped at him. So it_ _ was _ _true? He really had snuck into Demeter's lands just to see her?_

_She could scarcely believe it. And she was quite thrown by the butterflies that had seemingly broken free from the cage within her belly._

_She shook her head at him in bewilderment. "Why are you here?"_

_The handsome young god blinked at her, before deadpanning, "I have a task for you."_

_Kore stared at him. He stared insolently back – as if daring her to refuse him._

_The silence yawned between them._

_Finally, Kore fumbled, "You-_ _ what? _ _A task? What task?"_

_He unfolded his arms and pushed fluidly away from the tree._

" _Follow me," he instructed._

_Kore floundered after him. He had travelled all that way – turned up completely out of the blue – and he expected her to willingly comply with him without question or suspicion? Irked by his arrogance, she placed her hands huffily on her hips. First her mother, now this swaggering_ _peacock_ _of a deity; she'd had quite enough of being dictated to for one night._

" _And if I refuse?" she challenged._

_Hades, unfazed by her words, lifted one shoulder as if to shrug. He did not bother to turn back to her, and continued to stroll leisurely away from the temple._

" _Then stay and weep," he uttered curtly, making it transparent that he did not care enough to insist upon her compliance._

_She frowned. It was not quite the response she had sought. Throwing a cautious glance up toward the temple's mighty entrance columns again, Kore hesitated despite herself. When she looked to Hades once more, he had walked further away._

" _Wait!" she whispered loudly after him._

" _I wait for no-one," Hades threw back high-handedly._

_Kore fumed internally for a moment – then impulsively darted after him, praying to the heavens that the nymphs had not noticed her speaking to what they would perceive to be a complete – and surely menacing - stranger._

" _You came all this way to ask_ _me_ _for a favour?" she clarified dubiously._

_He did halt at that – and so did she, stopping just short behind him. Casting an icy glare down at her, Hades retorted indignantly, "I do not recall saying the word '_ _ favour _ _'."_

" _But why are you not at the Equinox? Will your family not expect you?"_

_Hades bypassed the question about his relatives. "I have no interest in surface festivals," he answered flatly. As an afterthought, he added, his eyes trailing slowly over her – and her chosen outfit - for the first time, "They bore me."_

_Kore found herself affronted by his opinion. It was not fair - Hades had willingly shunned the celebration – when she herself longed to attend!_

" _I suppose you think your festivities superior?" she folded her arms._

" _Festivals," he retorted with derision, "are a waste of time."_

_Kore frowned again. She thought to herself that she had surely never met anybody who made her scowl so much._

" _I consider grumpiness far greater a waste," she remarked subtly._

_One corner of his lips twitched at that – but he chose to respond from another angle, singling out the real reason behind the unhappiness he had perceived in her._

" _Left behind again, goddess?" His eyes glowed like burning, charcoal embers in the darkness._

_She stiffened as he breached sensitive territory._

" _I –" she shook her head, horrified to find herself speechless. Something about the way Hades looked at her – and the words he said – always succeeded in making her feel like she was coming undone._

_It was utterly unnerving – the peculiar influence he held over her._

" _Why not follow after your mother?" he was going on._

_Kore bit her lower lip, wondering how much of the interaction he had overheard. "I'm-" she tried again._

" _A child?" he mocked once more._

_She was determined_ _ not  _ _to allow him to pull her into his mind games again. Her gaze flashing with anger, she stepped away from him._

" _You had better leave," she said. "Or I could always make you go, again," she added a deliberate edge to her voice, reminding him of the last time she had succeeded in evading him._

_She expected him to respond with irritation – for she knew he had not liked the fact that he'd been outdone, and by a goddess, no less. She had no idea of knowing, however, that her words had only prospered in piquing the deity's interest further._

" _You would not win again," he stated self-assuredly._

_She met his gaze for a lingering moment – before taking another step back._

" _Goodnight," she said shortly. Then, mustering her pride, she turned away from him and began to walk back toward the steps._

_Hades watched her, his eyes narrowing. He certainly was not used to being dismissed so readily._

" _Kore."_

_Her murmured name sent an inexplicable shudder along her spine. Instantly she slowed, hating herself for it, but how could it be helped? Her name sounded like pure seduction falling from his lips. She wondered how anybody could make it sound so dreadfully alluring._

" _You said we had unfinished business." Kore had no idea why she suddenly felt so breathless. She did not dare to turn and look at him again – even as she sensed him prowling soundlessly towards her. "You cannot expect me to trust you."_

" _I will return you here unharmed." Hades said. As her resolve wavered, he finalised, "You have my word."_

_His word was one that Apollo clearly valued. Kore's eyes went back to the safety of the temple, as she found herself wrestling with two choices._

_The sensible, obedient part of her pleadingly whispered that Hades was nothing but trouble, and going anywhere alone with him, in the middle of the night, would be foolish – a mistake she would surely come to regret._

_But it was drowned out by the more vocal part of her that yearned for adventure – that had always been secretly hoping and longing for his coming – the thrilled part that screamed at her that she would regret it even more if she turned him away by choosing to remain behind._

" _My mother…" she trailed off. In reality, her mind had already been made._

_When Hades spoke next, his voice was right behind her._

" _You will return before she does."_

"…" _Kore told herself she was mad. The behaviour she was about to engage in was thoroughly improper, and she knew even Aphrodite would be stunned by her unexpected boldness. But she hungered for excitement – and Hades was offering it to her freely._

_Something about him had always sent her mind awry and straying from the straight path of goodness she was so accustomed to treading. Maybe it was the wild, untameable, rebellious nature he emitted, or the sense of danger and intrigue that drew her in and held her fast. She had no idea what his secretive_ _ task _ _involved, but he was a good friend of Apollo's, and though a part of her was still fearfully uncertain of his nature, her instinct reassured her that he would not harm her that night._

_She turned to look at him sceptically._

" _You promise me that we will remain unseen?"_

_Hades smirked smugly at her unspoken consent. Reaching out to grasp her right wrist in a light hold, he murmured in response, as he reeled her close to him, "Like shadows."_

_That was all he said – when the world blurred in a rush of wind. When she blinked again, Kore found herself standing in a dense forest – next to Hades's midnight, gold adorned chariot._

_His steeds exhaled smoke at the sight of her. Kore tried not to listen to the whispers of doubt that were beseeching her to back out of her ill-made, reckless decision before it was too late. If she changed her mind now, her mother would never know…_

_Something dark and soft was flung at her. Kore blinked and glanced down at the bundle in her hands to find that Hades had tossed a long, hooded cloak to her._

" _Put that on," he said. When she pulled a distasteful face, he elaborated with some exasperation, "Your hair is bright enough to be spotted from Olympus. This will keep you hidden in the dark."_

_Kore raised her fingers self-consciously to her head. Hades did not like her hair…? He had already stepped onto his chariot, however, turning chivalrously away to allow her to slip the garment on. As she secured it and raised the hood to cover her tresses, she found it to be a little loose-fitting._

" _Where are we going?" she pushed the hood back when it kept falling over her eyes. Then she stumbled awkwardly over its trailing hem. "Ouch! I cannot see where I am treading!" she informed him unhappily._

_Hades flashed a wicked grin as he guided her onto the chariot and stepped behind her to take hold of the reins. "That," he said emphatically, as his arms came up to enclose her in place, "is the point."_

_Kore told herself that it was far too late for her to turn back now with his arms caging her in position at the front of the chariot– and yelped when his horses bolted abruptly forward without warning, at a pace that almost sent her hood flying back off her head again. Kore screeched and pressed it down in place, her other hand gripping tightly onto the front of the cart for dear life._

_As Hades expertly steered, Kore found herself breathless in the wake of the sheer speed at which they were travelling. She had always considered Apollo to be the fastest chariot rider as he blazed gloriously across the dawn sky each morning – but realised just how mistaken she had been. Hades hurtled his mounts at a pace that was even more blinding and unnatural - yet utterly exhilarating._

_She was certain that no other deity could match him._

_The raven-haired god seemed to read her train of thought – for when he spoke in her ear above the pounding of hooves and grinding of wheels, his words were laced with great pride and conceit._

" _Swifter than the Sun, goddess?"_

_Kore's answer was knocked out of her lungs as he veered the chariot left, causing her to slam against the steely barrier of his left arm, which held her fast. But instead of being frightened as she had initially been, Kore found herself enjoying the whirlwind ride – even though her eyes were watering and her face was stinging as the howling air blasted against her skin. Soon she began to laugh with delight each time the chariot lurched unexpectedly to the side or dipped over an unseen plunge in the ground. Each time Hades's arms unfailingly caught her, and each time her heart leapt from the contact of being pressed so familiarly against him._

_This… this was what she had always craved, she told herself, closing her eyes and grinning as they descended down another slope, a plunge that tickled her belly. To be swept away by a handsome deity, and flown off on a fabulous escapade where not even the wind could keep up with them._

" _Faster!" she urged, and squealed as Hades willingly complied. They were going so quickly, she could hardly feel the ground at all anymore beneath them. The stars and the silhouettes of shapes in the still blackness around them blended into rushing, unidentifiable streams. They passed over shallow rivers, over hills and through woods and forests, stealing into the night like the shadows Hades had vowed they would become._

_Kore was too preoccupied to notice when the terrain around them progressively began to shift, until they were riding lower and lower, and when they eventually delved underground into a rocky cavern, she thought nothing of it. She had no idea that Hades was taking a short-cut to the Underworld, an undisclosed route that was unknown to all except members of his Clan. Through the infringing mist they rode, along stretching, magnificent bridges carved of black marble._

_The chariot gradually began to slow down, until it finally rolled to a smooth stop. Kore, winded but enthralled, hung onto the front for a long moment, willing her breathing to steady once more._

" _That was incredible," she gushed. "Your horses – why, they are even swifter than Apollo's!"_

_Hades snorted at this – and so did his steeds. Of course his mounts were far superior. There was a reason why he frequently won their races, after all._

_He was nevertheless pleased to hear Kore openly acknowledge it._

_As he stepped off the chariot, the young goddess pushed her hood back, away from her eyes – and gasped in alarm to find herself in a world of darkness. They had come to a stop before an opening in a cave, flanked by two twin torches bearing icy-blue flames._

_She turned, trying to seek out a sky – some other form of night._

" _Where are we?" her voice wobbled, and for the first time, she felt a ripple of apprehension. Her voice echoed chillingly around them as she attempted to make out anything else in their surroundings. But there was nothing except shadows around them._

" _In the Underworld," Hades replied casually. Stepping off the chariot, he gestured for her to follow him._

_But Kore stubbornly refused, hugging the cloak more tightly around her body in a futile attempt to ward of the coolness of the air._

" _You bought me to the_ _Underworld_ _!?" she exclaimed. Her heart had started to pound to a decidedly more unpleasant rhythm. To think that she was in the very same, fearsome place she had heard so many terrible accounts about! The Land of the Dead! The shadowy Kingdom without light or life! What would her mother say if she were to discover the mischief Kore had allowed herself to partake in, she wondered, overwhelmed by panic. What would her mother_ _do?_

" _Please return me home immediately!" Kore shuddered. "I do not want to be in this forsaken place! They told me there are goblins and blood-sucking monsters, here!"_

_Hades raised a dark, sardonic eyebrow at her. "Do not heed everything you hear on the surface, goddess," he said matter-of-factly. "There are no goblins here, and you have hardly any meat on you to tempt our blood-sucking monsters."_

_Kore's mouth hung unceremoniously. Had… had Hades just_ _ insulted _ _her physical form by implying she was too thin?_

_He lifted one of the torches, brandishing it before him like a glorious fire-brand. "Follow me," he directed, walking to the opening in the cave. "The sooner we are done, the sooner we can leave."_

" _But if anybody sees me-" Kore began._

_Hades, who had made sure and triple-checked that every other Clan member had attended the Equinox, reassured her._

" _No-one else is here."_

_She scrambled after him, for although she did not wish to follow, she thought it far worse to remain in the chariot alone. Who knew what monstrosity might leap out at her in the darkness? Surely she would be killed in an instant if she chose to tarry away from Hades. Gulping, she shuffled after him through the low tunnel, genuinely confused when she saw the rock face around them shimmer as it reflected the torch's flaming light._

_What kind of stone formed the walls? Kore yearned to know, but was far too afraid to touch anything. Aphrodite had warned her once that laying hands on anything in the Underworld would result in a crippling curse._

_Eventually they reached the end of the passage and stepped out into an enclosed, circular garden that was so unexpectedly beautiful, it prompted Kore's hand to fly to the base of her throat in surprise. They had walked into an impeccably tended courtyard built of white stone. In the centre grew a slender, milky tree that sparkled with the sheer brilliance of diamonds. She gasped as her eyes fell upon litters of pretty flowers, the likes of which she had never spied on the surface. Each and every one of them was pristine white and surrounded by ethereal light._

_Delicate butterflies flittered from bloom to bloom, and they too were unlike their surface counterparts. They seemed more vivid, somehow, their wings bright and luminous._

_Kore's eyes turned upwards. The sky twinkled with stars, forming fancy constellations far above them. How could the Underworld possess a sky? The sound of tumbling water drew her attention to a crystal-clear waterfall falling from the rock-faces to her right and left. Blue fireflies danced in the air, bathing the garden in an even more otherworldly glow._

_Hades, who had been watching her astounded reaction with satisfaction and great interest, snapped her out of her stunned gaping._

" _Forsaken_ _…?" he repeated her earlier description dryly, placing the torch safely in a nearby holder._

_Kore's eyes darted to him and he could see the bewilderment in her irises - how she was struggling to reconcile what she was seeing with the lies she had been fed – lies that had sought to keep her ignorant, Hades was certain._

_But why her, of all goddesses? He was determined to unravel the enigma of her, the depths of her abilities, and find out why it was Kore alone who was always so heavily concealed from the eyes of others._

" _I do not understand…" she shook her head and looked around again. "They told me the Underworld was a place of death alone… how can such beauty exist here…? This is incredible."_

_She knelt down and reached out to a tentatively-budding blossom. Hades watched, his stony exterior giving nothing away of his internal fascination, as the flower leaned readily in to Kore's touch. It seemed to bask in the light she emanated – as did the entire garden. As her fingers gently stroked the unfurled petals, it seemed to tremble with freshly imbued energy – before bursting into joyous bloom. The goddess smiled, hearing the flower's sigh of appreciation – a sigh that was heard only by her. The sound confirmed that what she was experiencing was indeed real and not some beguiling illusion put in place by Hades._

_Then she stood up and faced him. The garden was a natural wonder, and seeing it had quelled a great deal of her uncertainties. Whoever could have anticipated that the Underworld could house life, also? She pondered why she had been so mislead about the place – or perhaps the surface gods had created the stories out of fear. There was clearly much more to it than what she had been told – and she guessed, with a fresh flutter of excitement, surely much more to the young deity standing solemnly before her, too._

_Clasping her hands before her, she asked, feeling much more at ease, "What is the task?"_

_Hades led her to the tree and knelt down, gesturing to a lone flower that grew beneath its shade. Unlike all the other blossoms in the garden, Kore could see that it had possessed colour once. A shade of blue or purple, she guessed. The flower had wilted in on itself and its stem's leaves were dry and withered._

_She looked up, meeting Hades's gaze directly, finally understanding what it was he wanted her to do._

_Still, she thought it strange, how he would choose Equinox night to seek her out with the sole aim of restoring a flower. Perhaps the flower was precious to him, she told herself, internally touched by the sweetness of the notion. Maybe Hades was more sensitive and considerate than he let on?_

" _Why is this one so important?" she enquired._

_Her intrusiveness was rewarded with an irritated glower. She had no business in his personal affairs. Hades felt no need to tell her that the flower was his mother's personal favourite, and that she had been devastated when a sudden sickness had struck the bloom._

" _Just fix it," he snapped._

_She pursed her lips. Deciding not to ask any further questions about it – but making a promise to herself that she would discover the reason one day - she automatically reached out to restore the pitiful remains of the blossom – but hesitated as an idea suddenly occurred to her._

" _What are you doing?" he demanded, when she drew her hand away again._

_Kore tapped an index finger to her cheek. Hades frowned impatiently at her._

" _This_ _is_ _a favour, after all," she began thoughtfully._

_Hades continued to stare at her. In the privacy of his thoughts, however, he told himself that he did not like where her conversational opener was heading…_

" _That would mean that you would also owe me a favour in return," Kore pointed towards him. "In fact, because you have brought me to a place I am forbidden to enter, you owe me_ _two_ _." She held up the specified amount of fingers and wiggled them at him._

_Hades shot her a disgusted look that verged on positively murderous. "My favours to you, goddess, are making sure you are unharmed here, and returning you to your home," he retorted._

_Kore folded her arms pointedly at him. "Those are no favours. You promised to return me home unharmed yourself."_

_He seemed even more displeased. There was a brief falter in her daring mood as Kore realised she could not predict how Hades would choose to react. But she was undeterred. It was odd, just how spirited she was suddenly feeling. Away from the surface and its watching eyes, she felt as light and free as a feather. The months since their last encounter had been spent imagining what it would be like if she saw Hades again – what she would say and what he would do. Never once had Kore daydreamed about teasing him or cheekily bartering for errands in return._

_However, she had not only surprised herself. She could see that she had caught Hades somewhat off-guard, also._

" _What do you want?" he demanded, and Kore could see all too clearly that he was not a god who was accustomed to making concessions of any kind._

" _You only have to agree," Kore could feel a grin pulling at the corners of her lips._

_Hades blinked at her incredulously. She expected him to recklessly agree to two favours, when he had no clue what she would ask of him?_

" _Forget it," he sneered at her._

_Kore sighed lightly. The entire garden seemed to sigh with her. Somewhat disconcerted by this – but determined not to let it register on his features - Hades glanced around – to find every flower in the courtyard drooping sadly._

" _Very well," said the goddess softly. "I suppose you had better return me to the surface, then."_

_She moved, as if to rise. Lightning fast, Hades's hand shot out, clamping hold of her right wrist firmly._

" _Wait," he hissed. Then he seemed to struggle internally with himself – before grinding out through clenched teeth reluctantly, "Fine."_

" _Two favours," Kore prompted, returning to her kneeling position. It did not matter to her at that moment that she did not know exactly what she even wanted in return._

_His eyes formed furious slits at her. This was not quite what he'd envisaged when he had made grand plans to slip her unnoticed into his realm. Kore fought back the amused chuckle that was begging to be released from the depths of her throat. She wisely held it in check, half-terrified of what would happen if she dared to laugh, knowing it would be foolish to test Hades's patience any further._

" _Fine," he snapped again curtly, flicking her hand back to her. "Now return it."_

_Satisfied, Kore held out her hands. Hades's ire temporarily waned as he watched her slender, slight fingers weave their mysterious power. Warmth and light fell over the withered plant. Within moments, the flower had returned to its former splendour, straightening and gleaming with renewed vitality, its deep blue-purple petals fully restored._

_The goddess pulled her hands back. "It should not die again," she commented, caressing its petals tenderly. "I have removed the disease that was ailing it."_

_Hades wanted to ask her what the sickness was, just in case it ever befell it again – but his pride stopped him. Without a word of thanks, he rose to his feet. Kore did the same, and touched a palm to the milky white tree._

" _I have never seen a tree like this," she marvelled, running her hand along its smooth texture admiringly. "How is it possible that flora can grow without the sun, here?"_

_The pleasant lilt of string instruments and flutes suddenly drifted to her ears. She turned her head, her interest immediately captured._

" _That music… where is it coming from?" she wondered curiously._

_Hades was as nonplussed as she was. Telling himself it was_ _ definitely _ _time to leave, he opened his mouth to inform her that their business was finished – but the inquisitive goddess was already drifting toward the small set of steps that led through the white, northern archway heralding a new section of garden beyond the one they were in. Sapphires encrusted in the structure twinkled like blue stars, beckoning Kore closer._

_The music was sweet. It serenaded Kore's senses, calling to her, luring her forward. To her amazement, she thought she heard the syrupy singing of nymphs somewhere nearby. She wondered if Underworld nature spirits were like their surface counterparts – or somehow even more beautiful._

_A tug of resistance at her left wrist jolted her out of her enchanted musings. She looked back to find Hades gazing sternly at her._

" _No," he said, before releasing her, and that simple word told Kore all she needed to know; that she would be seen if she entered through the archway._

_But how the tune pulled at her, made her want to dance! She could feel it in her hips, where it commanded her to sway. She had been looking forward to Equinox night for the entire year, for she had been so convinced that her mother would permit her to attend the festival and share her first formal dance with a handsome deity…_

_Her brain whirred to a sudden stop. She turned back to Hades, who had been saying something else to her, something about departing – but Kore had not quite caught it. Her eyes trailed over him, following his straight, sculpted nose and chiselled cheek-bones, the angular planes of his jawline, his wilful, proud, petulant lips, his raven hair, falling into such disarray to frame that enticing attractive face. Finally her attention focused on his heavy-lashed, darkly exotic eyes, the secrets of which she so desired to learn._

_And then the idea came to her… she could still get the dance she had always dreamed of… if she danced with_ _ him _ _._

_No sooner had she entertained the notion, she felt heat surge immediately into her cheeks._

_How could she even consider it! The very idea was preposterous! Hades was still a stranger to her- it would be thoroughly improper, letting him place his hands on her and- what_ _ would _ _her mother think?_

_Then she remembered her mother's broken promise, and felt an indignant flare of frustration. She was tired of being locked away all the time, of being limited in what she could and could not experience._

_Besides, it was just an innocent dance. They were hardly running off and eloping together._ _ Nothing _ _, Kore convinced herself fiercely, would come from it._

_If only she had known at the time how wrong she would be…_

_Hades, meanwhile, was watching her. The peculiar look on her face was unsettling, and she had seemingly not heard his previous words. She was biting her lip and regarding him extremely strangely – as if she were debating something in her head._

_That was when Kore finally blurted it out. "A dance."_

_The young deity stared blankly at her. "_ _ What? _ _"_

_Kore's heart was doing lively somersaults inside her chest. But it was too late to back out, when she had already proposed it._

" _I would like a dance," she clarified._

_When Hades simply continued to look at her and did not move, she flushed, and fiddled with the flowers strung at her belt, feeling like her face was aflame. At least the dimness around them helped to disguise it – though she did not know that Hades's eyes perceived everything in the darkness._

_The silence was deafening. Kore could not bring herself to look at him, but could feel his gaze penetrating into her._

_Why wasn't he_ _ saying _ _anything? Why was he remaining so vexingly unresponsive?_

_Embarrassed that he still might not have understood her intention, she elaborated further, and rather shyly, "With you." Blushing more deeply, she went on politely, "Please."_

_Hades had frozen. He had comprehended what she had wanted the moment she had articulated the word 'dance' – but did not know what to do or think._

_A part of him was full of contempt. He did not dance with silly little goddesses – even ones as beautiful as Kore looked right at that moment. How could she suggest it, or believe that he would indulge her for even a moment?_

_His despairing mother had always scolded him for being too aloof when it came to women-folk, and had long since given up on any hopes of him 'charming' any to his advantage. She did not understand how or why Hades considered words such a waste of time. Thanatos's tongue, in stark contrast, wove a silvery spell upon all who listened to him – on the rare occasions when he thought talking was necessary._

_But the other part of Hades, to his utter mortification, was not so opposed to it. His automatic defence mechanism kicked in, however, and he was spurning her request immediately._

" _Why would I dance with_ _you?_ _" Hades sneered._

_She blinked up at him. Open hurt flashed across her expressive eyes and her lips parted to fire back a response – only her tongue could not deploy it. To Kore's horror, she found herself speechless, as discouraging thoughts encroached upon her. She had never been as confident in her looks as Aphrodite was, but she thought to herself, was she really so repulsive to him, when dressed in her greatest finery?_

_Had she, in her foolish inexperience, misread him entirely? Suddenly it occurred to Kore that Hades had only ever expressed interest in her abilities. He had come to her that night because he'd had need of them – not because she appealed to him as a person – or as a young woman._

_She swallowed the rejection down. But it stung. It_ _ hurt. _ _And her mother had warned her so many times about what she was experiencing at that very moment. Kore had told herself she would never allow anybody to use her powers – but hadn't she just let Hades borrow them for his designs – even if his request had been innocuous enough?_

_Maybe… maybe her mother had been right all along. Angry and upset at herself, Kore struggled with the internal conflict of her emotions._

_Hades, who had been closely observing her, was disturbed to feel something heavy and bitter wedge in his chest upon glimpsing this. He had spoken more harshly than he had perhaps intended._

_He half-expected – and half-hoped – her to retaliate, but Kore seemed to close in on herself instead, like a flower that sought to protect its precious centre._

" _I suppose it was improper of me," she said quietly. Offering what he could clearly see was a false smile, she added, "Forgive me." As if to herself, she turned away and continued softly, "Maybe my mother is right, after all…"_

_He glared after her silently, the feeling in his chest growing more and more unpleasant. The silly girl had taken his remark personally – when he had not intended it to be an attack on_ _ her _ _, per se. She did not know that he was generally opposed to the mindless pastime of dancing with anyone._

_And why did she wish to dance with_ _ him _ _, of all gods, anyway? He was sure Apollo would have made a far more willing volunteer. He had seen the two together. The idiotic Sun God idolised the young goddess, and she was clearly fond of him, too._

_Then an ingenious thought struck him, as surely as one of Zeus's lightning bolts. She had asked for two favours. He could half the number right then and there… if he specified the dance as one._

_Nobody was with them. Nobody would see them – and nobody but the two of them would ever know. It would be a one-off occurrence – and next time, he vowed he would get the better of her, at last._

_Kore, who had composed herself again, straightened. She would_ _ not _ _let his words affect her, she swore to herself. Hades had been nothing but a fantasy anyway, a silly, childish infatuation. Just as her power had caught his notice, it was nothing but his looks that had lured her in. She would forget him, after that night. And if he came seeking her again, she would alert her mother immediately and ensure that-_

_Her determined thoughts were scattered to oblivion when she felt the heavy cloak around her shoulders slip away. She turned, confused and alarmed, just in time to see Hades cast it aside to the ground._

_He was regarding her with eyes so intense, Kore's breath caught in her throat. The blue light from the floating fireflies only accentuated his beauty – and for a terrifying instant, she was mesmerised, despite her raging opinion of him, mere seconds earlier._

_As if sensing the change in mood, the distantly playing music shifted, too. The Spring Goddess's heart began to pound anew when Hades stepped gracefully towards her and without hesitation took her right hand in his left. It thundered harder still when his free arm slipped around her waist, and he tugged her close._

" _But I thought you said…" she began, completely perplexed at his abrupt change of mind._

" _Stop talking," Hades glowered back – and Kore did, as he began to lead her into a sensuous waltz._

_Around and around they manoeuvred, sweeping over the expanse of the circular garden. Kore had told herself it was only a dance – but found it was so much more. Everything around them disappeared, and all she could see were Hades's eyes, searing through her like scorching, sooty coals – like he was staring into her very soul. He was a wonderfully proficient dancer, too, rolling her out for twirls before reeling her back into him to sway slowly again. Something inside her was shifting, and she_ _ knew _ _at that moment, that she was captivated and falling hopelessly for him._

_Something whispered to her that whatever it was that was changing between them, there could surely be no turning back._

_His hand gripping hers and the arm at her waist sent wave after wave of sweet shocks through her. Kore's heart swelled with happiness and contentment. And Hades, who could see her delight visibly radiating in luminous beams from her heart-shaped face, found that his initial aversion to the dance quickly waned._

_Suddenly he could not look away from her – even when he told himself that it was wrong to hold her gaze for so long. As he pulled Kore to him once more, and she released a trembling breath close to his left ear, something thumped unexpectedly in his chest._

_It took Hades a stunned minute to realise it was his heart that had quickened._

_He told himself it was the enchanted ambience of the garden. The magic of the seductively singing nymphs. Some wretched, mystifying force was responsible for the strange, foreign sensations that were stirring into being inside him. He, himself, had nothing to do with it._

_But all at once, his body was acutely aware of hers, of how slight and light her frame was in his hold. The floral scent of her filled his head dizzyingly as they twirled, and her shining eyes, with their long, annoyingly tangled lashes were like mirrors, dazzlingly reflecting the shifting lights around them. And Hades could see himself, reflected in those irises, too. It was like they had captured him in an invisible, iron-like hold, and were drawing him into their tide, deeper and deeper._

_Somehow, they had drawn closer together throughout the duration of the waltz. Kore's arm had slid up to wind around his shoulder, and all she could think about was how wonderful and liberating it felt, to dance at last to her heart's content. Again she was spun out and slipped behind her partner, before pirouetting elegantly back in front of him._

_It was strange, how they moved in perfect synchronisation – as if they had danced together countless times before, as if their bodies were attuned to each other's movements._

_Her cheeks were powdered with an appealing dust of pink, and his field of vision suddenly zoned in on the inviting sheen of her plump, lower lip…_

_With a startled jolt, Hades released her and jerked back, snatching his hands away, as if scalded by the merciless fires of Tartarus. Kore blinked, knocked unpleasantly out of the spell that had enveloped her, also. Her entire body felt like it was thrumming with lightning. It left her devastated and distressed._

_Was that what attraction was like? Had Hades felt the sparks between them, too? Anxiously trying to hide how shaken she was, Kore reached down for the cloak on the floor._

_Hades kept his gaze averted from her, as he tautly uttered, "We're leaving."_

_They did not speak to one another again as his chariot hurtled them back to the surface, towards Demeter's temple. Kore was troubled by the smothering tension that had settled over them – but did not dare to break the silence. Even more disturbing was the frantic racing of her heart and the inferno in her cheeks that refused to be subdued._

_What had she done? It had only been a silly dance. Nothing had changed, she tried to convince herself._

_Her body and heart, however, were not listening to her brain's desperate attempts to dismiss the experience as unspectacular and mundane._

_The ride back seemed to pass in an even swifter blur. When Hades finally drew to a stop and stepped off the chariot, Kore felt like her head was spinning - and not from the journey alone. Distractedly, she reached up to her shoulders to remove the cloak, failing and nearly getting herself tangled in it in her haste to throw the damned garment off – then caught her foot on the trailing material and stumbled ungracefully on the step that led off the chariot. She fell forward, the hood flying over her head and eyes again, hating herself for her ill-timed clumsiness – when hard arms wrapped around her waist, causing her to swallow down a stifled choke._

_With a gentleness that surprised her – for she had half expected him to just let her land humiliatingly on her face - Hades lowered her slowly to the ground, where he deposited her safely. His hands lingered for a fraction on her hips. Their eyes met – and once more Kore's heart stopped - then the dark-haired deity stepped back, placing breathing space between them once more._

" _Uh…" Kore began, after a tense silence, her tongue feeling strangely lethargic. What in the heavens had come over her? "Thank you. For the dance. Yes." She stepped back, her legs unsteady. She had the odd sensation that she was floating – even when she could feel the earth solidly beneath her sandals._

" _Yes. The dance," she repeated, nonsensically. The heat in her face increased a thousand degrees, when Hades simply continued to stare wordlessly – and so unreadably - at her._

_So inarticulate! Kore cursed herself and longed to be swallowed up by the nearest tree. She imagined Aphrodite roaring with vivacious laughter at her novice attempts at bidding a god goodnight. She was doing an appalling job at acting normal. She envied Hades, who was standing so nonchalantly, thoroughly unaffected by the entire affair._

_Finally, to her great relief, he spoke._

" _That was your first favour, goddess."_

_Kore's eyes widened. So that was why he had mysteriously changed his mind and accepted her request! It did not make her feel any better. If anything, it made her even more ashamed of herself._

" _W-well. Goodnight," she forced herself to quietly reply. She turned her back, immediately feeling the pressure recede. Just placing physical distance between them restored her treacherous brain's thinking capacity. However, the further she walked, the harder it became to_ _not_ _look back. She busied herself by fiddling with the cloak again whilst absentmindedly telling herself that she_ _had_ _to get it off before she exited the forest and reached her mother's temple-_

_But she had only managed several steps away when cool fingers snagged her right wrist, and she was spun back around with such swift abruptness, that her dazed head struggled to register what, exactly, was happening. She blinked, shocked to discover a moment later that she had been hauled into the unbreakable circle of Hades's arms again – and was still trying to register how that was even possible – when she felt warmth and softness brush against her lips._

_Astonishment froze her in place as pure, electrifying sensation assaulted her entire body, rendering her limbs useless. It coursed through her, like radiant, liquid sunshine and filled her with such agonising sweetness that Kore felt her heart would surely fragment and burst. All she could manage was to stare up at the twinkling night sky, in wide-eyed stupor, as her heart drummed at the speed of a supernova - and by the time she_ _ had _ _closed her eyes, Hades had already broken the brief, fleeting, tease of a kiss._

" _And_ _that_ _," he whispered smugly, smirking deviously against her tingling lips, "was the second."_

* * *

Sakura's eyes fluttered sleepily open, and she lay disorientated, her heart pounding as the lingering sensations of her dream carried over briefly into the waking world. She half expected to find Hades – _Sasuke's_ – face inches away from hers. Instead she found herself staring up at an unfamiliar canopy as the remnants of her vision rapidly dissipated.

She hung onto the name, as desperately as she could. Kore. _Kore._ This time she _would_ remember it. As long as she kept chanting it like a mantra in her mind, over and over again…

 _Kore. Kore. Kore._ That was the name of the girl she had seen.

Why didn't she recognise the canopy of her bed, though? As she gingerly sat up, it hit her.

It was because she was _not_ in her own bed. She was in Sasuke's room. Sprawled on his dark navy satin sheets. Sakura gulped as her eyes looked over his magnificent chamber once again. Then she remembered that she'd had an attack, and passed out just after Sasuke had come across her.

Groaning to herself, she raised a hand to her throbbing forehead. What was _happening_ to her? Why was she passing out so much?

What did these crazy dreams mean, and why could she never fully recall them with convincing clarity?

Already, to her frustration, she had forgotten a great deal of her latest vision. All she could clearly recall was the girl's name, and the sizzling kiss at the end.

But Sasuke had insisted he had not been involved with any girl back when he had been known as Hades. Even when she had told him that she had seen a vision of him and the phantom young lady in the Oracle's spheres…

What was going on? Was he lying to her? Plagued with confusion, Sakura could not understand why he would choose to do such a thing. He had not seemed like he was misleading her when he'd angrily denied the existence of such a girl.

Sighing with unrest, she slipped her legs over the side of the bed – when a sudden sound akin to ruffling feathers caught her attention. As she turned her head in search of its source, her eyes double-took by the steadily crackling fireplace, where a regal, dark hawk was perched upon a slender wooden stand.

Its golden eyes peered intently at her. Diverted by the unexpected sight of the glorious animal, Sakura rose – only to fight back a wave of nausea and vertigo. She tilted unsteadily – but the effects were thankfully short-lived. Carefully she continued, and as she approached the bird, she marvelled at the lustrous sheen of its feathers, which contained darker specks of black – but was somewhat unnerved by the sharpness of its claws.

"I've never seen you before," she greeted it softly. "I didn't know Sasuke kept a pet hawk, too."

Somehow, it was fitting for him, she thought.

"You're just like him, huh?" she murmured, mostly to herself. "Proud, fierce, beautiful…"

The hawk tilted its head at her. Sakura reached out, trying her luck, wishing to stroke it.

The hawk released a screech of protest and pecked at her hand, a clear indication that it did _not_ wish to be petted.

"Great," muttered Sakura, resting her hands on her hips in disappointment. "Let me guess. You're Alastor the Second?"

"Alecto," corrected a voice indifferently.

Something fluttered inside Sakura's chest as she turned to find that Sasuke had entered through one of the side doors concealed behind the gauzy drapes in the corner of his room. Just like Hades in her vision, he was dressed entirely in black.

"He isn't very friendly," Sakura remarked, quickly turning away to disguise the flush that had chosen to bloom in her cheeks at the sight of him.

He hadn't heard what she had said to the hawk seconds earlier – had he?

 _Please tell me he didn't,_ Sakura prayed, although she knew from past experience that luck was unlikely to be on her side. She suddenly wished that she had added a few less favourable adjectives, too.

Unknown to her, Sasuke had indeed heard – and had smirked to himself at her private admission.

A pause ensued. Then the death deity disclosed, "She is named after one of the Erinyes."

The hawk was a _she?_ Sakura stared at the bird, which stared unapologetically back.

"What's an _Erinyes_?" she asked, pleased that she had something to talk about. It put off the tension that she knew would otherwise settle between them. After all, she had not yet talked to him about the past he had shown her, and was still trying to figure out how best to open up the sensitive subject.

"Deities of vengeance," Sasuke replied. With an extravagant flourish of her wings, Alecto abruptly flew off her perch and glided to her master, where she landed on his waiting arm, leaning into him as he rubbed an index finger under her chin.

All Sakura could think as she watched him was, _show off._

"Vengeance? So that's why she's so grumpy?" Sakura folded her arms.

Sasuke stroked the top of the bird of prey's head, and deadpanned, "She does not like you." Directing a pointed glance at where Sakura stood, he added mockingly, "Yet."

Sakura turned her face dismissively. "Well that's fine, because I don't like her either."

But from the corner of her eye, she silently mused once again how gentle Sasuke was with animals – or maybe only the ones he favoured. Sasuke walked over to her, drew to a stop in front of her, and extended his arm.

"She'll behave," he assured her.

Sakura looked at him, then the bird. "No, thank you," she refused – even though she still really wanted to pet the arrogant creature.

"Sakura."

"Well, maybe just a little pet," Sakura reluctantly conceded, and cautiously reached out a hand. When Alecto obediently remained in position and did not attempt to tear her hand off, Sakura ran her fingers over the bird's smooth feathers. Soon she forgot all about feigning unwillingness and began smiling to herself.

Sasuke, who had been watching her interaction with the animal silently, was satisfied that the ambrosia had not left behind any evident negative effects this time.

 _Say it now,_ Sakura willed herself. _Just say it, don't leave it hanging. You're going to have to face it, sometime, and the longer you leave it, the more awkward it'll get._

Aloud, she blurted out, without meeting his eyes, "I'm sorry about what happened to your family, Sasuke."

She saw him visibly tense, causing the precariously balanced hawk to readjust herself on his arm, and her eyes flew up, fearful that she had breached the subject too soon – but he was gazing away from her, into the fireplace.

She could see the muscles clenching tightly in his jaw.

"Save your pity," he uttered frostily.

She frowned, knowing she had to proceed with extreme caution. "It isn't pity, Sasuke. What happened to them – and you - was awful." After another pause, in which she ran a finger along Alecto's left wing, she went on quietly, "I think I finally understand everything a little better."

He drew the hawk away from her, back into him. She expected him to close up, to say nothing else on the matter – but to her surprise, he spoke again – albeit in clipped, standoffish tones.

"What do you know of loss?" he demanded.

Sakura smiled sadly. But she suddenly felt no animosity. She only felt sorry – that so many countless years of being alone had prevented the god standing beside her from really understanding human emotion – from reading other people's feelings.

"Well," she answered quietly, "it's true I have friends and family on the surface whom I haven't seen for a while."

She looked into the burning flames, and felt Sasuke's attention shift to regard her.

"But loneliness has many forms, Sasuke," Sakura added softly.

She did not see the way the God of Death's eyes widened fractionally at her words. When she chanced a quick glance his way again, he had turned his gaze from her again, back to the hearth once more.

She had no way of knowing that he was, at that moment, _thinking_ about her words.

A long pause settled between them. Sakura told herself that it was not the time to probe him any further. She would save her questions about Cronus and the other deities for another time.

Sasuke carefully placed Alecto back on her perch. "What did you see, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked at his question. Clasping her fingers together tightly, she took the plunge. She knew it would not please Sasuke to hear it – but it was the truth.

"I saw a girl. Her name was Kore."

 _Kore._ It meant _maiden_. However, the name was unfamiliar to him. He wondered whether it had been the name the Essence had carried in its previous shell, before it had been locked away in Sakura.

She seemed uncomfortable, for the next words she spoke were ones she got out with great difficulty.

"I can't remember everything… every time I see a vision, it feels like a distant illusion, and when I wake up, it's like I never even saw it at all. I try to remember, I really do, but it hurts so much." She raised a hand to her right temple. "It's like my mind can't retain it, and I don't know why. I've remembered other dreams before, but these ones… it's like they're different."

Sasuke said nothing. He was thinking of all the ways he planned to make Tsunade, Naruto and all the other fools _pay_ for sealing something so unstable inside a fragile human girl. The essence's influence was clearly troubling Sakura with memories she could not recall herself – because they did not belong to her.

"I had to keep repeating her name over and over to remember it," Sakura continued. Hugging herself, she went on, giving herself no room for hesitation, "But this girl – I saw her with you."

Sasuke's head whipped around to her. She saw the scowl look on his face, and immediately held up her hands.

"I can't control what I see, Sasuke! But you were with her, and you-"

"What?" he hissed, his eyes flashing with anger, as he dared her to finish her sentence. "I _what,_ Sakura?"

Releasing a trembling breath, Sakura whispered, "You kissed her."

The death deity's eyes widened incredulously – and then he turned dismissively away from her, rage brewing like an infernal storm within him. It was an ugly emotion, and one he did not want Sakura to see in him at that moment.

Sakura knew it was probably for the best to shut her mouth – but she couldn't. She wanted to _know_ who the girl was – what had happened to her. And suddenly, she could not stop speaking.

"I told you, I saw you in the Oracle with someone-"

"No," Sasuke rejected, his fingers curling to form frustrated fists. "Just shut up, Sakura."

Sakura swallowed. She told herself to be quiet - she _tried._ But holding back her tongue was impossible. Even when she knew she was messing with fire – the most dangerous entity of them all.

"I'm sorry. You asked me what I saw, and that's the truth!"

Sasuke's brain refused to acknowledge it. Because in reality, there were only two possibilities – either it had never happened, or it had, and he could not remember.

But he never forgot _anything._ He remembered every piece of his past with frightening clarity, as if it had happened only a day prior. Sakura was insulting him every time she sprouted nonsense about a woman – some _Kore –_ who had _never_ been in his life!

"I said, _be_ _quiet,"_ he ground out.

"Why does it make you so angry?" Sakura exclaimed, not understanding why he was getting so worked up. "Even if it did happen a long time ago, why would it bother you so much? Why are you ashamed of-!" she broke off, as the death deity's patience finally severed and he whirled on her, so suddenly that Sakura physically took a step back, clutching a hand over her thundering heart.

"Because there was _never_ anyone else!" he snarled at her.

A crippling silence followed his outburst. They stared at each other, and Sakura saw that his chest was heaving – a clear sign that he had completely lost his temper – and felt her body shaking, too. His words seeped through her ears, and the magnitude of their unspoken insinuation collided into her at full force.

There had never been anybody else… only _her._

The death deity seemed to realise the weight of it too, for he seemed momentarily startled - and genuinely incensed _–_ as if he could not comprehend exactly _how_ his deserter lips had allowed the admission to pass through their impenetrable barrier.

After several attempts of forming words unsuccessfully, Sakura finally managed to whisper, "Sasuke…"

He swivelled around again, turning his back to her, pacing away in an attempt to calm the turbulence of his inner turmoil. _Damn it._ How was it that she was able to wrestle the iron-like self-control, which he had always prided himself for commanding, from him with such unsettling ease? When she pushed and pushed, he _could not_ shut her out – no matter how hard he tried.

The pounding of his heart was all the proof he did not need that Sakura _affected_ him – more than she even knew.

But Sakura _had_ already started to realise it. He tensed when he heard her move towards him, prompting him to provide a scathing, dangerous caution.

" _Don't_ , Sakura."

Sakura, detecting the unmistakeable warning, halted in place, her right hand clenched to form a fist over her heart. Wisely, she waited, biting down on her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything else that would further antagonise him.

It was a very long time before Sasuke spoke again. His voice was much quieter, but Sakura could still detect the lines of tension from the stiffness of his shoulders.

"Your memories are being contaminated," he muttered. It was the only other explanation he could think of; Sakura had clearly not _imagined_ her vision. But he _had_ kissed her just before he had sent her into his illusion. He logically concluded that the Essence's recollections were merging with Sakura's own, and they were starting to make her see things that had never actually happened. Any other alternative was just not possible.

He had never known any _Kore –_ and if the spirit kept torturing her this way, then he _had_ to find a way to rid her once and for all of it.

It then occurred to Sasuke, who he had to see. The irony of it was not lost on him – though he loathed acknowledging the fact.

 _Naruto_ had always had an irritating habit of possessing information that was far beyond his intellectual scope. Perhaps it was time for Sasuke to relieve him of it.

A light tug at the trailing end of his cloak snapped the death deity out of his contemplations. He turned his face to find Sakura, who had closed in. He saw the way her green eyes were darker than usual – the shade they became whenever she was upset or troubled.

"What do you mean, my memories are being contaminated?" she demanded.

When Sasuke averted his face, and made to turn away, she persisted, moving with him until she slipped in front of him. Gripping onto the fabric above his chest, she repeated, "What did you _mean?"_

His eyebrows drew together. "Sakura-"

"You know something," she insisted, her gaze widening as realisation dawned upon her, leaving her stricken. "You _know_ what's wrong with me, why I keep blacking out and seeing these visions, don't you?"

Once again he began to move evasively away, and once more, Sakura clung onto him, resolutely pursuing an answer.

" _Don't you, Sasuke?"_

He angled his chin back slightly, regarding her down the barrel of his nose. The desperation in her voice caused something to stir within him. He was practically ready to spill it out, every single thing her cursed mother had kept from her. It was right there, on the tip of his tongue – and _nothing_ was stopping him from speaking the words that would completely obliterate the walls of deceit that had been cocooning Sakura in a false state of ignorance for her entire life.

"Please, Sasuke," she had stepped closer to him, and he saw in her face the yearning to _understand._ Oh, how he was tempted! Lifting his left hand, Sasuke touched his fingertips lightly to her right cheek. She did not shy away from the touch, her eyes still locked pleadingly with his.

Her voice wavering, Sakura continued in a near-whisper, "Please tell me what's happening to me."

* * *


	42. Chapter XLI

**Chapter XLI  
**

* * *

_Caught in a state of endless distress,_

_Her resolve falters, quaking with strain,_

_Torn by Fate's cruellest of tests,_

_She begins to question the game she plays,_

_Her mind scorches with thoughts that singe,_

_Burdened with guilt she wishes away,_

_Like seeping poison, the doubts infringe,_

_Until she forgets why she awaits,_

_Death draws her further into the deep,_

_While Ocean beckons with freedom's key,_

_Trapped between two titan Kings,_

_In her trembling hand, the Decider of things.  
_

* * *

Her eyes were brilliant emeralds, reflecting the warmth of the illuminating candle-light around them. Sasuke could read her inner turmoil – her unmistakeable _suffering_ – and wanted nothing more than to disperse it, once and for all. As he gazed down at her, it struck him once again just how much more intricate the mystery of Sakura had proven to be, how he had gotten so much more than he ever could have bargained for when he'd made the fateful decision to steal her from the surface.

Everything had become a mess since then, and Sasuke was oddly confident that he had still only scratched the surface of the puzzle. Who knew what other unforeseen twists lay in store, hidden more deeply and treacherously than he was able to perceive at that moment?

Sakura's heart, meanwhile, was thumping to an erratic beat. Sasuke's expression was as neutral and unfathomable as always – but _something_ about his lengthy delay in responding to her was causing alarm bells to blare loudly in her head.

He had all the answers she sought. _Of course_ he did. He was a deity, after all. But why was he so silent? Why was he just staring at her like that? The fingers at her cheek had long since lowered, and he simply stood, impassive to her proximity, to the way she was clutching so tightly onto him. Did he not realise that every passing second was propelling her anxiety to intolerable levels?

"Sasuke," she finally said, feeling as though she could cut the tension in the air between them with a knife. "What is it? Say something."

The wheels in Sasuke's sharp mind rotated at a rapid pace as he considered his options carefully, weighing the pros and cons of each.

On the one hand, he could divulge everything to her right then and there – about the essence, about her mother's true identity, about who her surface _friends_ truly were. But he knew that would be one shock too many and realistically concluded that sharing every piece of knowledge in his possession would be imprudent, impulsive.

He had to speak to the idiotic moron, first. He needed to know the precise conditions that had facilitated the aura being locked away inside her – why Sakura had been specifically selected for it - and what the repercussions of removing it would be.

There was no question about it – Sakura would _not_ like hearing the truth. That did not mean, however, that he could not shed any light at all for her and gauge her reaction beforehand, with some judiciously imparted fragments.

"Your episodes," he began slowly, cautiously, "are not a medical condition."

Sakura stared at him in confusion. What he was saying went entirely against what her mother had informed her on the surface. However, she told herself that Sasuke, being an all-knowing god, could see beyond her mother's years of medical expertise, and so she listened.

"But the attacks only happen in springtime. I've had blood tests; what else could they be?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Of course Tsunade had been the one who had administered all the 'testing' and used it to weave a web of deceit around Sakura's naïve little head. Gently prying her fingers loose from their clasping point at his chest, Sasuke turned away and paced, thinking about the best way to break part of what he knew to her.

Sakura waited, her heart drumming with anticipation.

"These 'tests'," said Sasuke, "when did they begin?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know when, exactly. I've had them several times a year for as long as I can remember. But they were always inconclusive. I just assumed my attacks were some weird allergic reaction to something."

"…" Sasuke thought that the testing had surely begun in childhood. It only made him angrier.

"If they're not medical, then what could they be?" Sakura questioned again. "And what about the visions I'm having?"

"The dreams," replied Sasuke, "seem directly connected to the episodes."

Sakura's lips parted in shock. "What? But how is that possible?" she began in bewilderment. "I've never had these dreams before-"

He swivelled back to her, his eyes glinting charcoals. "How can you be so sure, Sakura," he demanded, "when you can never remember anything about them?"

Sakura took a moment to consider this possibility and was thoroughly troubled by it. She knew that she would have formerly very likely dismissed what he was saying entirely – before her eyes had been opened to all manner of things supernatural. Now _everything_ seemed plausible – even if it logically made no sense.

"So you're saying I might have been having these dreams on the surface, too?" She shook her head. "I'm certain I've never…" she trailed off, scouring her brain for any memory at all of strange visions.

But Sasuke was right; it was as if her mind had turned to a sieve, scattering recollections to the wind, and she just couldn't _remember_ anything out of the ordinary, no matter how hard she tried _._

Then something _did_ occur to her – memories of her younger self, waking up in a cold sweat following bad dreams. It was hazy, and she always recalled her mother being there and soothing her quickly back to sleep…

"I've had nightmares," she said suddenly. "But I thought everybody got those once in a while."

Sasuke eyed her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I don't remember them all in detail but I'd have this same nightmare often when I was younger. I haven't had it in a while, but I'd always be alone in a dark place." She shook her head again. "That's stupid. It doesn't even mean anything. I've just always hated the dark."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura blinked, surprised by the immediate question. Then she shrugged, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. She was _confiding_ in Sasuke, talking about her deepest, most secretive fears – even when she knew that as a god, he probably already knew all about them. Once she started talking, though, the words seemed to roll of her tongue unstoppably.

"I guess I don't like being in places where I can't see what's going on around me." Hugging her arms around herself, she went on, "I remember this one time, when there was a power-cut at my best friend Ino's house; I freaked out so much, even _she_ got scared." Laughing a little in memory, Sakura went on sheepishly, "It's silly, I know. But now that I think about it…" her smile waned and disappeared, as she finished with a soft frown, "…I guess it just always reminded me of death."

Sasuke said nothing. Finally, he moved, circling around her unhurriedly. "Why fear it?" he murmured.

An unexpected shudder shot down Sakura's spine – whether it was from the topic they were discussing or his nearness, she couldn't tell. She hesitated.

His voice was quiet behind her – yet unyielding in its persistence for an answer.

"Why, Sakura?"

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to _feel_ the reasons. Taking a deep breath, she confessed, "That moment, when you know you're about to pass and the shadows close in… I've seen it so many times at the hospital. And each time I think to myself; how can people live with so much heart and then just… fizzle out?"

Sasuke remained silent and motionless behind her.

"And the grave; that black pit in the ground that waits for you, after you're buried and left alone in darkness and silence…" as Sakura continued, she realised with a start that her body had begun trembling. It was upsetting, that she didn't even understand _why_ her muscles were reacting in such a way.

"The thought of it always scared me so much," she finished in a near-whisper. "Even after meeting you and knowing everything that I know now - I _know_ all souls come here and bodies can't feel anything anymore once they're buried, but…" her voice wobbled. "The pain of separation and the loneliness of being abandoned in the ground- not knowing what happens next and what's coming, where you'll go or whether you'll even make it anywhere-"

"Sakura."

Her eyes opened to find that he had slipped around her at some point and was now standing directly before her. When the fine tremors did not cease, he reached out, resting a hand lightly upon her right shoulder.

To Sakura's great surprise, the simple touch seemed to soothe her, for a minute later, the shaking had subsided. As he retracted his arm, she met his gaze, unable to quite read the emotion, but she was sure that there was _something_ there, burning away behind his irises.

In the privacy of his mind, Sasuke was gravely recalling the words he had heard her subconsciously cry when he'd discovered her amongst the Oracle's orbs.

' _I won't let you kill me again!'_

Suddenly, it all made perfect sense. She was terrified of the darkness and death – not only because of the reasons she had specified, but because of the essence's influence, too. The essence's original body had likely perished before – and that made its new vessel fear demise greatly.

Sakura's breath stilled. There it was again – the fleeting look Sasuke had worn on his face when he had found her in the Oracle pool – when he had placed a palm against her chest and seemed so disturbed by _something._

"Sasuke," she started, urgency bubbling inside her. "Why does it keep happening to _me?_ If the dreams are linked or somehow triggered by the attacks like you're saying, then how and why am _I_ the one seeing them?"

"…" Sasuke's eyes shifted away from her face. He seemed to be thinking deeply.

Running her fingers stressfully through her pale tresses, Sakura went on, utterly baffled, "Why would I be having visions of someone else I've never even met?"

"Not visions," Sasuke corrected. "Memories."

Someone else's memories were merging with hers…? Was that what he had meant when he'd said her recollections were being 'contaminated'?

Sakura was even more disturbed than ever.

"Whose memories?" she questioned. "This is completely crazy, but I've only ever heard of something like this happening when people are supposedly _possessed._ "

As soon as the sentence left her mouth, Sakura paused. Feeling somewhat paranoid, she said, "That isn't possible, is it? I mean, I haven't somehow been possessed by a spooky, evil spirit or whatever since I came here – have I?"

She had no idea just how precariously close to the truth she was - but Sasuke shook his head slightly. After all, she wasn't _exactly_ being controlled. The essence hadn't taken over her consciousness fully, and only seemed particularly damaging in the springtime. The other alternative she was referring to was something he would never permit to happen. No soul, regardless of how vengeful, escaped his iron will.

She sighed in relief. "That's good," she murmured. Then, in puzzlement, "So who do these visions belong to? And why is this happening to me?"

Sasuke's eyes locked with hers. It was the opportune moment to tell her – the moment he knew would change _everything_. The words were ready. All he had to do was say them.

_Because either your mother or the other elders locked the remnant essence of a Spring Goddess inside you, beneath a seal so complex not even I can see it._

_Because everyone who matters to you has been lying to you all along and the essence you hold is too strong for you._

_Because without ambrosia to stabilise it, what you hold inside you will poison you to death._

But he chose to remain tight-lipped. He would speak to Naruto first. The moment passed.

Instead, in a voice heavy with the formidable weight of promise, he vowed to her, "We'll get answers."

* * *

The twisting sensation that churned from somewhere deep inside her stomach unsettled Karin greatly. Perhaps she was coming down with something she vehemently tried to assure herself, as she gingerly continued along a route she had only ever had the misfortune of traversing once before.

Or perhaps it was the not so inconceivable possibility of her sneaking being discovered that had her verging on something akin to a nervous breakdown.

 _Everything will be fine,_ she kept repeating to herself. _He's not gonna find out. Everything'll be fine…_

She was insane. Surely she _had_ to be. For only someone with a questionable mind would listen to the mad ramblings of the oceans' resident _idiot_ of a ruler, Suigetsu _._

She was teaming up with her age-old nemesis, scheming something so deplorably wicked and terrible that she knew she'd likely be torn to shreds by the Erinyes themselves if she ever so much as _dared_ set a single toe inside the Underworld ever again.

That was, of course, assuming that she made it out _alive_ in the first place.

She halted, paralysed by a crippling wave of the jitters. What if Sasuke was by the river's bank, at that very moment? What if he had already _noticed_ her absence? The thought, as terrifying as it was, also sent a strange thrill rippling through her. That her sexy, forceful master would wonder of her whereabouts…

Maybe… maybe he'd even _worry._ Karin sighed longingly, momentarily forgetting her nerves as she allowed herself to indulge in an episode of fantasy, leaning against the rocky wall as she zoned out.

 _Sasuke-kun… is he thinking about me right now?_ She thought gleefully to herself. _Has he seen that I'm missing, and is he looking for me? Oooh! So shy with his emotions! Bet he'd love a game of hide and seek, that sexy, heartless piece of-_

"Lingering in doorways is quite impolite – even if you happen to be preoccupied with thoughts of an unattainable Adonis," a voice suddenly croaked, snapping Karin violently out of her dreamy reverie.

She barely suppressed her screech of alarm in time, flushing a shade of crimson that rivalled her uneven locks as she leapt away from the wall, instantly straightening her spectacles.

"Wh-wha! I-I wasn't daydreaming!" she spluttered indignantly, composing herself as quickly as she could. "L-like I even dream at all! Damn it!"

"Indeed." The voice responded wryly. "Then enter, young nymph."

Karin gulped. Chiyo was much older than both Suigetsu and Sasuke combined, and she had a way of peering shrewdly at her in a manner that completely freaked Karin out. Chiyo's reputation of being unpredictable preceded her – there was no guaranteeing that Karin wouldn't be turned into a frog, or something else even more unsightly, the instant she said something wrong.

Which was why she knew that she _had_ to be extremely careful.

Pushing aside the dry, tangled curtain, she entered the old crone's hut, finding it to be largely unchanged since the last time she had visited, shortly after she'd first arrived in the Underworld. The overwhelming smell of brewing herbs smacked into her face, making her eyes water and sting. She coughed in subtle protest – and then her eyes came to rest on the figure hunched before her.

The wise old goddess, clad in a dark grey shawl thrown over a black robe, was perched by the hearth, stirring the bubbling cauldron slowly with a large wooden spoon. Karin gaped at the sight of her; she had almost forgotten just how ancient the hag was.

Trying to feign nonchalance despite her inner nervousness, she decided to get straight down to business.

Clearing her throat, she began a little too loudly, "Goddess, I'm here to-"

"I know why you are here," Chiyo sniffed. "And it is not yet too late for you to return the way you came."

Karin's mouth hung open. Now _that…_ that wasn't quite what she'd been anticipating to hear. Chiyo wasn't the kind of deity who gave warnings without them benefitting her in some way or another. She never imparted her limitless knowledge for free _–_ certainly not to an inconsequential nymph like Karin was, anyway.

So why was she allowing her an opportunity to turn back?

Karin licked her lips. _Damn it._ They felt oddly chapped – a sure give away of her uneasiness. Then she furiously thought of the pink-haired _monstrosity_ she'd seen riding on horseback by Sasuke's side, and gave herself a mental shake. She had a job to do, and by the pits of Tartarus she was going to see it through.

She would do _whatever_ it took to get _Suckura_ away from Sasuke, and make her leave – permanently.

"I see that Suigetsu has strung you along in his game," the old hag was continuing conversationally. Her dark eyes, reflecting firelight, rested on Karin, all-watching, all-knowing. "And a dangerous game it is, little nymph. You seek to part a treasure from its king. A king who does not relinquish his trinkets willingly…"

Karin balked, struggling to accept the words infiltrating her ears. His _treasure?_ Did Sasuke truly value the horrid shrimp so dearly? Was Sakura really so _precious_ to him? The water spirit was overcome with nausea and bitterness clawed away at her better sense of judgement, poisoning all thoughts of reason and smiting away any last feelings of remorse over what she was doing, leaving only ugly jealousy behind.

"Suigetsu says you have a potion," she said, ploughing on ahead, knowing that in the security of Chiyo's abode, there was no chance of her treacherous words being overheard. "One that can disable a deity."

To her astonishment, Chiyo cackled. "Eheh heh heh heh heh! Such level of magic is not without its cost, little nymph. No ordinary potion can incapacitate a god of Sasuke's great authority."

"But I don't have-" Karin began. Chiyo immediately held up a silencing palm. Her mirth rapidly waned, as she went on, with narrowed eyes, "Take heed. The price for treachery is high indeed, Karin." Karin swallowed at the utterance of her name, as the hag helpfully reminded her, "The Erinyes will gorge out your eyes and tear out your tongue – if Sasuke himself does not deal with you first."

Karin wondered whether it was at all peculiar, to find the concept of Sasuke 'dealing' with her, in any way at all, incredibly exciting.

The crone sighed, seeing that the foolish water spirit was clearly undeterred. "I have called Suigetsu a friend, and it displeases me to see what has befallen him."

"Then you'll give me what I came for, right?" Karin prompted hopefully.

"Hmph. Youth these days, ever hasty, no manners." Chiyo huffed. "Watch your tongue, nymph, else I find a better use for it before either the Erinyes or Sasuke can get their hands on you – in my cauldron."

Karin blanched and raised a hand over her mouth. "I-I meant no disrespect," she grudgingly stammered. "It's just that I need to get back to the river quickly-"

The goddess's eyebrows lifted, creasing the skin of her forehead even more deeply. "Your hatred for the girl blinds you, nymph. It is no fault of Sakura's that she came to be here."

"This is the moron's idea," Karin answered stiffly, unwilling to discuss the reasons behind her compliance with Suigetsu's plans. Folding her arms defensively, she added, "He wants to get her out. _She's_ going along with it."

"Is she…?" Chiyo mused thoughtfully, raising the spoon to take a sip from her mysterious infusion. A slightly disconcerted Karin wondered why the liquid seemed to be so luminous a shade of turquoise.

Chiyo seemed to approve of the taste, for she took another sip. "Perhaps the Flower has begun to reconsider."

 _What?_ Karin was even more mortified by the prospect of Sakura not _wanting_ to return home. The fact that Sasuke's prisoner could change her mind had never even occurred to the nymph. It seemed preposterous. She couldn't think of any reason _why_ Sakura would pull out – unless- unless she had started to develop _feelings_ for the King of the Dead.

In a way, Karin couldn't blame the foolish brat. After all, Sasuke _was_ a complete catch – the ultimate package. Looks, status, power, and wealth – he had it all. There was nothing he could not give to a girl – only sunlight, which was highly overrated, anyway.

Still, the possibility of Sakura actually falling for Sasuke was out of the question. Karin was filled with a renewed sense of loathing - and urgency. She could _not_ allow that to happen! She needed to speak to stupid Suigetsu; the longer they delayed setting the plan into motion, the dicier their situation became.

"Perhaps your actions will lead her to great danger," Chiyo's continued.

 _Good,_ Karin automatically and fervently thought. She knew from the sharp look Chiyo gave her that the crone had probably overheard it.

But instead of being apprehensive, Karin stared shamelessly back. She had already made up her mind and was fully aware of what she had agreed to partake in.

She wasn't about to allow centuries upon centuries of pining to go down the drain without a fight. She had her dignity and her pride. And hell truly did not hath no fury like a woman scorned.

The alternative was unthinkable, unbearable. Remaining as she had been for countless centuries, invisible to the eyes of the very one that she'd always wanted to acknowledge her the most… her heart could not take it. Neither did she want to face the humiliation of asking Sasuke to release her from service early and allow her to return to the surface.

If she did nothing, she would have to suffer watching _Sakura_ play happy captive with the god Karin so terribly loved. And she could only assume what Sasuke had intended for the girl. He had already given her a horse.

What next? A crown…?

Bile rose up in her throat. _No._ She couldn't stand it.

Chiyo, who had read all the emotions in her eyes transparently, lowered her own.

"Hmph," she grumbled. "I shall provide you with the concoction you seek, at a price I shall claim from Suigetsu later. But be warned," she held up a crinkly index finger. "The actions you are on the precipice of taking shall reap consequences beyond your perception."

Karin's heart pounded. Chiyo was giving her another warning – a final chance to pull out. A tiny voice in her mind, unclouded by abhorrence for Sakura, whispered that perhaps she ought to listen.

It whispered to her that if Suigetsu's plan failed, Sasuke would surely slaughter them all. She had the feeling he would leave Sakura last, take his time with her, and do away with _her,_ Karin, first. Then he'd fling all their souls into Tartarus. There they would dwell in eternal agony, reliving their treachery over and over within the infernal pits of inescapable damnation.

Karin felt coolness against her forehead. Perspiration? Suddenly she felt cold and clammy. Was she _really_ going to go through with it? Could she really _betray_ Sasuke Uchiha, the ruler of the Underworld? Of all the gods with whom to avoid making enemies, Sasuke ranked amongst the top. He was thoroughly unsympathetic. When grievously wronged, he did not forgive.

Then she once more recalled the intense way in which the object of her hopeless affections had regarded the _freak,_ and drove the final nail into the coffin of indecision.

"I'll take my chances," Karin said with conviction.

* * *

The force with which the fist struck the table's surface was enough to make almost everybody in the spacious room flinch.

"That son of a bitch!" Tsunade hissed. Her ample bosom heaved as she struggled to digest the news Kurenai and the others had delivered to her. "He has something to do with Sakura's disappearance! I _knew it._ "

Shizune shook her head. "It seems more likely," she murmured. "His breaking of the pact changes everything."

They had all regrouped at base to discuss the latest, hostile developments. When the initial shock had died down, fury and frustration had slipped into place, setting tempers flaring.

"So he really means to try and succeed where he failed before," Iruka shook his head in disbelief.

"After all this time!" Gai exclaimed. "What can he mean by it?"

"Orochimaru made it plain that they want revenge," Kurenai answered, from her position at the table, next to an Asuma who looked a little disgruntled at having missed out on the majority of the action.

"Bastard," he growled, curling his fingers to form hateful fists. "I'll rip that snake's disgusting tongue out with my own hands next time."

"Now that they're breaking the conditions of the truce, we can do the same, right?" Ino asked the question on everybody's minds. Looking around at the others when they remained silent, she prompted, " _Right?"_

Neji, who was leaning against a marble pillar, surprised her by supplying, "It's not quite that simple," he explained. "We can tap into our chakra reserves, but it was our Leader who placed them on us."

Unbidden, an unpleasant memory flashed across Kakashi's mind, as the remainder of the conversation faded from attention. He could still visualise it, as though it had happened only moments before.

Luminous, sky-blue eyes, filled with a desperation that was utterly uncharacteristic of their regal owner - one who had always been so poised and unruffled, so confident and composed.

' _Hera. Cronus has her. You take my son and the others and you go.'_

Even though the struggle for Olympus had resulted in him losing sight in his left eye, he'd remained by his leader's side until the very last moment he had physically could.

' _Let me assist you, Zeus-'_

' _No!' _ The incontestable word was followed by a forceful shove that still pierced Kakashi's heart with pain, millennia later. ' _That's an order from your_ _King_ _, Hephaestus.'_

He had looked up at Olympus's ruler, then, at the way the early morning sun had been shining so gloriously behind him, bathing his entire silhouette in a halo of blazing gold.

And he had felt awe and pride, at how steadfast a king Zeus had always been to them. He had been their pinnacle of courage and strength, their wisdom and security, one who had united them and blessed the world with laughter, stability and prosperity.

They had believed him to be undefeatable. But even the mightiest of gods possessed weaknesses. And Cronus had cruelly aimed directly at Zeus's greatest flaw.

His heart.

' _You take them to safety, now! I've entrusted a fragment of my power to you – and within my son. When the time comes, you'll know how to wield it."_

The words melted back into the haunted catacombs of his mind as the discussion that had been going on around him tuned into focus again.

"There's _got_ to be another seal to undo it," Ino was saying. "A way to restore all of our powers, fully."

"We'll certainly need them," Jiraiya remarked, from his position with his feet propped atop the table, much to Tsunade's vexation. "We can only speculate what exactly Cronus intends to do next. At the moment, he has the advantage."

"That bastard Orochimaru had a point when he said that the time we've spent amongst mortals has weakened us," Shikamaru added.

"Wait a minute," began Kurenai. "He said something about other forces being at play."

"Other forces?" Iruka echoed.

"Of course!" Gai cried. "He has another accomplice!"

Asuma folded his arms. "Hmm; it certainly seems like he has more than just Orochimaru and his human puppet Kabuto involved."

"…" Kakashi could feel Jiraiya's eyes as they slid onto him. He made a point of avoiding them.

Hinata twiddled anxiously with her fingers as she watched Naruto's reaction from the corner of her eye. The blond was uncharacteristically subdued – and she wasn't the only one who had noted his silence.

Shikamaru eyed him. "Naruto? What is it?"

On closer inspection, Hinata realised that Naruto was _shaking._ When he finally lifted his head to address them, she saw the extent of his rage – and her heart ached for him.

"That bastard…" Naruto seethed. "It wasn't enough for him, to murder my parents. It wasn't enough for him to poison Ares's mind against us, just so he could possess Kurama! It wasn't enough for him to murder his own Clan, to get the seat at Olympus and take everything that was ours away from us!"

"Calm down, Naruto," Kurenai said softly but firmly. "Ares chose to act against us."

Kakashi's sole eye lowered. That particular memory was too painful – and he could not revisit it.

"Did he?" Naruto demanded. "Cronus had the power to manipulate people! His wife, his children, his descendants – he got rid of anybody and everybody who got in his way!"

"Even so, Ares was mature enough at the time to know what he was getting himself into," Tsunade stated. "Enough of him, Naruto. We focus on _now."_ Directing a stern glance at the rest of them, she continued, "There's no doubt that Suigetsu is in league with them. Cronus must be the one responsible for keeping him so well hidden."

"But there's a seal on Cronus's powers, too, remember?" Iruka said. "Shouldn't his abilities be compromised as well?"

"Yes," Jiraiya affirmed, scratching thoughtfully at his chin. "Although whether it's precisely the same as the one Minato placed on us, we cannot be certain."

"We need to know," said Neji frostily. "We need to know exactly what we're dealing with."

"But how?" Gai mused, his mouth a grim line.

Sai, who had been sitting sullenly beside Naruto, suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps there is someone who can assist us."

They all looked at him, surprised that he had even spoken. Sai had always been the odd one in the group – the one who did not quite fit.

"Well?" Ino leaned forward in her seat, peering past Shikamaru beside her, blinking at him with wide eyes. " _Who,_ Sai?"

Sai's empty black eyes regarded them, as he simply responded, "Danzo."

There was a stunned silence. Then the entire room erupted at the name.

* * *

' _Listen, stupid.'_ Her words were like sweet music to his ears, and Suigetsu found himself grinning right away. ' _I got the potion from that old hag. I'm dropping it by you, you better not screw up!'_

' _Heh. You actually pulled it off? Not bad, Karin – for a useless whore.'_ He taunted telepathically back.

There was a pointed pause. Despite the distance at which they were communicating, he could sense her spiking irritation – which only increased his amusement further.

' _How about I take this straight to Sasuke and blow this thing in your disgusting face?'_ She snarled back savagely.

' _Bitch,'_ Suigetsu found himself glaring at the lightning charged bars of his cell. ' _I told you, you stab me in the back, you're dead.'_

' _Whatever,'_ Karin snapped. ' _Oh, and by the way, you might want to have a word with that little_ _tramp_ _. Chiyo told me she's getting cold feet on you.'_

' _What?'_ Suigetsu was too surprised by the admission to deploy the next insult he had prepared to fire at the nymph he absolutely _loathed._

 _Sakura?_ Chickening out? He had started to suspect it, of course, but to have it confirmed was another matter entirely.

' _Are you deaf, stupid?'_ Karin's voice grated. ' _I said she's having second thoughts. Maybe she's enjoying her stay with Sasuke a little_ _too_ _much,'_ she added acidly.

' _No, she isn't,'_ Suigetsu sneered back. _'She's just scared shitless. Don't fuck around with me._ '

' _As_ _if._ _Who's the useless whore, now?'_ said Karin snidely – before abruptly severing the connection between them.

Suigetsu blinked – before grinding his teeth together. He needed to make absolutely sure that silly little Sakura was going to deliver on her end – and he'd use _any_ ruse necessary to secure her compliance.

Willing or otherwise.

* * *

To the ordinary onlooker, the gently floating motion of the glass-like orbs was mesmerising, lulling the gazer into a false sense of tranquil security. But Sasuke knew of the sinister extent of the Oracle's powers all too well, and so approached the shallow pool over which they drifted with extreme caution.

Here he was, standing before the unpredictable Mirrors of the Fates – mirrors whose behaviour even he, with his great power, could not foretell. They reflected what the Fates had seen in the past, what they saw in the present – and what they knew to be the absolute future – whilst occasionally throwing in a cluster of imaginary images, intended to toy with mortal and godly minds. There was no anticipating _what_ the globes would reveal to his eyes – but Sasuke had braced himself for a painful reminder of the cursed days that had haunted him for so long.

It was forbidden, of course, for a deity to consult the Oracle for personal gain. Sasuke knew it was likely that he would eventually be made to pay the price for what he was about to do. He'd been told horror stories in his younger days of blindness and insanity befalling those who had dared to snoop too far into the future for their own good. But he insisted to himself that he was stronger than the others, of a sounder, more sensible mind, and besides, his choices otherwise were extremely limited.

Naruto, at that moment, was engaged on the surface. Sasuke had sensed the presence of the others with the fool when he'd left Sakura with the intention of seeking him out. He needed to get the loud-mouthed blond alone – and so he had to wait a little longer.

The pressing need for answers, in the meantime, had spurned him to take an alternative course of action. He'd required no permission from Chiyo, and had bypassed her hut entirely, transporting himself directly to the Oracle.

In his Kingdom, he was free to roam where he pleased – even here.

Standing atop the three steps that granted access to the crystal-pure waters, Sasuke cemented his decision, and stepped purposefully into the pool.

Immediately the orbs hovered towards him, as if metals drawn to an overpowering magnet. Knowing that he could not control what was shown to him, the death deity regardless chose to speak what he wished to see. Perhaps the Fates would listen. Perhaps they would be kind – though he expected nothing but mischief from them.

He spoke the name that had been weighing on his mind the instant Sakura had disclosed it to him. He wanted to prove a point to her – and he realised darkly, to _himself_ – that whoever the individual she had seen had been, they had _nothing_ to do with his past self.

It troubled him, however, why he would feel such an urgent need to check, when he had already convinced himself so thoroughly that Sakura's words were nothing but memory-scrambled nonsense.

"Kore," he murmured. "Did she exist?"

With a softly tinkering sound, the first of the spheres rose to meet him at eye-level. Sasuke's pulse-rate began to increase against his wishes as the globe reflected a myriad of colours, initially revealing nothing. Then it cleared and he found himself staring at a golden wheat field, overlooking a majestic stone temple. The setting sun's light bathed everything in a heavenly, golden glow.

Before he could identify the temple, the sphere floated away. Another revolved up in its place. Inside its depths Sasuke saw a contrasting landscape – one of ruin and devastation. Fires raged and smoke billowed in the wind. Distantly, he heard screams and wails of anguish.

The image shifted. He saw Cronus, standing before Zeus's army, a menacing smirk on his arrogant lips. Sasuke's hands balled into hateful fists. He recalled that day all too well.

Thankfully, the stream did not linger, and was gone within moments. Another pale blue globe tinkered gently toward him. He stiffened, something tugging agonisingly inside his chest as he glimpsed a familiar masked individual, bantering affectionately with another.

He'd recognise those regal, elegant figures anywhere, anytime.

Stricken with memory, Sasuke could only stare, rooted to the spot, as his eyes were ensnared by the phantom image of the two. Hypnos was clearly teasing the second individual, who remained aloof and silent.

He had not expected to encounter his own past so soon – yet he could not wrench his eyes away. A tumultuous storm of emotions, which had been buried so deeply inside him, were instantly resurrected by the ghostly sight – and Sasuke rapidly realised that perhaps it had been a bad idea to utilise the power of the Oracle, after all.

The figures quickly passed from sight. Another hovered into its place, revealing a beautiful woman with alabaster skin. She wore a headpiece of luminous pearls and twinkling stars. Her silvery gown shone like starlight and she was running, her dark hair cascading behind her like a luxurious river of night. He heard her musical laughter – and his heart _ached_ with longing.

His mother. Her lovely face angled to throw a glance back over her slender shoulder.

' _You've almost caught up to me, my love!'_ she smiled joyously, the memory of her voice stirring such yearning within him. ' _How swift you have become, my little one!'_

He remembered it, like it had been only the previous day. As an infant, he had delighted in playing hide-and-seek and chasing after his mother, who had always allowed him to catch her, showering praise upon him whenever he had finally hunted her down. He still recalled the warmth of her soft arms closing around him as she'd scooped him up, the fragrant scent of lilies as she'd held him close.

Sasuke swallowed, grinding his teeth. It was nothing but an illusion of what had been. Even as he told himself it fiercely, he could not keep the feelings and pain from manifesting again.

He could not keep himself from missing her, still.

The orb rotated, taking the torturous vision away with it. Another swirled up before his eyes, and what he saw made the sadness morph into enraged fury.

 _Apollo._ He was running, laughing, and his hand was gripping a slender young woman's whose braided, flower adorned hair, a shade he could not discern, reached her waist in length. The cloak of night made it difficult to decipher exactly who she was. They were racing through a field, into a dense, leafy forest.

He then froze, when the echoing words reached his ears, near-tauntingly.

' _Quickly, Kore! Before your mother returns!'_

The death deity's eyes widened, his heart now thundering terribly.

Apollo - _Naruto –_ had personally _known_ this 'Kore'? Stunned, he continued to watch the streaming image, his mind scarcely registering what he was seeing.

Apollo dancing with the girl under the moonlight. The girl laughing sweetly, then swatting his arm and shoving him away while he howled comically.

The vision panned out, as Apollo stood intimately before her and deposited a warm, golden, mini-sphere of sunlight into her palms. The globe's angle suddenly shifted, before panning back in again.

And that was when Sasuke finally caught a glimpse of her face.

His body's reaction was immediate – like an unstable catalyst facilitating a lethal explosion. It collided into him, leaving him breathless.

She was beautiful, _so_ _beautiful –_ with wide, lash-tangled eyes, a small nose, and rosy, full lips. She was smiling delightedly at the ball of burning light in her palms, and he saw in her face hallowed light.

He stared, aghast. Something about her purity reminded him unmistakeably of Sakura – but at the same time, he did not recognise her, because she was so _different_.

' _Oh Apollo, it's so beautiful,'_ her voice was breathy and soft, like a flute. Again, it made him think fleetingly of Sakura – but when she spoke again, it sounded nothing like the girl.

' _I wish I could keep it.'_

' _Maybe we can find a way to trap it inside a necklace,'_ Apollo's irritating voice suggested excitedly – and Sasuke was at a loss to explain just _why_ his words seemed to grate so much on his nerves. _'Would you like that?'_

' _You'd do that for me?'_

' _I'd do anything for you! Believe it!'_

Her gaze suddenly lifted – and Sasuke physically stepped back, his feet displacing the water briefly – as her soulful eyes seemed to pierce directly into him.

 _No_ , he told himself furiously. He did not _know_ her. Even if she _had_ existed, she was still unfamiliar to him.

But she had been dearly important to Apollo. That much was evident.

The ghostly stream dimmed as the orb drifted away – and Sasuke wanted to see no more. As he started to turn away, feeling disgusted and disturbed, a different, silver sphere seemed to rush up before him.

He saw his past self, standing with his father and brothers. The bitter moment when he had been ordered to stay behind in the war.

Another orb showed him alone with Thanatos, beckoning him close – only to poke his forehead dismissively with an index and middle finger.

And he heard his older brother's soothing, quiet voice – and it shredded him to pieces inside.

' _Maybe next time, Hades.'_

He saw himself racing _Apollo_ in another ball – and murderously shunned it.

Another sphere rose eagerly to him – but he'd had enough.

"Get away," he snarled at it, lashing out dismissively with a hand. It dispersed on contact, scattering into tiny lights – before reforming stubbornly once again, determined to show him what it contained. He smacked it away, turning his back on it – when all the spheres around him rotated, changing altitude and position.

One of them succeeded in aligning itself directly with his field of vision. And before he could stop it, an image began to form inside its glistening, transparent hollow, one that made him freeze all over.

One that caused his racing heart to lurch and plummet straight to his feet.

 _Sakura._ She was standing before a mirror, holding a glistening, diamond-encrusted crown between her finely trembling hands.

The crown of a _Queen.  
_

* * *

As Sakura popped a syrup-coated fig absentmindedly into her mouth, she found herself thinking of her earlier conversation with Sasuke.

 _Conversation_. At what point had they started engaging in real dialogue? Since when had their arguments and awkward, tension-plagued encounters turned into sessions that actually resembled normal human interaction?

Her mind was spinning. She had no concept of time, but it seemed to her that she had been with Sasuke for a very long duration of it. So much had happened between them since that fateful moment when she'd blearily opened her eyes and stared up at the canopy of her bed for the first time.

His voice echoed in her mind. " _We'll get answers,"_ he had told her. The proud deity had used the pronoun ' _we' –_ not ' _I';_ as if they were a team of detectives, hunting together to solve a confounding mystery.

And with him on the case, Sakura was certain it would not take long to crack the code at all.

Sasuke was willingly helping her to obtain answers to a puzzle she had wondered about for her entire life. Something fluttered oddly in her stomach as she acknowledged the weight of that. Sakura shifted in her ornate seat, trying to ignore the feeling. Yet it hung heavily on her conscience, and she couldn't _help_ but dwell on it.

She knew what she was experiencing. _Guilt._ Suigetsu could contact her at any moment, expecting her to go ahead with their plan, as agreed.

She had initially told him that she would do _anything_ to return to the surface. It left her at a loss for words, tormented and angry with herself, that the first seeds of regret were starting to germinate inside her head.

What was she going to _do?_ She was caught between two mammoth titans; Sasuke, whose dreadful power she had witnessed on numerous occasions, and Suigetsu – whom she knew next to nothing about.

In whom was she meant to place her trust? How was she meant to _know?_ What was the right thing to do?

It disturbed and shamed Sakura that her mind already seemed to be swaying toward an answer she never before would have ever imagined she'd come to even contemplate.

Sighing in frustration, she grabbed a handful of grapes before rising to her feet. Sasuke had left her again after vaguely informing her that he had business to attend to. Sakura, seeking space and time to think about what her next steps would be, had ventured to the banqueting hall, feeling the nagging urge to eat something – a habit she'd always had whenever she was stressed.

Her eyes suddenly came to rest on the large crystal decanter holding shimmering ambrosia. Here was the very same 'medicine' her mother gave her whenever she suffered an attack on the surface. She recalled that Sasuke had previously danced around the question she had directed to him about how her mother had acquired the wine of the gods. Why hadn't she asked him about that again?

 _I wonder,_ she thought to herself, as she stared at the pretty container, _if I drank a lot of it again, would I see more of the visions? Ambrosia cures my episodes, but what if it has other effects, too?_

She knew she had passed out from drinking too much before. A part of her wanted to take the plunge – but the other part was hesitant. She didn't know what constituted a 'sensible' amount. And she certainly didn't want to risk poisoning herself like she had before.

Shaking her head, Sakura turned away – at the precise second a familiar voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

' _Pinky!'_

The intensity of the twist of dread that immediately knotted inside her gut startled Sakura. She caught her breath, horrified to find herself considering the option of actually brushing aside the call. Perhaps, if she told him that she was unable to talk right then, she could buy herself more time-

' _Sakura! I can see you're alone in there. Turn around, will ya?'_

So much for her avoidance strategy. Sakura swallowed, and moved back to the table. Sure enough, she spotted Suigetsu's face, floating on the surface of the glass jug of water close to the chair she had occupied, moments earlier.

' _Sasuke could be back at any moment-'_ she began.

' _This'll be quick,'_ Suigetsu dismissed. And then, just like that, he spoke the words that Sakura had _not_ wanted to hear. _'We're all set, Pinky.'_

Sakura fought to keep her expression neutral – even as panic exploded within her. All set? _No._ It was too soon. She wanted to get answers from Sasuke first. There was so much she still had to ask him, to learn- so much she still hadn't seen-

Suigetsu, who had been watching her closely, probed casually, ' _Something wrong, Sakura?'_

' _No, nothing.'_ Sakura answered automatically. The Ocean Deity's eyes narrowed. He said nothing more. Shaking her head, Sakura went on as nonchalantly as she could, ' _So what happens now?'_

' _Everything's in place. As soon as you get the potion, we decide on the right time to put our plan into action.'_

' _And how am I going to get it without Sasuke realising?'_ Sakura lifted her eyebrows. Inside, however, she was starting to feel _sick_. It only made her angrier.

Suigetsu's teeth aligned to form a jagged, pearly grin. Sakura found it rather unsettling.

' _Leave it to me,'_ the lavender-eyed deity cooed. ' _You_ _just focus on keeping it together so that bastard won't suspect a thing.'_ After a purposeful pause, he added, ' _Seems like we have little to worry about. From what I hear, you and Mr. Ice-Cube have been getting on like a house on fire, lately.'_

Her heart skipped a beat in her chest. ' _That's not true,'_ she denied.

' _Really,'_ the sea deity yawned, not looking entirely convinced – if at all. Sakura's horror multiplied ten-fold. Miraculously however, she managed to maintain a straight face – or what she hoped was something that resembled one.

' _Anyway, you won't have to play pretend with that manipulative son-of-a-bitch for much longer,'_ the mischievous deity grinned. Lifting an index finger, he added seriously, ' _Now listen carefully, Pinky. The potion's gonna be with you pretty soon. You need to make absolutely sure you keep it out of Sasuke's sight, got it?'_

' _What do you mean?'_ she demanded. _'How am I going to get the potion?'_

' _I'll use my powers to transport it to you. Go back to your room and wait for me there.'_

Before Sakura could do or think anything else, his face rippled abruptly out of sight. Apprehension caused her pulse-rate to speed up. How was she meant to keep such a massive burden a secret from Sasuke? Where was she meant to hide the potion? Plagued with worry, she rushed out of the banqueting hall, her head down, her thoughts a cyclone of turmoil. Hurrying back to her room, she made her way immediately to the toilet, where she locked herself in and hastily filled the basin.

It agitatedly felt like a life-time before Suigetsu's voice finally drifted into her mind again. She watched, with her heart practically in her throat, as his face appeared on the water's surface once more.

' _Ready for a little magic?'_ he winked at her. ' _That bastard might have me cooped up in here, but I still control water.'_

' _What are you going to do? What's happening?'_

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. _'Just wait, will you? Quit asking so many questions. Geez. I kinda liked the old Sakura better.'_

She assumed he meant the Sakura who had just blindly gone along with everything he had suggested before. But she didn't like the sound of that anymore. If anything, her reservations were growing by the second – and that troubled her more than anything.

' _Alright… we're about to lose contact for a bit so get ready to grab it. I don't wanna have to do this more than once.'_

' _Grab what-?'_

Suigetsu's voice vanished – and so did his face. Sakura's eyes widened when the sink of water began to bubble. Suddenly she couldn't see the base at the bottom or the plug. It had strangely clouded over.

Then she blinked and gasped. A shadowy shape was materialising inside the watery depths, slowly drifting higher and higher. A few seconds later, something small and pear shaped, with a gold stopper floated up to the surface. As Sakura scooped it out of the water, she found herself staring at a delicate glass ampoule. Inside it was a colourless liquid.

She caught her breath.

It didn't look like poison, but the gravity of what she was truly doing _really_ hit her then – smacking into her with breath-taking force – and it took a great deal of willpower to _not_ fling the tiny container straight back into the basin.

In her hand, she was holding a liquid that was actually capable of immobilising and _harming_ Sasuke. She was so stunned, that she forgot all about asking Suigetsu how he had transported the bottle to her in the first place.

Suigetsu's face reappeared. ' _Neat, huh? I can transport anything I want in water. Now you better take good care of that, because I've practically already had to bargain a fraction of my soul for this and we…'_ Noticing that Sakura had frozen and was still staring at the tiny bottle in her hand, he called, _'Uh... Pinky?'_

Sakura barely heard him. She was imagining the damage the liquid would do to Sasuke. She was envisaging the proud, invincible King of the Dead, on his knees, doubled over in pain-

Her vision blurred. A fine tremble assailed her fingertips.

' _Sakura!'_

She blinked, startled out of the catastrophic scenario that had followed, of not even making it so far, of Sasuke finding the potion and disregarding all his previous promises that she would _not_ be harmed, and killing her in the most painful way conceivable-

After swallowing thickly, she answered, ' _Yeah.'_

' _Everything okay?'_ Suigetsu raised his silver eyebrows.

' _Yeah.'_

' _Uh huh. You're sure.'_

' _Yeah,'_ she echoed senselessly.

' _Because you know you look kind of, well, a little freaked out.'_

' _Yeah.'_ She blinked, before catching what she had said. ' _I mean no._ _NO._ _I'm fine.'_

Suigetsu frowned. He could see what she definitely _wasn't_. ' _Listen, Sakura-'_

' _I'm fine,'_ she repeated angrily, cutting him swiftly off. ' _Look, I've got to go, now.'_

The ocean deity blinked, caught somewhat off guard by the fact that _she_ was the one terminating the conversation.

' _Huh? Whoa, hold up a minute, you need to know how to-'_

' _I'll talk to you later,'_ Sakura added evasively, not giving him a chance to stop her or elaborate on their – _his –_ she insisted to herself – plan.

In a blink she had yanked the plug and exited the bathroom, her heart pounding, suffocated by the concrete manifestation of the guilt she harboured inside, taking the form of the ampoule clutched tightly in her right hand. Simply holding it felt like treason. Her fingers around the container burned.

She _had_ to hide it in a place that neither Sasuke nor her maids would find it. Frantically, her eyes scanned the bedchamber.

* * *

"Sai! Why couldn't you have just kept your mouth shut, damn it?' Naruto raged, throwing his hands wildly up in the air. It might have been a comical sight – had the subject of the conversation not been so serious.

They had returned to Kakashi's place, following the meeting with the others, which had ended after a heated argument and a grudging, collective consent to meet with the individual Sai had (not so helpfully) suggested.

"Sit down, Naruto," Kakashi scolded. "Sai might have helped to buy us more time."

"Are you _serious?"_ Naruto blinked wide azure blue eyes at his elder. "Danzou's a complete slime-ball! A scumbag! We can't seriously trust him-"

"You're choosing to trust Sasuke," Kakashi sighed pointedly.

Naruto spluttered indignantly. "Sasuke's _different-"_

"That's enough," Kakashi's visible eye flicked to where Sai was seated on the floor by the coffee table. "Danzou could help us shed light on the exact type of seal placed on Cronus. After all, he can communicate directly with him."

Naruto sat down. But he was restless and agitated, and soon got up again. "So what now, before we do that?" he asked Kakashi anxiously. "We're still sticking to our original plan, right?"

Kakashi scratched his silver-head. "We need to find the phial Tsunade and Shizune lost. There's a high possibility, if the enemy doesn't have it, that somebody _else_ does."

Naruto stared at him, his nerves visibly frayed. "Huh? Who? _Who?"_

"Sasuke," Kakashi answered simply.

"Eh?" Naruto squinted. "You mean you think _Sasuke_ has it? But how could he have it? He'd have to have been there at the same time…" his voice trailed and shock registered on his features. "Wait a minute…" he finally managed to go on. "Wait a minute, you think Sasuke was _there?"_

In truth, Kakashi wasn't entirely certain _what_ to think. But based on the facts they had, he considered the odds fairly likely; the blood sample had seemingly vanished into thin air, and the enemy clearly wanted it back, fast.

He could only think of one individual who had the power to make things disappear without being seen.

"But why would he be there?" Naruto was shaking his head. "Why would he want to take it?!"

Kakashi sighed again. "If it's missing, it could be anywhere. It may be a long shot, but Sasuke _does_ have the power to make things disappear." Then, directing another wary look at Naruto, he added, "Be patient. Remember, we need to keep this low-key. If anyone so much as suspects a thing, we'll risk exile. Jiraiya has already started to suspect something."

Naruto glumly and guiltily averted his gaze.

"We still can't confront him directly, so we'll go ahead with what we agreed," Kakashi continued with clear finality. "Sai, are you ready?"

Sai knew he wasn't. He knew he never really would be. He had no way of anticipating how the God of the Dead would react to his uninvited trespassing. But it had to be done, and so he softly replied, with much more conviction than he felt, "I'm ready."

* * *

As Sakura secured the black leather wrist-guards more firmly, she vowed vehemently to herself that as soon as she got down to the training dome, she was going to find _something_ to demolish – even if it was a humble wooden box.

The location she had eventually chosen to hide the phial away in her room stuck out in her mind like a glaring, sore thumb. She couldn't stop _thinking_ about it. She felt like a guilty criminal, stashing away a vital piece of evidence, trying desperately to keep it from the hands of the law.

In many ways, she supposed she _was_ a criminal; a sinner who was on the verge of committing sacrilege of the most grievous kind. What degree of insanity did a person have to possess to attempt to stab the lord of _death_ himself in the back?

Gripping her sword restlessly in her right hand, she waited for the circular platform to descend to the training dome. She needed to divert her thoughts, and training had seemed like the best way to vent her inner discontent and frustration. So after swapping her demure dress for a thigh-length, pleated black-leather skirt, a deep crimson, sleeveless top and black, knee-length sandals, she'd grabbed her blade hastily, tied her hair in a messy bun and gone to do just that.

As the revolving platform finally reached its destination, Sakura trudged unhappily to the central sparring ring, lost in the chaos of her warring conscience – only to discover, to her astonishment, that the sandy area enclosed by the circle of steps had complete vanished. Gone, too, were the wooden posts she had so gleefully looked forward to hacking into pieces.

"Huh?" she frowned aloud, drawing to a confused stop by the lever, which she noted was cranked fully to the right. In place of the sandy area was dark dimness. The ground had completely opened, she realised with a start – before her eyes fell on a set of concrete steps, spiralling around the perimeter of the endless chasm, leading down into the unknown.

 _What's down there?_ She wondered curiously. Seeing that she had little else left to occupy herself with, she carefully stepped down onto the narrow stairs – which were blessedly enclosed on the outer right hand side by a concrete wall that reached her hips - and began to descend, keeping her left hand against the wall, ready to scurry back upwards if she needed to at any moment.

The air was cool and damp and smelt of mist. The only source of light came from the blue torches stationed at regular intervals around the winding steps. It seemed to Sakura a long time before her eyes and ears were finally able to make out anything below her.

She heard the sound first – metal scraping and clinking, followed by an inhuman screech. Sakura froze in position, blinking. Then she hurried down, and finally she saw it, catching her breath at the sight that met her.

A humungous, sandy circular area that she presumed was another, even more colossal than the original training dome, sprawled out before her, illuminated by the same blue flames attached to holders moulded to the walls. And built directly into the dark grey walls, spaced evenly apart, were five massive, arched, raised iron gates.

Cages, Sakura recognised; sturdy cells that obviously kept _something_ enclosed in the darkness beyond.

In the middle of the sparring space was Sasuke. He was clad entirely in flattering black again and wore a sleeveless top which showcased his lean, smoothly-muscled arms. The upturned collar at his neck reminded Sakura of the rebel _bad_ boys she had spotted smoking behind buildings in college several times – but Sasuke pulled the look off so much more effortlessly and sexily _,_ of course. White bandages were wound around his lower forearms from wrists to elbows, and the legs of his baggy trousers were secured by the straps of his calf-length sandals. Kusanagi glinted ominously in his left hand.

She ducked as he disposed of a half-human, grotesque snake-like creature she had never seen before. Peering over the edge of the staircase's wall, she watched, wide-eyed, as another handful of twisted monstrosities lunged towards him. He barely even spared a glance their way, felling each one with a clinical grace and efficiency that Sakura found enthralling to watch.

It seemed more like he was dancing to a deadly rhythm than engaging in a laborious, skill-honing scuffle. He side-stepped and back-flipped and closed the distance between spaces in breath-taking blurs - and looked nonchalant the _whole damned time._

 _He can't be any cooler-_ Sakura stemmed the thought, appalled that she was gawking over him like some senseless fan-girl. _He's a show off,_ she corrected indignantly.

But by the heavens, was he one seriously _sexy_ show off.

After slaughtering one final creature that exploded in a puff of black smoke as soon as it struck the ground, Sasuke lowered Kusanagi, his back turned to her. He didn't even appear to be even a little out of breath.

"Are you coming down," his voice rang out, sending a jolt down her spine, "or shall I make you?"

Sakura bit her lower lip. It was fine, she assured herself. She would just act normal. Completely and utterly _normal._

When she said nothing, Sasuke shifted, tossing a positively _smouldering_ glance up at her.

"Well, Sakura?" he intoned.

Sakura stood up. His gaze was heavy enough to make her feel like she was about to plummet, less than ceremoniously, the remainder of the way down the steps.

She briefly considered asking him about whether he had found out anything else in the time since they'd last spoken – but then reasoned it was too soon, and that Sasuke was the sort who would tell her what he wanted her to know, _when_ he wanted her to know it.

"That was pretty cool," she blurted instead – only to pause. Wait a minute – hadn't she just told herself that he _wasn't_ really cool at all?

Why couldn't her big mouth just shut up around him?

"Hn," he turned dismissively away again. He _knew_ he was good; but he still secretly liked to hear that she acknowledged it, too.

Sakura skipped down the stairs and joined him in the arena. "So what is this?" she questioned, looking around them in awe. "And what are those gates for?"

"A combat simulator," answered the death deity, turning to regard her. "Five hundred levels; each one contains five different monsters. Defeat each one, and you can progress to the next level down after unlocking the lever."

"Does the lever make the platform rotate lower?" she glanced at the handle set in its crank next to her, which she had overlooked initially.

The God of the Dead nodded.

Sakura, who was sure she couldn't even get past level one, went on, "So it gets more difficult each time? You fight progressively more horrible monsters?" When Sasuke nodded again, she asked, "What level is this?"

"Fifteen."

"Wow," Sakura said appreciatively. "That's really cool. And these monsters are all real? Or can you lock them back away at any time?"

"Once you engage them, you must defeat them," Sasuke replied. "The injuries you sustain here are real, Sakura."

It certainly sounded very dangerous. "What level have you gotten up to?"

Sasuke looked bored. "Five hundred."

_Of course Mr. Perfect had._

"You must know all the monsters by heart?"

"They change each time." After a pause, he added, "Sometimes a monster appears at the wrong level."

"That's scary," said Sakura, somewhat disturbed by this news.

"Only if you're scared," he mocked condescendingly.

Sakura blinked at him, surprised by the casualness of his statement. It sounded more like something a teenage boy would say, than a statement a mighty god of the Underworld would utter. A silence fell between them then – in which Sasuke internally cursed the fact that she had arrived.

He'd come to the combat simulator to get his mind _off_ the lingering visions he'd seen in the Oracle. And there _she_ was standing, reminding him of the very thing he'd wanted to pulverise out of his system.

It didn't help that she looked even more enticing than she normally did. The shorter-length shorts she had chosen to don were hidden away under her skirt, allowing him a more generous view of her shapely, bare legs, and her arms, save for the lower forearm guards she was wearing, were also exposed, too. Clenching his jaw, he turned away from her.

The cranking sound of a lever being yanked halted him for a split-second – and then he had spun to glower at her.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I want to try."

He blinked incredulously at her. She wanted to attempt level _sixteen_? At her current abilities, he calculated that she would be able to complete seven or eight levels at most, and under his supervision. Her bravery was admirable – but foolish. He had absolutely no intention of allowing her to put herself in harm's way.

"No," he deadpanned.

She placed a hand on her hip, as the platform revolved along its track, moving down a level. She noticed from the corner of her eye that the spiralling staircase was growing with it.

"Why _not?"_ She asked unhappily.

"This level is too difficult," said Sasuke matter-of-factly.

"What if it isn't? What better way for me to get better? You're here with me, aren't you?"

He shot her a withering look. "I came to train, not to babysit."

Her jaw dropped, her hand still resting on the lever's handle. _What_ had he just said to her?!

Oh _hell_ no!

"I'm doing the next level with you," she announced with finality, as the platform clicked into place. Five new, lowered cages billowed mist around them.

Sasuke, who had just been contemplating teleporting her annoying self directly back to her room – even if he _was_ somewhat impressed by her persistence - suddenly noticed what she was unwittingly about to do.

"Sakura-"

"How hard can it be?" She leant her weight against the handle.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he began in warning, "Wait. Don't push that-"

But it was too late. Sakura's weight had wedged the lever forward and locked it into position, prompting the first gate to lift open.

Sasuke tensed, automatically slipping in front of her, as ice-blue eyes glowed threateningly in the shadowy mist. A second later, bone-rattling roar shook the entire arena.


	43. Chapter XLII

**Chapter XLII**

* * *

_A sea-monster foul; a behemoth of fear,_

_Gives quiver to ground and terror to ear,_

_Tested shall be mettle and might,_

_And in the most dire hour of her plight,_

_He fades from view – beyond her sight,_

_And how her heart becomes a drum,_

_Cascades of fret, her thoughts do run,_

_Under crashing tide, all hell breaks loose,_

_And when courage seems beyond all use,_

_Endurance falters, and armour disbands,_

_Close he keeps her, in his arms,_

_As she reaches for him,_

_With trembling hands._

* * *

The roar was inhuman – a monstrous, utterly horrific sound, the sort that reduced legs to jelly and plagued the mind with irrational panic.

Yanking her sword hastily from the jewelled sheath at her waist, Sakura braced herself, pulse gaining pace as the ground quaked beneath her feet. Icy mist billowed ominously forth from the void beyond the open gate. It caused goose-pimples to sprout on the smooth surface of Sakura's exposed arms.

In front of her, she heard Sasuke mutter inaudibly underneath his breath – likely something unfavourable pertaining to her clumsiness – but her attention was immediately diverted from the death deity as a looming, colossal figure began to slither slowly out of the shadows.

A single, slippery, tentacle-like arm rolled out first, the scaly top of which was crowned with a row of large, tough spikes. Its skin was a sickly hue that rested somewhere on the colour spectrum between grey, green and muddy brown. The arm was as thick as the trunk of a mighty tree and looked as though it weighed several tonnes. Countless suction cups, arranged in rows of fours, lined the underside of the limb. Sakura noted with some revulsion that they were oozing a disgusting, inky-black liquid.

"What is it?" she asked aloud, appalled. Saline dampness mixed with pungent decay infiltrated the air around them as another identical limb slammed down onto the ground, causing it to rumble once again.

She did not see the way Sasuke's jaw set tensely as sickening realisation washed over him. He knew precisely what was lurching out of the abyss towards them – and could scarcely believe his ill luck.

Of all the random assortment of possible monsters that could have emerged… it had to be _this_ one?

An uncharacteristic flash of trepidation shot through him as he considered Sakura's safety. Keeping her out of harm's way would be no easy task against a creature of such magnitude and raw strength; he'd been injured himself on numerous occasions in the past while battling against this legendary goliath.

It was not the full, mammoth size of the original – for all the creatures contained within the battle simulator were merely clones of their true selves and the largest amongst them did not comprise their original form's full scale or power. However, it was close enough to the real thing to warrant extreme danger for the girl standing behind him.

Sakura, meanwhile, could feel her eyes growing wider and wider as the monster slid out into full view at last. As her vision wandered up the massive expanse of the terrifying beast's ginormous body, she found herself shrinking closer behind the sanctuary of Sasuke's back.

It was the most horrendous, nightmarish thing she had ever seen. It had the humungous head of a mutated squid, complete with a pair of massive ear-like, _breathing_ gills and yawning, clipper-like jowls that could swallow a grown elephant whole. Larger than a blue whale, its octopus-like body completely filled the enormous battle arena, making Sakura and Sasuke appear like puny little ants in comparison. Eight muscular arms writhed and throbbed menacingly around them. Sakura gulped as its bulky shadow fell over them, at the sight of the long pair of feeding tentacles on its dreadful face – and the rows of jagged, razor sharp teeth in its gargantuan mouth.

"That really doesn't look like it belongs on level sixteen," she remarked unhelpfully, stating the obvious.

Sasuke scowled. "It doesn't," he snapped back, not daring to take his eyes off their fearsome foe for even a split second.

"S-so what level does it belong to?" she questioned, failing to sound casually unaffected.

Sasuke clenched his teeth. "The last fifty," he ground out.

There was an awkward pause. Then Sakura nervously joked, "Oh. So this is one of the ones that sometimes appear randomly out of place? Wow. We got a really unlucky deal, right?"

Sasuke did not appreciate the humour. For the first time since he'd brought her to his Kingdom, he was overcome with the overwhelming urge to near- _throttle_ the young woman behind him. How did she manage, with such remarkable consistency, to string him into situations that always felt so completely _out_ of his control? On any other occasion, he wouldn't have even batted an eyelid when facing the grizzly creature that was looming perilously over them. He would have relished wearing it down in what would have normally been a long, exhausting, but exhilarating battle of speed versus brute strength.

But now, with Sakura's wellbeing to account for, he knew his steely focus would be distracted. There was a real possibility that _both_ of them would get injured – if he did not act quickly.

She only made things worse for herself, when she added, "But you've beaten that thing before, so we'll be fine… right?"

His irritation amplified. She had no idea what she'd unwittingly unleashed when she had so _stupidly_ activated the lever. Any combatants on the floor when the monsters were released could not simply warp out to safety. His ancestors had deliberately set up the simulator to replicate real-life battle scenarios as accurately as possible. Any attempts to whisk Sakura back up to the top floor of the training dome would be nullified.

Nor did the monsters listen to commands or reason. They were brainless destruction machines – which made the simulator a very dangerous place for the untrained. The only slight consolation, he supposed, was that she hadn't locked the lever in its final position to release _all_ five monsters simultaneously.

He cursed inwardly to himself. Sakura had no chance. She would be flattened in the blink of an eye. Death was no concern – he could simply ensure her heart kept on beating. But he most certainly did _not_ want to see her physically maimed or mortally wounded.

He had no other choice. The only way to make sure she was safe was to directly lend her some of his chakra.

He needed to exercise extreme caution, however; his chakra signature was strong, and too much of it would damage her fragile human body.

"Sakura," Sasuke uttered harshly, keeping his gaze trained closely on the oceanic behemoth. "Listen to me. The Kraken is a sea monster and can flood this arena in seconds. Stay out of the water and do what I tell you."

"The Kraken?" Sakura echoed. She had broken out into a cold sweat – and they hadn't even started moving yet. The horrible creature's beady eyes seemed to be peering down at them as if they belonged on its very own personal food menu. The unsettlingly guttural, wheezing sound of its breathing seemed to thunder around them.

"What is its weakness?" she asked, for her eyes could discern none.

"What would you do if I told you?" Sasuke demanded. There was a sharp edge to his voice which she recognised. He was _angry_ at her – and she realised that it was because her actions had set free a monster that was clearly very dangerous and way out of her league.

"There's nothing you can do," he added scathingly.

Sakura was affronted. "I was just-" she began to defend. But Sasuke was swift to cut her off.

Switching Kusanagi briefly into his right hand, he suddenly held back his left to her, palm splayed open as his irises bled to crimson.

"Your hand," he commanded, when Sakura stared at it in bewilderment.

Instead of asking any further questions, Sakura followed his lead, swapping her own sword into her left hand. Extending her right, she touched his palm lightly with her fingertips. Sasuke's digits immediately closed firmly around hers, and then she felt an uncomfortable freezing sensation shoot from the point where their skin contacted, up along the nerves of her arm, before coursing jaggedly through her entire body.

Her arm muscles jerked on reflex, seeking to pull away from the source of discomfort – but Sasuke's hand held hers fast.

She gasped, the air temporarily suspending in her lungs as she was overcome with a strange, electrifying sensation. It was biting, numbing – near painful – yet oddly exhilarating all at once. Suddenly it felt like every part of her was thrumming with raw energy and a devastating, mystical power.

"What is this?" she managed breathlessly.

"I'm lending you my chakra," the death deity informed her.

She stared at the profile of his face in bafflement. His attention, however, was still fully focused on the Kraken.

So this was what immortal energy felt like? Sasuke's overwhelmingly potent and powerful chakra was suffocating – and so _cold._ It was as though her body could not contain its terrible intensity – like every cell in her body was screaming and on the verge of rupturing – even when she knew that Sasuke had to be giving her a very minute, precisely controlled amount of the massive reserves he possessed.

Something tugged deep inside her chest, as if in response to the steady influx of divine spiritual flow, thoroughly startling her – and the sensation only intensified at Sasuke's spoken word.

" _Susano'o_ ," the Death God murmured, and purple-blue energy flared around her limbs, accompanied by a mighty gust of wind. The light was blinding, and it took her eyes a few seconds to adjust. When they finally did, she found herself encased within a luminous rib-cage, comprised of four solid pairs of bone-like protrusions which reached just above her head in height and shielded both her left and right sides. A quick glance at Sasuke revealed him to be enclosed in a similar structure.

Sasuke knew he would conserve chakra better by utilising the most basic form of his Susano'o defence. Besides, Sakura couldn't handle the fully formed version. He needed to divide his reserves between them carefully.

Finally he released her hand. Her body was still buzzing from the strange current flowing through it, but the iciness had numbed away. Sakura stared down at her palms in awe. The same deep blue-purple light was radiating from them.

"With this borrowed chakra," Sasuke's voice drew her concentration back to him, "you'll be quicker and stronger. It'll be heavy at first, because the chakra is not yours. Stay out of range until you can harness it, and only move when I tell you."

"Right," Sakura nodded.

"Susano'o armour cannot be penetrated," Sasuke was going on. "It's an extension of your body; direct its shield with your hands."

Sakura lifted her arms and crossed them over herself experimentally. To her amazement, the pair of skeletal ribs closed more snugly around her, cocooning her front from harm.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, impressed. "That's so cool!"

"Focus," Sasuke scolded. "The more you make use of it, the quicker you'll lose chakra. Keep an eye on the colour. Once it fades and becomes transparent, you'll need an extra chakra boost."

"Got it," Sakura nodded.

"The only way to defeat the Kraken," Sasuke continued, overruling his previous snub of her earlier question regarding the creature's weakness, "is to blind it and stab its heart. To do that, we need to incapacitate it first by severing all its limbs."

"The black ink on those suction discs…?" Sakura asked.

"Poison," Sasuke confirmed. "If you get caught by an arm, it will try to suffocate you and inject poison into your body."

Sakura's heart pounded. The gravity of what they were fighting was finally hitting her full force. But she steeled herself, even though she was afraid.

"The ink sac is located above its gut," Sasuke told her.

"Then shouldn't we disable that first?" Sakura suggested. "That way, it can't use any poison against us!"

She was trying to form a sensible battle strategy. _Smart girl_ , thought Sasuke to himself. But his eyes narrowed as the ferocious monster suddenly reared its great, ugly head back, a sure sign that it was preparing to strike.

"It's moving," the death deity warned, switching his katana back to his more dominant hand. "Get ready, Sakura!"

Sure enough, the Kraken released another blood curdling roar, whilst simultaneously lifting two pairs of humungous arms. They hovered menacingly in the air for a fraction of an instant – and in that moment, Sasuke's voice called to her again.

"Move!"

Sakura compliantly threw herself aside – only to catch her breath when the motion resulted in her manoeuvring at a blinding speed that would have otherwise been humanly impossible for her body to achieve before. Her legs, thoroughly unprepared to steady her at such accelerated pace, buckled as the soles of her feet impacted with a resounding _thud_ on the floor, sending dust flying and vibrations rattling up her calf muscles upon impact.

 _Whoa!_ She stared down in dizzy astonishment at her hands, splayed open on the ground to balance her – at the depressions in the sandy floor she glimpsed between them. Had she created them by simply landing with force?

But she wasn't allowed a moment to recuperate or gawk over her newfound, god-like reflexes and strength, for the Kraken's weighty arms were continuing in their insistent attempts to pulverise both her and Sasuke like a pair of inconvenient insects.

She could see Sasuke running anticlockwise around the perimeter of the arena and proceeded to manoeuvre clockwise towards him. Each time an arm slammed down behind her, the ground quivered and trembled ominously, nearly knocking her off balance.

As she moved, Sakura immediately understood what the death deity had meant about the borrowed chakra feeling heavy. It seemed to weigh her limbs down, and the Susano'o armour felt like it was crushing on her shoulders. The more she moved, however, and the more adrenaline surged through her veins, the quicker her body began to acclimatise to the borrowed chakra.

The bright blue-white flare of lightning alerted her to an attack Sasuke was directing straight at the creature's ink sac. It blocked the electrical surge with a writhing arm, before another shot out, seeking to catch the elusive god assailing it. Sakura's mind raced; she _had_ to distract it for just long enough for Sasuke to score a direct hit and disable the deadly venom in its suction discs.

She continued to run, when a limb suddenly smacked down just in front of her, with enough force to send her toppling backwards. She scrambled away, only for another arm to pound into the ground directly behind her, missing her head by mere inches. Acting on instinct, she stabbed at it – and was once again stunned when she felt her hand deal unnatural force in its blow. The blade drove straight into the monster's flesh – all the way to the hilt.

She blinked. For a horrifying few seconds, the weapon remained deeply embedded in the arm's tough, thick hide. Sakura wriggled her wrist, frantically trying to dislodge her sword, to wrestle it free.

"Come on, come _on!"_ she urged in frustration - but the blade held fast.

A shadow fell upon her. She looked up to see another limb hurtling down towards her. Her eyes widened and her heart jumped into her throat.

A deadly accurate stream of electricity speared through the limb, diverting it grossly off target. Sakura's eyes found Sasuke, who was glaring daggers at her, clearly furious that he was being forced to buy _her_ time, when _she_ was the one who was supposed to be playing the role of distraction.

She ground her teeth. _She_ had insisted on participating; she would _not_ be useless – not this time! With an angry yell of effort, she finally succeeded in tearing her weapon free. The violent momentum of the action made her shoulder momentarily feel like it was on fire – a sensation that was quickly remedied by Sasuke's rushing chakra. As she yanked her sword back, she glimpsed the nasty gash she'd made. It wept black liquid and spewed dark smoke.

' _The Kraken's blood is venomous, too. Don't inhale it, Sakura!'_ the Death God's voice echoed warningly in her head.

' _The ink sac-'_ she began to respond telepathically back, holding her breath as she curved around the pain-curled limb.

' _I'll handle it. Keep moving!'_

Inhaling deeply once she was free of the danger presented by the toxic fumes, Sakura continued to run at a speed that was exhilarating. To her amazement, her legs did not seem to tire, and whenever it seemed as though they might begin to, a fresh coolness poured into her muscles, refreshing and renewing them.

Sasuke's chakra again, she knew. It was no longer a burden. Now it almost felt like a true extension of her body – though the strange electrical buzz was still there.

She threw a wild glance up at the chilling monster, just in time to see it spit out a multitude of needle-like projectiles from its mouth, straight at her. She flinched instinctively, causing her glowing armour to close more protectively around her body. The poisonous missiles bounced harmlessly off Susano'o's ribs. Drawing her arm back, she hacked at another slithering limb, succeeding in wounding it enough to force it to curl away. She slashed at another. It evaded and pounded down after her, shadowing her steps, scattering dust into the air.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was attempting to find an opening. However, the Kraken was intelligent; it had figured out precisely what he was trying to do and was positioning its arms defensively between Sasuke's line of fire and its poison sac. He knew from his previous encounters with the fearsome leviathan that taking out the ink pouch was one of the hardest stages of battling the Kraken. Agilely avoiding another arm's attempt to bury him into the ground, he upped his speed, flash-stepping in succession until he had drawn closer to the monstrosity. His efforts were stifled when the sea-fiend abruptly spewed an inky gush of venomous liquid directly at him from the suction cups beneath its bulky arms.

Quickly the death deity blinked out of sight, restoring a safe distance once again. He could tell just by looking at the agitated body-language of the beast that it was preparing to flood the entire arena at any moment – something that would furnish it with a massive advantage. The Kraken would then proceed to pollute the water with its potent, skin-eating venom. And if Sakura's Susano'o armour were to fade before he could replenish it, and were she to somehow plummet into the sullied water…

He clenched his jaw. _No._ It was just too dangerous to allow her to participate. He needed to get her out of the way as soon as possible, completely out of range so that he didn't have to spend every second accounting for her wellbeing. How could he possibly fight at full capability when she was there _,_ ready to get hurt at any instant, even with the measures of protection he had provided to her _?_

The Kraken's limbs were smashing thunderously against the walls in fury, sending enormous clefts of shattered rock raining down upon them. Sakura's eyes darted up, and she raised her hands above her head. Around her, the chakra armour mirrored her movements, the rib-cages altering in angle and position to deflect the incoming hail of stone. Her gaze locked onto a giant slab of rock as it fell to the ground, crumbling to pieces after impacting against her impenetrable shield.

Her mind raced. She couldn't get close enough to the creature to deal notable damage, but was there a way she could make use of the battle environment?

That's when it struck her. The perfect diversion. But did she have enough power and discipline to pull it off?

Sasuke's divine chakra flowing through her was imbuing her with extra speed and strength. So her augmented power surely meant she could lift heavier things than normal – didn't it?

Sakura remembered the training lesson he had given her on focusing and directing her chakra. It seemed so long ago, now. She had unexpectedly succeeded back then – surely she could manage it again?

There was only one way to find out. Biting her lower lip in determination, she concentrated, trying to guide the energy current to her right arm. She expected to feel some form of resistance; instead her attempt was met with a startling jolt within her chest. Sakura came to an abrupt stop and caught her breath, thoroughly surprised when something deep inside her began to ache. But as swiftly as she felt the pain, it was replaced with sudden, pleasant warmth that spread through her chest and seemed to seep out to the rest of her, merging tentatively with Sasuke's icy chakra.

 _What is this feeling…?_ She thought to herself, alarmed by the abnormality of it. She heard a high pitched whine ring in her ears for a few seconds – and then something seemed to explode into life inside her. For a head-spinning moment, Sakura saw stars. When she blinked through the haze and her vision finally cleared, she then became conscious of a very peculiar sensation.

It was as though every muscle in her body could suddenly _feel_ the chakra running rampant through her, was so painstakingly aware of it that she could practically visualise its tangible aura in her mind's eye, fuelling her cells. It was predominantly blue-white, which she recognised as belonging to Sasuke.

But that wasn't the only colour she could perceive. There was another, much more mellow and hesitant. It seemed to come out almost shyly, ebbing faintly before pulsating once more.

A pale green.

 _Is that…_ she thought to herself in wonder, _my_ _natural chakra…?_

She immediately willed it to go to her arm – and with a fluid ease that shocked her, felt the chakra eagerly stir and respond, flowing like liquid water along her nerve endings, helping to guide Sasuke's into position. She caught her breath, delighted as a sense of pride swelled inside her.

_I_ _ can _ _do it!_

" _Sakura!_ " A harsh voice rang out sharply, snapping her out of her amazed thoughts.

On instinct, Sakura lunged forward, just in time to avoid a pair of thrashing limbs. Her right hand was now burning, a sure sign that she had succeeded in concentrating the energy to its desired place.

 _Here goes nothing!_ She told herself fiercely. Ducking low, she grabbed a large slab of rock, and confirmed her theory when she found that it weighed little more than a large stone in her hand. Flexing her arm experimentally, she looked up. Then with a yell of effort, she hurtled it directly at the Kraken. The rock flew with deadly force up into an arc, striking the ocean goliath against the side of its gargantuan head.

Sasuke, who had been readying himself to admonish her for standing still against an opponent which she couldn't afford to lower her guard around for even a _heartbeat_ , double-took, eyebrows furrowing marginally in confusion at the unexpected display of raw strength he had just witnessed. At first he thought that he had somehow imagined it – there was no _way_ Sakura could have managed such a throw without extensive chakra manipulation training. But when she grabbed another massive slab of rock and flung it right at the monster as though it were nothing more than a lowly pebble, he realised with a start that she had not only fully acclimatised to his chakra, but was now actively and accurately _controlling_ it, channelling it effectively to enhance her strength.

He exhaled in quiet astonishment, slicing at an arm and dodging another, only for his eyes to fly back to her.

The Underworld's ruler's chakra had always been tempestuous in nature, volatile and difficult to manage. That Sakura, with minimal training, was able to utilise and mould it to her limbs, to take such advantage of it…

Her success suggested extraordinary skill and a high degree of natural, precise chakra control. He had already suspected this when he had witnessed her channel her chakra reserves before. But controlling a deity's energy stream – specifically, one as dangerous and unstable as his – was an entirely different feat.

Had she been born with such a remarkable talent? It was not a known human capability. Did the essence inside her somehow allow her to influence chakra more accurately? Sasuke could not tell for certain, but it was at that moment that he began to realise, in the privacy of his thoughts, just how much he had been underestimating her.

Sakura picked up another larger piece of rock.

"Take this!" She tossed it directly at the Kraken's face, followed by another jagged lump.

It worked. The infuriated Kraken's gaze focused entirely onto the girl for a moment as it ejected poison to dissolve the rocks and lifted two of its limbs to protect its precious vision, whilst extending another in an attempt to deter her from launching further gravelly projectiles its way.

The death deity spied his opening and did not waste a second.

The tomoes in his Sharingan spun into a pinwheel, forming a six-pointed star. A burning ball of jet-black fire surged into being in his right palm, which he rapidly fashioned into the form of a flexible sword.

Lunging forward, he swiped outwards with the deadly flame-sword, aiming at the two arms that had risen to block the giant rocks which Sakura was still tossing into the air.

" _Enton: Kagutsuchi!"_

Black balls of flame flew from the sword, striking the limbs. The Kraken's roar of agony was terrible as the inextinguishable, shape-manipulated flames corroded its skin, eating through the flesh in seconds.

Sakura's breath snagged in her lungs; _black_ fire? Awe-struck, she pulled back as the Kraken began to pound its unaffected arms against the walls more wildly, a reflection of the great pain it had to be suffering as its pair of blazing limbs writhed in a hopeless attempt to put out the black flames. It was no use. Within seconds, the limbs had been reduced to unsightly stumps.

But Sasuke wasn't done. She saw him slice forward again with the black fire blade he now wielded in his left hand. Another flaming projectile shot out, striking the beast straight in its belly. Dark liquid and fumes exploded on contact, and as the black fire extinguished at Sasuke's command to leave a gaping hole in the monster's gut, Sakura's heart leapt.

The ink sac! He had scored a direct hit. Her diversion had worked!

Grinning, she lifted her chin and cast her gaze defiantly at the death deity.

Across the distance, Sasuke's eyes met hers in brief acknowledgement.

The Kraken howled deeply in rage and torment. The monster's jaws yawned open – and then it was heaving out gallons and gallons of water, at a speed and flow that was frightening.

Sakura gasped, her sense of accomplishment waning as her attention snapped back to the ocean mammoth. Just where was all that water comingfrom?!

So diverted was she by the sight of the arena flooding rapidly that she failed to immediately notice the telling paling and flickering of her Susano'o armour around her, as Sasuke's borrowed chakra stash began to diminish.

A gigantic limb descended towards her. Sakura raised her arms – only to finally realise in horror that her shield was blinking dangerously. It managed to repel the brunt of the blow – before abruptly dispelling, leaving her unguarded.

Her stomach lurched as she scrambled to get clear of the arm, her movements all at once sluggish and heavy. However, her attempts were impeded by the rising water, and her heart lodged in her throat when she felt something cold and slimy catch at her ankles. She looked down, just in time to see the massive limb curl around her lower legs, the suction discs sticking fast onto her skin.

Sakura screeched as she was toppled off balance and her feet were swept mercilessly out from underneath her. The arena became a blur as she was hoisted weightlessly off her feet and thrashed around in the air like a rag doll before being flung with unstoppable speed and momentum towards the wall.

She braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut for the shockwave of collision, knowing it would likely fracture bones. But instead of crashing into the wall, something hard and warm caught her. Her eyes flew open, to find Sasuke's arms around her. He cushioned the impact, pushing against the wall with his feet before landing back on the ground with a loud _splash_.

There was something oddly reassuring about the physical contact – about being cocooned in his personal Susano'o armour. She sagged back against him for a minute, her body suffering a slump in energy from rapid chakra depletion.

"Sasuke…" she was openly relieved that he was back with her. The mysterious black sword had vanished from his left hand.

"I said watch your shield," he censured.

"Sorry," she apologised, taking her weight again and wincing down at the alarmingly large, red-purple bruises on her sore legs, inflicted by the suction circles, her heart still hammering against her rib cage. "I got distracted by the water and-"

Sasuke cut in, "Distractions can kill, Sakura."

She told herself she would be more careful as he infused a fresh supply of chakra into her body. Her armour returned, glowing with renewed strength, and the bruises on her legs faded.

Sasuke silently noted that although she clearly had an excellent knack for chakra control, she still had a long way to go in terms of preserving her supplies accurately. She used too much, too soon, which put undue strain upon the body and exhausted it; something to be expected given her inexperience in harnessing it.

"The arena is flooding," he stated, his voice perfectly neutral and calm, a stark contrast to how disturbedSakura was feeling by the fact that the water was now just above her knees in level – and rising. "We need to get to higher ground."

"But where?" she gestured to the crumbling, spiralling staircase above them. "The stairs are falling apart!"

"Hn," Sasuke uttered, winding his right arm around her side, jerking her closer to him. "Hold on."

Without hesitation, Sakura clutched onto his shoulders and blinked. No sooner had she done so, the world around her fell away in a rush of movement and wind. When she regained her bearings, she found that Sasuke had transported them onto the wall high above the Kraken. Sakura yelped, her arms looping automatically around his neck when he retracted the right arm that had been holding her to him, leaving her dangling precariously at his side. However, the death deity seemed unconcerned, paying her uncomfortable placement little heed.

Blue-white chakra was brightly focused in his left palm and the soles of his sandals, pressed against the wall. Sakura stared curiously – was he using _chakra_ to keep them suspended in position?

An icy stream of water was blasted up at them. Sasuke jumped away from the wall, landing in another position. But the Kraken was furious and relentlessly followed up by whipping out the pair of tentacles on its face to alarming lengths, like giant elastic strips, seeking to snap them in its hold.

Again Sasuke dodged, this time directing a crackling bolt of lightning energy down in an attempt to ward off the creature and buy them space as well as time. It worked. The Kraken howled in fury and submerged its body fully into the water. Noticing that her position at his side was somewhat obstructing his movements, Sakura quickly manoeuvred until she was at his back, one arm winding around his neck, the other hooking under his left shoulder. Peering over him, she saw that the water level had already risen up to several metres and seemed to show no signs of slowing down.

Breathlessly she questioned, "What now?"

Lingering in position against the wall, Sasuke answered, his crimson eyes never wavering from the makeshift sea below them, "We disable the remaining arms."

Sakura anticipated some terrible attack as the surface of the water began to bubble threateningly.

"What is it doing down there?"

Sasuke confirmed her fears, when he said a little _too_ casually, "…Preparing a typhoon."

Her jaw dropped. "A _what?"_

Sure enough, the water's surface was swirling ominously, becoming an incredibly deep vortex that was swiftly gaining in motion. It sounded like a terrifying storm was brewing, the sudden tides formed below crashing and raging with terrible vengeance.

Sakura realised that it was imperative that they remained out of the water at all costs. But Sasuke wouldn't be able to fight fluidly with her weighing him down.

 _I can't just keep hanging onto him,_ she told herself anxiously. _There has to be_ _something_ _I can do-_

Her thought broke off when a spine-rattling groan filled the air. The vortex began to gain height and speed – before abruptly shooting up into the air, forming a massive, viciously rotating column of water. A second joined it, giving way to utter pandemonium. The twisters danced around one another, revolving destructively in the air.

 _Damn!_ Sasuke's gut twisted into knots despite his exterior composure as the funnels of howling water and wind rushed up towards them; the second water-tornado had formed so quickly! This was dangerous!

"Hold on!"

"Kyaaaah!" Sakura screamed, locking her arms more tightly around him as the wind blasted against them full force. Even with Susano'o's protection, she could feel its deadly force, threatening to drag them into the eye of the storm.

The whistling cyclones thrashed against the circular wall, leaving trails of ruin everywhere they impacted, smashing bricks and tossing debris wildly into the air. The glowing rib-cages around them deflected the matter, and Sasuke was quick to flash-step away from the tilt of the closest gale-force funnel, but resisting the suction of both was no easy feat. The twisters shadowed him, forcing him to keep moving.

But he knew he could not sustain avoidance indefinitely. He needed to take out the vortexes – and _fast._

The Kraken revealed its head above water level, its massive jaws yawning open, piercing teeth blood-thirsty and eager to taste fresh flesh. It was a vision of nightmares, the most dreadful thing Sakura had witnessed in the Underworld.

Angry droplets of water hailed against their armour. The jagged tentacles once again lashed out toward them, followed by another unwinding limb.

The death deity jumped, meaning to flicker out of sight once more – when the monster's arm rammed into his intended alighting place, throwing him uncharacteristically off balance. Sakura's breath caught in her throat as the abrupt change in motion threw her legs to the left and caused her grip on him to loosen. Sasuke lashed out with Kusanagi, meaning to cleave the infringing tentacle, but thrown of equilibrium and falling at an awkward angle, the death deity failed to draw them out of the path of both the twin water-twisters and another limb that had rushed up to take advantage of their descent.

It swiped directly between them, with the clear intention of knocking them apart, wrenching Sakura's arms from around Sasuke's shoulders. Sparks flew off Susano'o as it repelled the blow, but the force of the collision threw her sideways. As the limb shot out at Sasuke, the wind's suction drew her towards the middle of one of the funnels and she began to plummet down, head first, her eyes finding the gaping hole of the Kraken's eager mouth far below.

"Sasuke!" she screamed for his aid, as biting air and water viciously assaulted her, sending her spiralling uncontrollably and causing the blade at her waist to fly from its sheath.

Sasuke clenched his jaw, charging Kusanagi with black flames once more. Quickly forming an additional seal, he stabbed into the creature's arm, dragging his blade down as he fell, his eyes locking onto Sakura's free-falling form.

She felt something thin and strong wind tightly around her ankles, abruptly stopping her plunge at a force that caused her head to snap violently backwards. Chakra strings, she dizzily realised. She was swung rapidly to the right, propelled by the direction of the wind, straight towards the solid face of the wall. She braced herself as she collided into it and reached out blindly, wildly, trying to find any foothold to stop her body falling any further. Rock scraped with violent friction against her nails, tearing them, leaving trails of blood on her fingertips.

Recalling the glowing chakra she had seen Sasuke use to hang onto the wall, Sakura desperately pumped energy into her hands and feet, trying to break her rapid descent.

 _Stop! STOP!_ She willed herself, panicking when nothing initially happened – only to near sob with relief when she finally felt the chakra fuse into the wall, halting her suddenly.

She panted, her chest heaving as she looked up – only for droplets of water from the revolving funnels to obscure her vision. Her hair was loose and plastered against her forehead – at some point it had fallen out of its messy bun. Pulse drumming, she realised that she had no idea where Sasuke was.

A hand then closed tightly around her right wrist. She squinted up again, to find Sasuke above her. His hair was even more unruly than usual, tossed and tousled by the wind. There were shallow grazes and dirt stains on his high cheekbones. Sakura wagered that she looked a similar state – but much less attractive, of course.

"Sasuke!" she yelled up to him. "I've lost my sword-!"

"Leave it!" The death deity called back, internally relieved to see that his risky gamble had paid off. Sakura had managed to manipulate chakra to stop her plummet and keep her body attached to the wall – as he had known she could. He sent another fresh wave of energy through her, healing the cuts at her hands and palms.

As the tornadoes whirled towards them again, Sasuke pushed away from the wall, slinging Sakura onto his back again as he hurriedly transported them to a higher position. Coming to rest briefly, he addressed her, head tilting slightly to the left to acknowledge her over his shoulder.

"Sakura."

"I'm okay," she panted, adjusting her grip on him more firmly. But a fine tremor was running through her body, one which Sasuke immediately detected. She was still rattled by her close call.

She exhaled, "That's three arms taken out now, right?"

Sasuke nodded and then pressed his fingers to his wrists, summoning more glowing chakra strings. The Kraken had gone for a change in strategy, clearly determined not to allow his black flames to take out any more of its limbs by remaining fully submerged. Since the monster was in full control of the current, it could ensure that any further black fire that struck the water remained safely on the surface.

He called to her over the calamitous din. "I'm going to use these strings to bind its remaining limbs underwater."

"What?" Sakura exclaimed incredulously, her heart pounding fearfully. Apprehension exploded inside her, the unexpected force of her concern for him rattling her to her core. Had he lost his senses? He couldn't possibly venture into the water, where the creature had full dominion!

"No, Sasuke! You can't go down there-!"

"Be quiet and listen!" he snapped back, brushing off her alarm. "I'll tie one end to you. Don't let it sever under any circumstance."

Sakura caught her breath, as the magnitude of what he was expecting her to do hit her. "But what if I run out of chakra?"

"The string will keep us connected," he explained, overriding her uncertainty as he flickered out of the tilt of a crippling twister once more and took brief refuge in a small alcove formed beneath the crumbled staircase in the wall, allowing her to set her feet down on solid ground again behind him. Sealing the opening to the alcove with Susano'o, he instructed, "I'll keep chakra flowing to you. Use it to keep moving."

Shakily, Sakura nodded her head. "Right."

She told herself that he surely wouldn't be leaving her if he didn't have faith in the fact she could handle herself. She could do it. She _had_ to do it. The only chance they had of felling the oceanic demon was by splitting up – as nervous as that fact made her.

"The Kraken will try to cut the string," Sasuke added, winding it around her waist. "It'll try to drag you down. Focus as much chakra into the string as you can to resist it."

"Okay!"

"The stronger the chakra flowing through the string, the harder it will be for it to break. When I tell you to, pull as hard as you can." With that, he secured the thread firmly around her, and used the ends wound around his right hand to reel her closer to him.

Lowering his head so that their faces in the dimness were inches apart, Sasuke's eyes locked onto hers, gleaming crimson. Sakura felt her pulse quicken – and this time it wasn't from fear alone.

Quietly, he murmured, "Do you understand, Sakura?"

"Yes," she answered. Something about the way he was looking at her made steely warmth bloom inside her. Determination, she realised; he trusted her to get the job done. She couldn't let him down.

Sasuke began to step away.

Her right hand flew forward before she could stop it, before she could even think about it. The death deity paused, glancing down at her curled fingertips before turning questioning eyes onto her.

"Be careful," she whispered earnestly.

"…" Sasuke blinked, his eyes lingering on her face. For once, she didn't squirm under the weight of his stare. She looked back at him, her irises shining in the darkness.

She was _worried._ For him. He heard it in her plea, read it clearly in her anxious features.

She _cared._

One corner of his lips twitched, as if he was about to say something to her in response – but he seemed to reconsider at the last moment. He shifted again, and Sakura's fingers loosened.

"Hide here until you're forced to move," the death deity ordered – and then he was gone. Just like that, he snuffed out of her sight, the only clue he had been there to begin with taking the form of the pale chakra string extending silently after him.

Sakura immediately sealed the opening with her own Susano'o. Gripping onto the strings around her midriff, she edged forward to see what was happening at sea level.

The Kraken was still submerged, its deafening groans reduced to a dull rumble from the great height at which she was positioned. The cyclones continued to whirl, skimming riotously against the walls. She could see Sasuke, blinking in and out of sight at epic speed, making his way progressively lower towards their gruesome foe. She waited, her breath withheld.

The characteristic flash of blue light alerted her to the screaming stream of _Chidori_ Sasuke was harnessing into his palm. She watched as he aimed the crackling lightning energy straight at the spiralling tornadoes, sending electricity shooting into the immense pool of water below. The action had one purpose – to stun the creature and force it back out.

The water erupted into a mesmerising display of jagged current, which danced along the surface. The Kraken roared – and almost immediately, its remaining limbs surfaced, smoking and curling in agony. Sakura's lips parted as the Susano'o armour around Sasuke began to strengthen and transform, the ribs extending, forming muscles and limbs, taking on a fuller form until it resembled a samurai warrior, clad in glowing purple-blue armour, wielding two twin swords – with a ginormous pair of wings at its back. It hovered in the air, awaiting its master's command.

"W-wow…" she breathed.

Sasuke stood at the top of its head, Kusanagi screeching with light. She could tell from the poise of his stance that he was going in for the kill – quite literally.

One of the typhoons began to lose momentum, wobbling precariously then dissolving in a gush of rain. Sasuke's Susano'o reared back – before diving headfirst towards the water at a speed so swift, Sakura's eyes registered nothing but a blur.

Fresh electricity exploded in the water, spiking upwards, jumping to every drop of water nearby. The Kraken's terrible howl bounced off the walls and its limbs convulsed, before disappearing beneath the surface once more. For an awful few minutes, Sakura lost sight of Sasuke.

The second cyclone suddenly dissipated, dispersing into scattered liquid blobs, causing hope to crest in Sakura's chest.

That was when she felt it - a violent tug at her waist, so strong that it yanked her straight forward, sending her flying out of the alcove. Her Susano'o shield immediately rejoined her, wrapping protectively around her form. Adrenaline and instinct kicked in as Sakura impacted against the wall. Chakra surged into her palms and her fingers gripped onto stone, locking her in position. The pressure at her midriff did not relent as the Kraken retaliated in rage, seeking to send her plunging into the high voltage water.

Concentrating hard, she kept her left hand and feet attached to the wall, while her right moved to channel chakra along the string. Just like Sasuke had said it would, the thread strengthened, glowing brighter blue as it resisted against the tug. But a mightier heave began to drag her down along the wall face.

"Guh!" Sakura ground her teeth with effort, beads of sweat trickling down her face. Digging deep, she summoned a larger surge of chakra to anchor her into position. It worked. Her feet held fast, trembling from the overwhelming strain, even as the thread around her waist began to cut into her clothing. She felt a stinging sensation along her stomach – a sure sign that the string was starting to rub into her skin. Bolstering her resolve, she continued to dutifully pump wave after wave of energy along the string, until at last she felt the pressure begin to blessedly recede, just enough to allow her to start crawling higher up the wall again.

A charred limb suddenly unfurled out of the water again, crashing furiously right beside her, sending rocks everywhere. Sakura jumped, landing at another section of the wall. The arm followed menacingly after her, aiming at the chakra string. Sakura wheezed, moving continuously to avoid getting the string tangled. Then the limb suddenly stiffened, clearly incapacitated by Sasuke, before collapsing back into the water with a thunderous splash.

All the arms had now vanished below her. The water began bubbling uncontrollably, seemingly on the verge of erupting entirely.

' _Sakura!'_ Sasuke's voice echoed distantly in her head. _'Now!'_

Her heart skipped a beat. This was it! A test to see just how precisely she could control her chakra. Leaping forward, she grabbed onto the remains of the nearby staircase above her, dragging herself up onto it. Then, with both hands, she clutched tightly onto the string, and bit hard on her lip, hard enough to draw blood as she directed every ounce of chakra raging through her cells, into her hands.

"SHANAROOO!" she yelled, and _heaved_ with every last fibre of power she possessed.

The thread connecting her to Sasuke burned brightly and tautened. She felt the telling shift in momentum as her efforts succeeded in reeling the death deity safely out of the water. He landed on the wall opposite her, his full Susano'o armour dispelling as his chakra reserves, overstrained from being divided between the two of them for an extensive period, finally began to dwindle.

The string between them quivered, before dissolving. Sakura could feel her own chakra beginning to waver in consistency and flow. Every muscle in her body was screaming from overexertion.

Sasuke's eyes rested briefly onto her. She was leaning over the edge of the damaged staircase, peering down at him, features worn with fatigue and relief. He gave her a perfunctory nod. The worst was over. The creature's remaining arms were bound below water and he had succeeded in damaging the monster's vision. All he needed to do was aim one final, finishing strike of lightning into the water and impale the behemoth right in the heart-

Unexpectedly, the one remaining feeding tentacle on the Kraken's face burst out from the water's depths – but not towards Sasuke. It lunged directly at Sakura, smacking into the remains of the staircase, with a lethal force that caused her footing place to disintegrate into rubble. Sakura yelped, plummeting freefall once again. Her hands tried to grab at the wall, flaring frantically with chakra that pulsated disjointedly, a clear indication to Sasuke that she was pushing herself beyond her physical limits. Susano'o's ribs began to pale and flicker warningly around her form.

To her horror, Sakura's fingers found nothing but debris and stone. She couldn't anchor herself, no matter how hard she tried.

Sasuke's pulse quickened, knowing he had no further chakra to spare. The last of his stock had to be used to defeat the beast once and for all. Acting on instinct, he flung Kusanagi with great power at the wall opposite him. It whistled loudly, slicing through the air with deadly accuracy, spearing through the leather scabbard holder attached to the belt at her waist and skewering it in place against the wall. Sakura gulped at the fact she was being held uncomfortably in position by only the strong leather straps at her waist, her face directed at the bubbling water below as she dizzily registered that Sasuke's katana had saved her.

They weren't given a moment of respite, however, as the livid Kraken roared and made one final attempt at vengeance. The tentacle abruptly changed course, whipping around with a sudden surge of speed that was startling, only to wind around Sasuke, whose attention was still very much focused on her. Sakura cried out as the death deity was snatched with unstoppable force and hurtled into the depths of the water – without his Susano'o armour engaged to protect him from the lightning current still zigzagging perilously below.

"Sasuke!" she screamed, her hands reaching out unthinkingly as she remained pinned helplessly in place. The water ignited into a sea of electricity and smoke, as the Kraken's dreadful moans of anger and anguish filled the air.

"SASUKE!" Terror exploded in her thundering heart as her eyes frantically searched for him in the commotion, crippled by the unexpected and devastating intensity of her feelings. They tore through her mercilessly, like a rip-tide. She hadn't even realised, up until that moment, just how much she had grown to genuinely _care._

Any moment, she tried to reassure herself even as dread remained lodged bitterly in her throat, any moment he would jump right out and glare at her for overreacting. He was an immortal. He could handle the hit. Any second now, he would appear.

But he didn't. He _didn't._ The seconds trickled by, and there was still no sign of him. The Kraken's head had resurfaced and it was writhing about madly, like a monster possessed, the water around its bulky body swirling in a tumultuous rush.

" _Sasuke!"_ Sakura's voice was hoarse from crying out for him. Where _was_ he?!

With a final, ground-quaking roar, the Kraken's head submerged once more, and a massive plume of foul-smelling black smoke puffed into the air. The liquid continued to whirl, and Sakura noticed with a start that its level was finally starting to lower. The lightning energy hissed out of sight and other than the swishing sound of water, all fell quiet and still.

Everything except Sakura's heart, ramming with dangerous force inside her.

 _Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud_. Blood rushed into her ears as adrenaline compelled her to act. She didn't care about the fall; the only coherent thought in her mind was that she needed to get down there, to Sasuke; she needed to _find_ him.

Sakura reached down to her belt, wrestling agitatedly to undo it, her hands trembling. _Get off, you stupid thing!_ She willed it. Finally it came free, remaining in position against the wall, impaled by Sasuke's blade. Sakura's breath caught in her lungs and she braced herself as she plunged down from a stomach-churning height, straight into the water. Icy cold it hit her skin, and she held her breath as she was fully and deeply submerged. When her body finally stopped tumbling in the water enough for her to swim she rose to the surface, gasping for oxygen, flailing to grip onto a nearby floating piece of debris. Coughing and spluttering, she waited for the water to lower further, until she felt her feet touch the ground, whereupon the level stabilised to just above her ankles.

Pushing her dripping hair out of her face, she spun around, seeking out the death deity. Finally she spotted him – half sitting, half sprawled amongst a pile of rock rubble, one knee drawn up into his body, the other long leg extended.

"Sasuke!" she gasped, relief flooding through her at the sight of him still conscious.

Ignoring the aches in her own limbs, she sloshed and stumbled towards him, almost tripping up in her eagerness to reach his side, passing her floored sword as she did so.

The death deity slowly sat up, looking somewhat disorientated and extremely disgruntled. Something inside her constricted painfully on closer inspection of him. He was as drenched as she was; his clothes plastered to him like second skin. His cheeks were grazed with wounds and smudged with dirt. A deep, nasty, diagonal gash between his eyebrows was seeping blood down the bridge of his nose. Another open cut marred the smooth skin above his left cheekbone and there were further scrapes and cuts on his bare arms.

He was _wounded_ –Sasuke, who always appeared so untouchable, so invincible. The sight of him bleeding was alarming. A whisper of concern fluttered through Sakura as she wondered why he hadn't healed himself yet. Then she answered her own question, realising that he had to have exhausted his immediate chakra reserves.

Guilt flashed through her. It was her fault.

The water on the ground splashed as her knees buckled and she dropped before him. Leaning forward, she questioned worriedly, "Sasuke! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Irises that had returned to their usual midnight hue flicked onto her.

"It's nothing," he uttered shortly. She could tell from the way his chest was heaving, and the way his elbows were propped on the piles of rocks around him, that he was trying to catch his breath.

"Are you sure? You're wounded-" she reached out automatically with her right hand, ghosting her fingertips over the injury at his left cheek.

Sasuke averted his face, scowling indignantly at her, "Stop fussing, Sakura."

She drew her hand back, sheepishly apologetic. "Sorry. I guess it's my inner medic." She sat awkwardly for a moment, gazing at him. Then, unable to contain herself, her hand lifted again anxiously, hovering by his cheek again. "But you're bleeding…"

Sasuke blinked, as if her words were directing his attention to the fact for the first time. He lifted his left hand to his injured forehead, and withdrew it, staring blankly down at the crimson stains on his fingertips.

"Tch," he muttered dismissively, disapprovingly. He told himself the _only_ reason the Kraken had managed a solid hit on him was because he'd been watching out for Sakura. Lowering his hand, he dismissed his injuries as minor inconveniences. They would heal as soon as his chakra levels recuperated – which would not take long.

Sakura, who had been watching him with wide eyes, was finally convinced he was fine and relaxed, releasing a sigh of relief.

"That was..." She shook her head, allowing herself to absorb everything at last. And while it _had_ been heart-pounding and dangerous and horrible and absolutely _petrifying_ , the adrenaline rush she'd experienced fighting alongside Sasuke had been incredible. Her body was still buzzing – even as fatigue began to creep in.

Her thoughts and emotions swirled to the tip of her tongue, and she found herself blurting, "That was _awesome._ "

Sasuke stared at her, as if she had grown her own set of Kraken tentacles on her face. _Awesome?_ That wasn't quite what he'd expected to hear. He wondered if she'd hit her head hard at some point when he hadn't been keeping an eye on her.

Sakura seemed in high spirits, however.

"I mean, it was _crazy_ and terrifying, yes," she continued. "But wow. We did it!"

When Sasuke simply continued to stare at her like she'd lost her marbles, she said, "You're not still mad at me for pulling the lever, are you?"

"Hn," he scoffed, folding his arms dismissively – the easiest way to _not_ give her an answer. He didn't want to admit at that moment that Sakura was more than ready for battle simulation training.

"Because it could have been much worse; two Krakens could have come out together," she pointed out.

Sasuke snorted. "Or three."

Her jaw dropped and she leaned forward. "No way!" she exclaimed in dismay. "You've fought _three_ at once?"

If one was so difficult to topple, she couldn't even begin to imagine the chaos and peril of facing two, or three simultaneously.

"…" Sasuke had. A very, _very_ long time ago. His brother and cousin had been with him, though. It had been quite the explosive battle.

It almost brought back a sense of nostalgia, fighting the fearsome creature with another individual. Not that anything on Sasuke's face revealed this.

"That's insane," Sakura was going on, saving him the trouble of elaborating. Then she looked at him, and said hopefully, "Can we train like this again?"

Sasuke was inwardly surprised – but not unpleasantly so. He would have thought that Sakura would have despised the entire experience. But her eyes were bright, despite her clear weariness, and she seemed eager for him to agree.

"Hn," he scoffed.

Sakura took it to mean _yes,_ and beamed at him. He blinked, caught somewhat off-guard by her smile – and averted his eyes.

Water splattered as she rose tiredly to her feet, turning her back to him. Sasuke's gaze slipped onto her again, noting the tight way her wet clothes were now sticking to her body, emphasising her soft curves in all the right places.

He swallowed, clenching his jaw. It was no time to be thinking of such things – but as hard as he tried, he just couldn't help admiring her slender figure.

"Your sword is still up there," Sakura informed him. "And the staircase is completely ruined."

"…" His eyes lingered on her hips.

"What about the other four cages?" She was going on. "Are they still going to open?" Raising a hand to her cheek, she worried aloud, "What if another Kraken comes out?"

"…" His gaze trailed unhurriedly down her legs.

"Sasuke?" she glanced over her shoulder upon receiving no reply, just in time to see his eyes snap back up to the more socially acceptable position of her head. "Are we going to fight some more-?" she broke off, overcome with a sudden and intense bout of nausea and dizziness. "Whoa…" she breathed, and before she could fight against it, her body was rocking unsteadily backwards.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he was on his feet in an instant, leaping forward to break her fall. Stopping directly behind her, he extended his right arm, catching her against him. Sakura fell into him, and he drew her closer against his chest, nestling her snugly into the crook of his arm. Her head fell back to rest against his shoulder, and her eyes turned tiredly up to him.

Their gazes locked.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Chakra depletion," he answered. "You need rest."

"No," she argued, even as her limbs seemed to turn to dead weights. "I'm fine."

Sasuke's eyebrows drew together marginally. The annoying girl was being stubborn, sprouting verbal nonsense when the way she was leaning so heavily against him openly betrayed her exhaustion. As if on cue, her treacherous legs gave way, causing her to sink to the flooded ground. Sasuke lowered himself with her, keeping her cradled in the curve of his arm.

Every single muscle in her body was on fire, felt like it was being twisted between beds of thorns. Sakura panted, frustrated at her weakness. She wanted to recover immediately like Sasuke could.

"I'll be alright," she assured him, her head cushioned on his shoulder. "Just give me a minute."

Sasuke planned to give her more than a minute. As far as he was concerned, her sparring session was over. She had done more than enough, making up for her lack of physical attacking prowess with precise chakra control. She had shown him, quite glaringly, that she possessed great battle potential.

Sakura fought against the heaviness in her eyelids, as she became increasingly conscious of the feel of Sasuke's hard arm around her, of the steady rise and fall of his chest. They were both soaking, but oddly, she didn't feel cold. She reasoned it had to be the way he was keeping her huddled close to him.

"So gods can run out of chakra, too?" Sakura questioned.

"Hn. Only temporarily," came the reply.

"How long until your reserves can start recharging?"

"They've already started."

"Oh." A lock of hair fell irritatingly into her face as she shifted her head. Sasuke's left hand itched with the need to remove it, and he acted before he cared to reconsider. Pushing it nonchalantly aside, his fingers lingered by her right cheek, just shy of touching.

 _Don't look up,_ Sakura told herself fiercely. Somehow it happened anyway, and their gazes connected. His eyes were like inescapable, undeniable magnets, drawing her attention to him with an irresistible allure. They were both silent, as if equally reluctant to break whatever was rapidly settling over them with the harshness of words.

That was when something stirred inside her, trembling into being. Like a flower tentatively blooming, Sakura could all at once _feel_ the warmth and connection between them as they continued to stare at one another. She was thrown by the strange sensation, suddenly lightheaded. Time seemed to suspend between them, then, in which all Sakura could see were his charcoal irises, and all Sasuke could focus on were her parted lips.

Somehow, their hands had shifted positions. Her right was gripping onto his left shoulder, and his left hand was grazing her elbow. Sakura felt her pulse quicken, as she registered where his gaze – so _raptly -_ was directed.

 _He's going to kiss me again,_ she thought to herself, not certain why she found the idea even more frightening than ever before. Perhaps it was the hush that had fallen over them. The hyperawareness of their drenched bodies, at such intimate proximity to one another. The tenderness in the way he was holding her. The way his eyes had captured hers, the minimal distance between their faces, the mystical _spark_ she had felt inside.

Or maybe it was the fear of not being absolutely certain that her body had the strength left to resist this time.

"Sasuke…" His name tumbled thoughtlessly in a thick, confused whisper from her throat. His eyes dragged themselves back up to hers again, and just when Sakura was certain that he would lean in and press his lips to hers, she saw something flicker across his irises. A flash of fleeting hesitancy that made the air still in her lungs.

Suddenly it struck her, as surely as a bolt of crippling lightning. That was when she _saw_ it. The restraint in his gaze that was keeping the hunger inside chained behind iron bars.

He wasn't going to _take_ another kiss from her, she realised in astonishment. This time… this time, he seemed to be _waiting._ Almost as if he was reluctant, or uncertain.

Or as if he wanted _her_ to permit it and accept.

Sakura stared at him in muted, numbed shock. It was impossible, she dazedly told herself – impossible that Sasuke had somehow _listened_ to her the last time he'd stolen a kiss. That he would consciously and purposefully choose to alter his actions to override his own desires… for _her_ sake… because he had seen how much the previous incident had flustered and upset her.

Surely she was reading too far into it. The battle had fogged her brain. That just wasn't Sasuke – was it? He didn't _care_ about anybody else's needs and opinions. He always took what he wanted, precisely when he wanted it.

But if that was true, then why was he still holding back now…?

Sakura exhaled, taking the time to _really_ look at him, at every feature in his face, as if she sought to memorise each minute detail. It was as though a veil had suddenly lifted from her vision, and she was seeing with incredible clarity.

She already knew the answer, she told herself, as her gaze returned to those bottomless, heavy-lashed pools of darkness. His eyes had already spoken it to her – everything she needed to know – and they continued to do so, luring her in, enticing her closer with the promise of unravelling their endless secrets. Her heart drummed to a chaotic beat. She was certain he could both feel and hear it, and swallowed thickly, her head spinning, her fatigue all but forgotten as something much more instinctive kicked in. The fear of his closeness evaporated, and all that remained was a humming stillness inside her.

Sasuke's pulse was starting to pick up pace, too. She was wearing an expression he had never seen her direct at him before – a look of incredible sadness, understanding – and something else. The pupils in her eyes were wide, dilated and fully open to him. She seemed fully conscious of what was happening – and for the first time, made no movement or verbal attempt to remove herself from his hold or pull away. He did not dare to alter his position, to make a sound. He was too transfixed by her to do either.

Sakura was barely aware that her back had straightened, that her head had lifted and her right hand was sliding slowly up along his shoulder; that she was starting to inch forward, could feel herself leaning and flowing towards him…

The loud clang of a gate opening was like a rude awakening, causing her to jerk back violently with a stifled gasp as the simulator automatically released the next monster, the inbuilt timer set to override the lever at certain intervals. They both looked up, snapped out of a world that had revolved around only the two of them - to see a much smaller monster lurching out from the shadows. It was green and unsightly, dressed almost comically in armour.

Sakura immediately felt sorry for its fate.

Sasuke sent a hateful glower at the ugly little goblin, cursing its ill timing. The moment that had passed between them was lost. With great reluctance, his arms fell from around her. Sakura released an unsteady breath, willing her pounding heart to settle, as the death deity wordlessly rose to his feet and stepped in front of her. Raising his left hand, he sent a telepathic, gravitational call to Kusanagi, which vibrated in the wall high above – before breaking free, swooping back down into its master's waiting palm.

Sakura blinked. She wasn't just going to sit it out. Not when she felt so on edge, thanks to whatever _craziness_ it had been that had transpired just seconds earlier. It wasn't the time to dwell on it. She had a job to finish.

The sound of water splashing shifted Sasuke's attention to his left, to find Sakura standing beside him. Keeping her gaze on the enemy, she breathed, "I can't let you fight this little guy alone. You might get hurt."

 _As if._ Upon hearing her ridiculous words, he could not keep the contemptuous half-smirk from manifesting itself on one corner of his lips.

* * *

Not a single day had gone by when she hadn't thought about it. What had happened all those eons ago still haunted Tsunade's mind. She had made a promise, a vow, to protect her child, to never allow the horrors of the past to repeat again.

Sakura's smiling face drifted through her tortured mind as she sat alone in the secure base. It was soon nearing the end of June, fast approaching four months since her daughter had been snatched from her side. Summer was the time of year when flowers were meant to be in joyous bloom, the skies blue and nature at its most abundant. Instead crops were failing to grow, and those that did, quickly withered. The air was cool at best, and the mortal world was starting to feel the effects.

For how could there be summer, without Spring?

It had happened before, of course. Her thoughts unravelled, winding back to a time that history had long forgotten – but one that was forever imprinted on her heart.

* * *

_She sensed his coming, heard his sigh before he made himself verbally known to her._

" _Here once again?"_

_His voice behind her was like smooth, liquid sunshine, laced with an undertone of undeniable authority. The voice of a King, all light and justice and strength. It remained perfectly composed, even though the sight of the once proud, unshakeable goddess standing before him birthed great distress in his heart._

_She remained silent, standing within the enclosure of the ornamental stone gazebo of her temple, overlooking her fields; fields which were barren and devoid of wheat, given the time of year._

_Zeus came to a halt at the stairs to the open-windowed structure._

" _The mortals are hungry, Demeter. Many are perishing. You cannot continue to delay the harvest. You know this."_

_Still he received no response._

_There was a pause behind her, as the King of the Gods carefully went on, "I know you still mourn Mekon's passing-"_

" _You know nothing, Zeus." She finally spoke, her voice dull. Lacking the warmth and vitality and pride he was so accustomed to hearing. "You lounge on your throne, utterly content, possessing everything your heart desires, watching the woes of others without care."_

_He burst into laughter, much to her surprise. She frowned sourly out at the empty fields._

" _Your wounding criticism of me paints a terrible leader, indeed." Smiling, he added, "Hera often accuses me of the same. Maybe it is true."_

_Despite herself, Demeter felt something twist deep in her bosom. Zeus was anything_ _ but _ _an irresponsible and awful ruler._

" _We all have faults," Zeus reflected. "Some more grievous than others, but… our purpose must remain constant. We cannot neglect our responsibilities."_

" _I cannot find it in me," Demeter muttered. "I cannot find it in me to make life. I cannot sustain it alone. The means left me when he departed."_

_Sandals fell upon stone as Zeus climbed the steps and stood by the entrance to the structure._

" _He has been immortalised," his voice was softer. Kinder. "A flower he has become, ever honoured. Cherish his memory."_

_To her anger, she felt unshed tears burn at her eyes. Of all the gods, Zeus was the only one who consistently saw past her defences. It had been a maddening knack of his ever since they were children – to look at her quietly with those sky blue eyes of his, reading her without fault. Dionysus had taken to looking at her the same way as of late – just the thought of the fool caused a disdainful sneer to curl her lips._

" _You think that is enough?" she quietly raged. "You think this consoles me? That he was snatched by Death, before his time?"_

" _He was mortal. You knew his end would come."_

" _I want him back," she whispered, the tears blurring her vision. She fought against them, cursing herself for her weaknesses. She had always prided herself to be high above the love of gods and men. The memory of her kind-natured, soft-spoken sweetheart floated through her mind, all silver hair and smiling cerulean eyes. In her golden fields they had sat, delighting in one another, and she had watched him write sonnets and odes, singing serenades in her name. And when night had fallen, they had lain together, beneath the stars, their hearts complete, their bodies and souls entwined._

" _I cannot restore the dead," Zeus answered gently. "The realm of the Shades is out of my reach, beyond my power."_

_Demeter's tears overflowed, rolling down her smooth cheeks. Her chest quivered with the effort to keep her sobs contained._

" _Nor can I take the pain away," Zeus continued, walking slowly, carefully, toward her._

_She closed her eyes, feeling the loss with every fibre of her being. How could she summon life again? How could she live on, when her heart was so broken?_

" _But perhaps I can help ease it."_

" _Nothing can ease it," said Demeter thickly. "There is no life left for me. Love is a fool's game. I will never love again."_

" _A fool's game it is. But perhaps you will."_

_She blinked, confused by the enigma of his words and how certain he seemed. Wiping hastily at her tears, she turned to him at last, meting his bright gaze. It was full of wisdom and understanding. There was no sympathy – nothing to ignite her rage and rejection._

_He smiled at her, extending his palms. "Give me your hands. You'll see that you still have life in you, yet."_

_She hesitated, unsure of the point he was trying to make. Nevertheless, she gave him her hands. His fingers closed around her palms, and he smiled a smile so radiant, Demeter felt her heart constrict, as she recalled the joyous laughter of her demised lover._

_That remnant of feeling was all Zeus needed to spark the first threads of their shared creation. Golden light glowed between them, growing in intensity and size. A breeze rustled the air, and Demeter's eyes darted to his._

" _Zeus…?"_

" _Think of the most beautiful flower on a summer's day," the King of Olympus urged her. "Close your eyes and envisage its hue. Call it into being."_

" _I cannot-" she began._

_Warmth surged into her hands. Zeus was channelling his energy directly into her, encouraging her to reciprocate with her own chakra signature. "There. I'll help you remember how."_

_Demeter closed her eyes. Almost immediately, it drifted into her mind – not a flower, but a tree. A fleeting beauty of spring that shed pale pink blossoms. It had been under that same tree, that she had shared her first kiss with Mekon._

_She exhaled, her breath trembling as her heart swelled, aching with love. Zeus grinned, as he felt her power surge forth, flowing willingly between them._

_That was all he needed. His eyes lowered and concentrated. The light between them flared even brighter, before exploding in a gust of wind and illumination._

_When it died down, Demeter felt a strange weight in her hands. She looked down – and gasped in open astonishment._

_In a blanket of white silk, the infant stirred. The hair upon the child's head curled softly, was a perfect shade of pale rose, the precise hue of the petals belonging to the tree she had envisaged in her mind._

_When the baby opened large, long-lashed emerald eyes to gaze up at her for the first time, Demeter felt her heart melt on sight._

" _You-" she began, dumbfounded, gaping at an impishly smiling Zeus. "You created this-?"_

" _No," he winked at her, turning away to take his leave, knowing that the famine would end at last. Demeter's love had worked its own miracle; he had merely helped her fashion the child, infusing it with the light and grace of the gods._

 _The lightning bolt earring in his left ear glinted in the late afternoon's sunshine, as he corrected lightly, "_ _You_ _did."_


	44. Chapter XLIII

**Chapter XLIII  
**

* * *

_So revolves her world, in ignorant orbit,_

_Glass spun its walls - they fracture swift,_

_See how they tremble – brittle and thin!_

_Against the crash of tides that draw her in,_

_Death's hand will deliver its lethal blow,_

_That halcyon orbit – it quivers in the dark!_

_At the steering of the fissure that jaggedly grows,_

_And the coming of a Message – take heed! Hark!  
_

* * *

Sakura rested her head back against the curved edge of the bath, releasing a tired sigh as her eyes followed the intricate patterns of the moon-painted ceiling above her. The steamy, fragrant water felt _so_ good, soothing away any lingering tension left over from the adrenaline fuelled battle she'd survived earlier.

Thankfully, the remaining enemies they had encountered in the simulator following the Kraken had been insignificant. Sasuke had even stood back and allowed her to finish off two of them without his aid or interference. His unexpected faith in her abilities had given Sakura a fresh, temporary surge of adrenaline and warded off the exhaustion plaguing her limbs long enough for her to get the job done. After the final creature had disappeared in a puff of black smoke, she had felt great pride and a heightened sense of self-worth at her achievements.

Sasuke had then pulled the lever to return them back to the top floor of the training dome. The demolished spiralling staircase had been completely restored, much to Sakura's astonishment. It was part of the simulation, Sasuke had explained to her; everything was reset to its original state once a level was completed.

Heat bloomed into her cheeks, unrelated to the steam from the water around her, as Sakura recalled the way her legs had finally given up on her once they'd reached the top floor. Without a word, Sasuke had swung her up into his arms as though she weighed little more than a feather, paying absolutely no heed to her somewhat embarrassed, insistent protests that she could manage just fine on her own.

' _Don't be annoying',_ he had clipped when she'd initially squirmed in his hold. Those three, short words had been enough to secure her (reluctant) compliance, and Sakura, too exhausted to fuss any further, had spent the rest of the journey back to the upper palace grounds with her head resting against his left shoulder.

The God of the Dead had carried her like the perfect, chivalrous gentleman – something so at war with all of Suigetsu's barbaric descriptions of him. He'd transported Sakura in his arms before, but somehow, this time had felt different. She'd leant into him, and their soaking clothes had made each of them extra conscious of the other's warmth. Sakura hadn't dared to say a word, or to look directly at him. She had kept her eyes dutifully lowered and distracted her overactive mind with thoughts of the terrible encounter they'd managed to overcome together.

Sasuke had deposited her in her chamber, and after giving her a carefully measured dose of ambrosia to combat the fatiguing effects of rapid chakra depletion on her body, had sat back to watch her closely for a while, as if to make sure she was really alright. Sakura's treacherous eyes had chosen that timely moment to roam over him, to take in the way his damp, sleeveless top had stuck to his defined chest and torso in all the right places. If Sasuke had noticed the attention, he hadn't made it apparent. Instead, he had told her to rest and that he would be waiting for her in the drawing room.

Sakura sighed heavily again, closing her eyes as her thoughts continued to branch out. Their fight against the Kraken had put a lot of things into perspective – some of which she had never even been aware of before.

Such as what a fraction of a deity's chakra reserves felt like; immense beyond measure and chilling to the bone – but thoroughly exhilarating.

She'd also valued the importance of quick reflexes and playing to her personal strengths, as well as believing in her capabilities. Chakra control seemed to be where her natural combat talent lay.

The battle had also made her harshly realise something that she'd been too frightened and diverted at the time to dwell upon; something she had never before even considered possible but was now futile to deny.

When Sasuke had disappeared under the water, her heart had been ready to leap out of her chest. It had pounded so hard, so fast. She had been _afraid_ for him, for his wellbeing and safety.

That only meant one thing; that at some unidentifiable point over the duration of however long it had been that she'd spent in his Kingdom, Sakura had begun to _care,_ to view Sasuke as more than simply her captor, a deity, and King of the Underworld.

She was starting to see Sasuke as a _person,_ an individual. And Sakura knew how dangerous and foolish that reality was, how much harder it would make everything if she didn't do something to stem whatever it was that was _happening_ between them. A thick lump formed in the base of her throat as she remembered the moment that had passed between them earlier, when she'd initially collapsed to the ground in his arms. The uncharacteristic hesitancy in his gaze. The way he had _waited._ The way his eyes had lured her closer, how she had felt _herself_ flowing towards him.

What had she been _thinking?_ That had been precisely the problem, of course; she hadn't been thinking at all. Her body had acted on auto-pilot. Of its own accord.

She opened her eyes and groaned, lifting her hands to grip fistfuls of her wet, freshly washed hair.

 _This is so messed up,_ she mentally reproached herself. _I'm_ _so messed up. What's happening to me…?_

Her brain was struggling to compromise how she could go from absolutely despising, angrily resenting and being terrified of Sasuke at the start, to the tentative understanding and _respect_ that were blossoming into being instead.

 _That's not all you're feeling,_ a small voice she didn't particularly wish to listen to whispered. Sakura bit her lower lip unhappily when it didn't shut up at her will. Or maybe it was just that she wasn't trying hard enough to reject it.

_What about the way your heart pounds whenever he's near you? It was fear at first… and yes you were a nervous wreck… but he's done nothing to hurt you physically. You_ _ know _ _he won't harm you – it's just like Suigetsu said._

_What about the way your skin tingles when he touches you…? How much more tolerant you've become of_ _ letting _ _him get close?_

_Stop,_ Sakura pleaded with the torturous thoughts. She didn't _want_ to hear it – but of course, she knew deep in her heart that it was useless to keep avoiding the subject. At least in the privacy of her mind, she would be honest. She couldn't pretend anymore; as outrageous as the truth was, she _was_ drawn to Sasuke. He was, awful pun intended, _drop-dead_ gorgeous _._ She'd thought so from the start, had been struck by his brooding, smouldering good looks the instant her eyes had met his at the Carousel ride. And she didn't know _what_ happened whenever he touched her, or how electricity seemed to crackle and flow between them, an unstoppable current that left her pulse racing and her head spinning.

It wasn't just the physical attraction, though. The death deity was so much more complex than the one dimensional character she had first believed him to be, so much deeper and more difficult to decipher and figure out. Now that she knew a tiny fragment of his past, she found herself desperately wanting to discover more. He was like a sophisticated puzzle, a baffling enigma – one that she was finding increasingly fascinating.

Sakura scrubbed at her skin, as if in an attempt to wash away the unwanted emotions that were clawing away at her insides. It was _wrong._ Everything was turning out so _wrong._ Not the way she had envisaged or planned at all. And she was starting to lose sight of her original goals, of Suigetsu's words, which had sounded so convincing at the beginning.

She still thought of her friends. Her heart still bled to see her mother. But more and more often, it was _Sasuke's_ eyes she saw when she closed hers and drifted off to sleep. It was thoughts of _him_ that were the last to enter her mind before she lost herself in slumber.

When had that begun to happen? At which point had he started to occupy her personal contemplations so frequently?

She had no answer. The troubling truth at that moment was that Sakura felt completely lost.

' _That was quite the battle, Pinky.'_

Sakura's eyes widened, her back straightening to a rod as she sat forward with a small yelp, sinking herself deeper into the bath's foamy water. She looked up to find a shiny, spherical bubble floating in front of her and gaped in mortification at the face she saw gleaming inside it.

' _Wha- what are you doing up there?!'_ She telepathically stuttered whilst crossing her arms protectively over her chest and her legs under water to ensure her modesty remained intact.

Suigetsu grinned toothily at her. _'What? You mean this is no good for you? Would you rather I go lower?'_ He smiled without shame. ' _'Cause, ya know, I'm sure the view would be much more interesting if I went down under-'_

The bubble began to drift ominously lower.

"No!" Sakura couldn't stop herself from exclaiming aloud, sloshing back in the tub. Biting on her tongue, she went on mentally, ' _You creep! I'm in the middle of a bath!'_

' _I can see that,'_ Suigetsu's lavender gaze twinkled appreciatively at what little he could see of the bare, creamy skin of her shoulders. _'Me and my rotten timing, huh?'_

A dismayed Sakura raged in disbelief. ' _You can't just show up here like this!'_ She reached forward, intending to burst the bubble completely by jabbing it swiftly with an index finger. ' _Go away, Suigetsu!'_

' _I really wouldn't do that,'_ he warned, _'because then I really might have to appear lower...'_

Blushing furiously, Sakura ranted, _'You-! You pervert!'_

The Ocean God pouted theatrically. _'Aww, come on. I'm pretty sure that if Sasuke had been the one to walk in here, you wouldn't have called him any those things.'_

He was right. Sakura would have probably jumped out of the bath completely in a mindless state of panic instead – which would have been a hundred times worse than the awful and awkward situation she was at that moment experiencing.

' _Calm down,'_ Suigetsu continued, rolling his eyes at her embarrassment. _'Seeing your bare shoulders can hardly count as perving out on you, Sakura. You wanna know what really_ _is_ _perverted? The way that bastard was checking your cute ass out when you turned your back on him earlier.'_

Sakura frowned in confusion. _'Wait -_ _what_ _?'_

' _Y'know,'_ Suigetsu prompted, like a helpful classmate who was encouraging her to cram facts for an end of year exam. _'When you defeated a simulation of one of my ocean pets, the Kraken, and found His Royal Grouchiness in a grumbling heap?'_

' _You saw that?'_ Sakura was unable to hide her shock.

The sea deity snorted. ' _Give me a little credit, Pinky. Water's my thing, remember?'_ He seemed to see the dread that scrawled itself on Sakura's face, for he added reassuringly, _'And_ _because_ _water's my thing, there's no way he would've known I was watching, so relax.'_

His words did little to soothe her. Sakura shook her head and insisted that he allow her to make herself decent before they conversed.

' _I've finished. I'm getting out of the tub.'_

' _Go ahead,'_ Suigetsu smirked cheekily. _'I'm sure I'll then completely understand why Sasuke wants you here so bad.'_

' _Suigetsu!'_ She blushed scarlet, appalled.

' _I'm not going anywhere,'_ his razor sharp teeth protruded comically. _'Not unless you guarantee that you aren't going to leave the bathroom and avoid me again.'_

' _I won't. But we're not talking unless I cover up!'_

He rolled his eyes and reluctantly conceded. _'Fine, fine, if it'll stop you freaking out. I'll give you a minute.'_

' _You promise you won't look?'_ Sakura wasn't sure she believed he wouldn't sneak a naughty peek. His perverted nature rivalled even Naruto's.

' _Geez, what do you take me for? I said I wouldn't! Spoilsport,'_ Suigetsu lamented, before disappearing respectfully from sight.

Sakura cautiously inched to the steps and grabbed the fluffy white robe she'd set near to the bath's edge. Climbing out, she hastily slipped into it, securing its belt tightly around her waist before wrapping a towel around her wet hair.

' _I'm done,'_ she thought out mentally.

Suigetsu's face was quick to reappear in another bubble.

' _I preferred the view when you were_ _in_ _the bath,'_ he teased.

Sakura pointedly folded her arms firmly around her robed body and perched on the edge of the tub.

What he said next set her on edge. His tone was casual – but something about the way his eyes watched her so intently only served to heighten her sense of discomfort.

' _So that was a good work out. You really held your own in the simulator, Sakura. I can see that Sasuke's been training you pretty well.'_

Deciding it was useless to play games Sakura met his gaze and answered honestly, _'Yeah.'_

' _You two sure looked pretty cosy out there… a dream team, huh?'_

His lips were smiling. His eyes, however, were not.

Sakura was on guard, unsure of the point he was trying to make.

' _I don't think-'_ she started to dismiss, but he was going on.

' _And that concern when he fell in the water?'_ he whistled. _'Wow Pinky. I've gotta hand it to ya. That seemed pretty genuine. You even almost had_ _me_ _convinced.'_

Sakura's throat suddenly felt oddly parched. _'Look, Suigetsu-'_ she attempted to communicate again.

' _No,_ _you_ _look.'_ Suigetsu pointed at her, surprising Sakura with his abrupt bluntness. _'You cut me off rather rudely before, so I'm just gonna go ahead and say what you stopped me from saying the last time. I've been waiting around in this dingy cell for about as long as I can take. You've got the potion, and I don't want any more beating around the bush. It's time to do this. You're gonna pull this off during the next training session you have with Sasuke, got it?'_

He made it sound so casual. So simple. And Sakura told herself it _ought_ tobe both those things. But her brain clearly needed examining, because all she felt at that second instead were apprehension and hesitancy.

' _You make it sound so easy.'_ Her eyes burned with frustration and something else.

' _And it_ _is_ _easy,'_ Suigetsu said with forced patience, as if he was talking to a very young and naïve child. _'You spike the ambrosia decanter, and then you wait.'_

' _You really think he's that stupid? That he won't even realise?'_ Sakura glared.

' _He won't. You'll do it when he's out. He's bound to leave the palace at some point – I'll even tell you when! That's all there is to it. Really Sakura, not even_ _you_ _can mess this up.'_

Not taking kindly to being patronised, Sakura averted her gaze, clenching her jaw tensely. Seeing that he had offended her, Suigetsu sighed.

' _Okay, alright, look; I don't know what's happening here, or why there's all this unnecessary tension all of a sudden. We're on the same side, Pinky. Have you forgotten that?'_

She glanced back at him. _'Are we?'_ The thought was fired by her mind immediately, weighty and loaded with suspicion. A part of Sakura disapproved that she was letting Suigetsu see her doubts at last. The other part, the more assertive part that she had been paying increasing more attention to recently, urged her to stand her ground.

The water deity looked just as surprised by the open confrontation.

' _Are you serious? You're questioning_ _me?_ _When I've been waiting all this time for_ _you_ _to get yourself together?'_

Sakura demanded, ' _How do I know you aren't planning on kidnapping me, too?'_

Suigetsu's eyebrows flew up. _'This again? Why would I get you out of here just to do that? That's just stupid. Not all of us are snatchers and stalkers, Sakura.'_

' _How do I know you won't lead me into worse trouble than what I'm in now?'_

Suigetsu looked genuinely bemused. _'Give me a break; what could possibly be worse than being stuck in this depressing place?'_

This time, Sakura was quick to check the fireback thought that had flown into her head. She couldn't tell him that the Underworld wasn't all that awful. It was a place of unparalleled beauty, too. She'd seen its paradise fields and enchanting coves with her own eyes. She looked away again, frustrated. Suigetsu wasn't making things any easier for her. She wished he would just tell her the honest truth about why he was so willing to help her get back to the surface. She knew from past experience, however, that any attempts to prise the information from him would prove hopeless.

' _I don't get it,'_ the silver-haired god shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing together. _'You said you were willing to do_ _anything_ _to get out of this dump. What's changing, Sakura? I mean, is it just nerves, or should I be starting to worry, here?'_

Her heart had started to pound. Sakura was profoundly furious at it.

When she stayed silent, he began slowly, _'Call me crazy for thinking this, but it feels like you're having second thoughts.'_ Waving a hand in the air, he surprised her by continuing with another sigh, _'Thing is, I can't really even blame you. Sasuke's the only person you've had sustained contact with on a consistent basis in this ugly place. He's obviously kept you well fed and clothed and rested. You're confused, I get it; but you shouldn't be. Don't let him manipulate you; it's what he's best at doing. I should know; bastard's done it to me before, too. Stay focused, Sakura!'_

' _I_ _am_ _focused.'_ Sakura retaliated, with decidedly more conviction than she actually felt.

' _Bullshit. You're getting cold feet on me.'_

' _No.'_

' _You are. It's almost like you're looking for any excuse_ _not_ _to go through with this.'_

' _I'm_ _not!_ _'_

Suigetsu sneered at her. _'So what else is there? Let me guess. You're starting to grow a soft spot for that heartless ice cube.'_

' _No.'_ Sakura answered, but her throat seemed to close up. Suddenly she felt sick.

' _No? Then what is it? Maybe you've been here too long and your head's starting to go all loopy. The longer we drag this out, the more you'll chicken out.'_ He made a comical gesture with his hands. _'You know there's a condition you poor little humans get, where captives start having some crazy, misplaced feelings of loyalty towards their kidnappers-'_

' _That isn't what this is!'_ Sakura's eyes flew back to the bubble again. ' _You don't understand! Even if I was to leave with you, you honestly think that Sasuke will just let it go? Once I'm back on the surface, you think he won't come after me, that he won't want revenge for stabbing him in the back?'_

' _Even_ _if_ _you were to leave with me?'_ Suigetsu's eyebrows rose again. _'I must have lost the memo. Pinky, you_ _are_ _leaving with me. And if the chances of that asshole retaliating is the only reason why you're still worrying so much, then quit it. I've already told you Sasuke doesn't want you dead.'_

' _How do you know?'_ Sakura demanded. _'What guarantee do you have that Sasuke won't end my life the second I get back on the surface?'_

To her surprise, Suigetsu chuckled – one of open relief. ' _Is_ _that_ _what this is really all about?'_ He snickered. ' _And here I was, actually starting to worry that you were starting to give half a damn about that ungrateful son-of-a-bitch.'_

Sakura's heart wrenched inside her chest at his words. Luckily she managed to keep her expression composed, despite the pandemonium running rampant inside her.

Suigetsu went on with a grin, _'If he did that, he'd be breaking the rules.'_

Sakura blinked. Gods had to follow _rules,_ too _?_ Sasuke certainly didn't strike her as the type to strictly abide by or care much for enforced immortal laws.

Suigetsu looked skyward, as if for patience, rubbing at the back of his neck in exasperation. _'Alright, look. I'll make this really clear for you. Sasuke is the God of Death, right? But he_ _isn't,_ _strictly speaking, Death itself. He doesn't personally collect souls, unless he particularly feels like harvesting a few and sending them on their way on a really boring day.'_

' _I already know that-'_ Sakura tried to interject, but Suigetsu held up a palm to silence her.

' _Manners, Pinky! As the only one who's left running this place, Sasuke's inherited some… call them 'gifts'… that wouldn't usually be his alone. Stopping heartbeats at will and tearing souls out of bodies being one of them. But that doesn't mean he can just use them whenever he wants, because that really would upset the natural order of things.'_

He was repeating parts of what Goddess Chiyo had already disclosed to her, but Sakura listened intently regardless to the clarification she was being provided about what Sasuke could and could not do.

' _You already know that the Underworld ruler's purpose is to ensure all souls are judged accordingly and sent to the right resting places. Sure, Sasuke_ _can_ _terminate lives himself if he needs to, like when someone is running on borrowed time, but he definitely shouldn't be killing people out of personal vengeance, especially before it's their fated time. That's against the rules. Even_ _he_ _has to follow the grand scheme of things.'_

He paused, before throwing his hands up into the air.

' _I mean think about it; if we went around killing every single human who pissed us off, there wouldn't be many of you left, would there? Cursing someone's life with bad fortune is something else though; we have a lot of fun with that,'_ he grinned.

' _So it's forbidden?'_ Sakura confirmed.

' _Yeah,'_ Suigetsu nodded. _'Bastard's already broken rules by the bucket-load by keeping you in a world that's meant for dead people, and showing you Elysium and everything. But killing you? That'd be on another level, an even bigger infringement of the Underworld's and the entire Universe's laws. He wouldn't get away with that. With you, there'd be serious consequences.'_

With _her?_ Sakura caught on immediately, and wondering what he meant, leant forward, arms still wrapped tightly around her front. _'What do you mean? What kind of serious consequences?'_

' _Lesson's over,'_ Suigetsu shut off any further questions, much to Sakura's frustration. _'So you see, Pinky, even though he'll be seriously pissed off, he won't kill you. I'll even personally make sure he won't get to you. How's that sound? Once you're back on the surface, you'll be safe. What_ _else_ _is there for you to be so afraid about?'_

The sudden twisting, painful knot in her stomach reminded Sakura that Sasuke's anger wasn't the only reason why she was trying to stall so much. But she couldn't confess the other reasons to Suigetsu. He would think her out of her mind. And she _was._ She _had_ to be positively insane, for a part of her to actually _want_ to learn and see a little more of the Kingdom and ruler hidden from mortal eyes, before she departed the Underworld for good. Because surely the next time she arrived in it, it would be as a dead soul, lining up before the black boat, bound unforgivably to the infernal pits of Tartarus for betraying the mighty King of the Dead.

She fleetingly wondered whether Sasuke would even blink or acknowledge her when her time came. Or whether he'd personally transport her soul to Hell himself. The thought of her inescapable, wretched end if she went ahead with Suigetsu's plan caused her throat to burn and her eyes to sting. She was thankful for the steam that helped to disguise the wetness pooling into her lower eyelids.

No, she told herself. Sasuke wouldn't give her the honour of a personal escort to the flames of agony. Neither would he hear her pathetic pleas for mercy or ever consent to listen to her petitions in his throne room.

He would cast her ruthlessly aside, like any other damned soul – just as she was intending to do to the high favour in which he so clearly held her.

Sakura again remembered the flash of uncertainty in his eyes. The way he'd held her so gently against him. Something inside her wavered.

Inside the transparent, soapy sphere, Suigetsu had grown quiet. He was too disturbed by the unexpected look of sadness he could detect in Sakura's features. What in the world's oceans was she so upset about? He didn't know what to feel more – annoyance, pity, or disbelief.

' _Sakura, do you-?'_ he finally started.

She looked up, alarmed, as if he had snapped her rudely from her thoughts, and was about to respond, when a light knock on the door alerted her to the arrival of her maids.

"Mistress?" Chizu's voice called.

' _I have to go,'_ Sakura communicate hastily, internally relieved for the disruption.

Suigetsu's eyes narrowed in irritation at the bad timing. _'Fine.'_ He accepted. _'But now that we've clarified everything, you better be ready next time. No more excuses, Pinky. We'll talk properly, without any interruptions. Get ready to deliver on your end when I give you the signal.'_

With that, the bubble containing his projected image popped.

* * *

After helping her to dry her hair and get dressed, Chizu and Ume departed her room. Sakura stood before the mirror, staring at her reflection. In her distracted state, she'd given a chirpy Ume permission to curl her tresses. Her silky, unbound locks tumbled around her shoulders in soft waves, the heightened bounce and volume flattering her face nicely. Ume had decorated the look with an attractive headband consisting of three gold and pearl pleats which matched the gold leaf earrings adorning Sakura's ears perfectly.

The full-length gown Chizu had selected for her was also rich, gold-spun loveliness, boasting a scoop neckline encrusted with glistening pearls. The straps of the dress were held together by leaves that complemented her earrings, and a similar pleated belt was wound three times above her waist. Her feet were strapped into comfortable, flat gold sandals.

She twisted, examining the way the fabric of her gown swished gently outwards with her movements, then fussed with her hair a little – before abruptly catching herself with a frown. The more she scrutinised the image in front of her, the more uncomfortable she became. It was funny, how she had never even bothered with dresses or her appearance on the surface. Yet there she stood, looking like… well… like a pretty, pampered princess. If only Ino could see her now, could witness the sensational transformation she'd undergone in Sasuke's Kingdom. Her jaw would surely slacken and drop to the floor – before demanding a fancy dress for herself.

Sakura smiled fondly at the thought of her best friend. It was a known fact that girls enjoyed dressing up and looking good for the sake of themselves. But Sakura had never really found being made-up and looking overtly feminine _fun._ That had always been Ino's department. She'd always preferred losing her nose in a good book instead.

Now, as she gazed at herself, Sakura found herself sadly acknowledging that she looked better than she ever had on the surface. Her complexion, though a little paler than she could remember, nevertheless glowed. She didn't look like someone who was suffering intense emotional pain at the hands of a cruel and stone-hearted kidnapper.

Dressing up had all started off as part of the act; part of appearing compliant in front of Sasuke. But lately she had found herself sifting meticulously in her wardrobe for beautiful gowns to wear, really _thinking_ about what to put on – even to sparring sessions. She was inspecting herself more closely, paid attention to how her hair fell more, made sure everything fit just right.

She had actually started to _care_ about how she looked.

Was it still part of the charade? Or did she want to look good for other reasons? But that wasn't _like_ her. Was it?

 _What's happening to me? Since when did I become okay with all of this?_ She worried internally. _Suigetsu's right. I've gotten so used to the routine here and adapted so much that everything's becoming cloudy in my head._ Her eyes stopped on her mother's necklace, which she still wore faithfully around her neck. _I'm…_ she thought to herself in distress, _I'm losing it._

She needed to get a grip; she'd spent long enough in her room; Sasuke was expecting her. Sakura tried to shake off feelings of guilt as she exited her bedchamber and made her way slowly through the candle-lit hallways. She needed to clear her head, to regain her sense of direction. And most importantly, she needed to make absolutely sure she _didn't_ think about any of the things that were weighing on her mind in Sasuke's presence.

The faint sound of tinkering piano keys drifted to her ears as she descended the royal staircase. It was coming from the drawing room. Curious, Sakura hurried the remainder of the steps down. As she entered the room, she found Sasuke seated at the sleek black piano. He had freshened up too and changed into a deep navy blue tunic with alternating gold square patterns stitched into the neckline and the edges of the loose, elbow length sleeves. A long black cloak was wrapped around his shoulders, the expensive fabric trailing to the floor, and slender black strips of material decorated his forearms.

The death deity was playing just as proficiently as she had heard him do so on the previous occasion, his posture composed and elegant. He did not look up at her as she approached the impressive instrument, but Sakura knew he had already noted her arrival. He seemed fully engrossed in the composition he was performing instead. Sakura stood awkwardly for a moment, debating whether to remain in place, sit on one of the arm chairs opposite him, or join him on the plush-cushioned piano stool. There was certainly room enough for two on the spacious bench.

The last thought won out. In a bold move that she never would have even considered before, Sakura took a seat next to him, desiring to get the best view of the way his skilled fingers glided so effortlessly over the gleaming ivory keys. Sasuke gave no visible sign that he minded the infringement on his personal space, his expression as indecipherable as ever. Encouraged by this, Sakura leant forward slightly, her hands folded neatly together in her lap as she watched him play in fascination. He turned his head marginally to the left as if in acknowledgement, but his eyes and attention remained fixed on the clear notes his hands were playing.

Sakura listened in appreciative silence to the beautiful melody as it unfolded, finding herself profoundly moved again by it as she had been the last time. The tune he was playing was just as poignant and sentimental. She wondered what the story behind it was and closed her eyes for a short while, losing herself to the soothing sound, envisaging the tale the emotive notes wove together in her mind.

Two old friends, sitting on a bench together in winter, with hot drinks in hands, nostalgically recalling times long gone. Or lovers separated and after much heart-ache and strife, finding each other again in a most unexpected place.

A child chasing a far-away dream beyond his reach, or a parent who was gone before he could reach them. An old lady freeing a bird from its cage and watching wistfully as it flapped free into the sky.

A grieving widow holding her deceased husband's wedding ring preciously in her trembling hands. A young ballerina, trying to remember the correct steps to her first dance routine.

A baby, walking for the first time, stumbling only to try to get to its feet again and again. The cycle of life from birth to death, starting with light, ending in darkness.

The last one struck a chord within her. Sakura opened her eyes, feeling them well up with tears which she quickly blinked back. It was ridiculous, to be so affected by what he was playing. But she couldn't help herself. The music gave her goose-pimples; it was too enchanting for her _not_ to be moved.

As the piece reached its bittersweet crescendo, her gaze shifted up to rest on the handsome profile of Sasuke's face. Before she knew it, before she could stop herself, Sakura was staring openly at him, and everything else around her faded out of focus. There was only Sasuke and the heart-tugging melody. Her gaze ran along the straight planes of his nose and chiselled jawline. Raven strands of hair partly concealed his lowered eyes from her view. Once again she was taken aback by how someone who appeared so taciturn and distant on the exterior was able to produce a melody so emotionally stirring.

How a being so deadly could also be so tragically beautiful. She was even more deeply troubled by the way she felt something thud deeply inside her chest as she watched him.

This time, however, she couldn't be so sure that it was the music that was solely responsible.

Sasuke had evidently become aware of her sustained staring, for his smoky irises flicked onto her at last as his fingers went on caressing the correct keys from memory. Sakura wasn't quick enough to avert her gaze. Their eyes connected, and she felt her heart jump a little in response, as if it were physically skewered by the weight of his glance. Thankfully, his eyes were swift to slip back onto the keys. The melody reached its closing notes, before Sasuke smoothly ended the composition.

Silence briefly followed. Sakura was the one to break it.

"That was beautiful."

Ever unaccustomed to accepting compliments, Sasuke uttered a dismissive, "Hn."

"Did you compose that one yourself?"

There was a long pause, in which he finally turned his head to give her his full and undivided attention.

"No."

"Who did?" she enquired softly.

"…" Sasuke looked away from her, back to his right hand, still resting atop the keys. After another pause, he disclosed, "My mother."

"Oh," Sakura murmured. Sensing the need to change the sensitive topic, she sighed wistfully, "I wish I could play it."

"…" Sasuke blinked. A preposterous idea presented itself in his head. He could teach her… but the words required to communicate the idea stubbornly did not wish to leave his lips. Instead, his hands glided to the first keys in the composition. He tapped them with his index fingers pointedly.

Sakura, who had been watching his hands again, glanced up at him. "Huh?"

"These first."

She blinked at him, her eyebrows lifting in pleasant surprise. "Really? You'll show me?"

The way happiness bloomed on her features, brightening them at his acquiescence, made something inside Sasuke ache. Her genuine smiles were like precious jewels, great rarities – in the remoteness of his kingdom, they were akin to warm beams of sunshine infiltrating the darkness of the land. He wanted her to smile more; but he did not know how to elicit them. His Uchiha pride scoffed at the notion, at war with the part of him that positively _hungered_ for her approval.

He wondered at what point he had sought it, when her emotional wellbeing had started to become so important to him.

Sakura inched eagerly closer to him, her right arm brushing lightly against his left as he began to teach her the opening notes to his mother's melody.

* * *

Sai pulled the dark grey hoody more securely over his head. Even clothed in a thick jumper, black jacket and jeans, he felt chilled to the bone. It wasn't only because the night was a cold one, or because a thin sheen of frost was starting to form on the empty roads.

He knew the real reason his teeth wouldn't stop chattering. Why the feeling of nausea assaulting his stomach stubbornly refused to shift.

He was walking towards what would surely be his demise. He just could not bring himself to believe Kakashi and Naruto's guarantees that he would be perfectly safe from harm. Naruto had a habit of being rather short-sighted and impulsive in the worst situations. Sai still could not comprehend how the knucklehead had been the one to work out Sakura's precise whereabouts.

Shikamaru, he would have expected. Kakashi, or even Jiraiya, yes. But _Naruto?_

However, Naruto _had_ always been alarmingly accurate when it came to reading Sasuke. That was a talent which Sai himself had always lacked; the emotional capacity to accurately analyse, identify and appropriately respond to feelings.

He was marching towards the unknown; armed with nothing but the message he had been given and the scrolls at his waist. He was fulfilling his purpose of being a messenger.

A purpose that would likely end with his death before the night was through.

* * *

The beauty of Elysium was somehow rendered even more captivating under nightfall. Even when cloaked in the blanket of a midnight blue sky, it brimmed with joyous life. Luminous butterflies flittered delicately in the air, accompanied by dancing gold and blue fireflies that shed magical dust. Graceful deer and stags wandered about and exotically feathered birds continued to chirp and sing sweetly from the trees. Those fortunate enough to be favoured by the gods ran through the endlessly verdant, flower-strewn sacred fields, their movements light and free from the woes of their previous lives.

Long, gold tinged blades of grass tickled Sakura's trailing fingertips as she strolled unhurriedly forward, her heart swelling with the happiness that she had once again been permitted to walk in paradise.

Happiness – and a twinge of secret inner guilt that kept gnawing away at her, no matter how hard she tried to suppress it in Sasuke's presence.

The Death God had been remarkably patient with her back at the palace, and after numerous attempts, she'd finally managed to successfully learn the first few notes of his mother's song on the piano. He had then thoroughly surprised Sakura, taking her hand and whisking her to the Blessed Isles of Heaven again to allow her to properly roam its fields long after the cheerful blue skies waned. A full moon shone high in a sky littered with countless, distant, glittering diamonds. The stars were out aplenty, and Sakura was utterly thrilled.

A pleasant breeze stirred her hair and clothing, sending the fragrant aroma of flowers drifting to her nose. Sakura's eyes moved to her right, where she saw a group of four little girls, dressed in purples, greens and blues, skipping with flower garlands in their hands and on their heads, their exuberant faces illuminated with the grace and blessings of the gods. She smiled as they chased after each other, calling and singing in infantile voices.

Sasuke trailed a short distance behind her, his hand resting casually on the sheathed Kusanagi's hilt, nodding absently in acknowledgement at the cheerful inhabitants who bowed and curtsied reverently as they passed him. But mostly his gaze was drawn to Sakura. He could not help it; she was a stunning vision in gold, a beauty so radiant and spellbinding that he did not really blame the dwellers of Elysium for looking at her as she walked in their midst, collecting flowers, bright, multi-coloured blooms laced in her lovely hair.

He didn't know what had caused him to bring her here on impulse. He always planned things so carefully. Their nocturnal visit to Paradise had not been something he'd intended beforehand. And Sasuke obstinately refused to listen to the whisper in his head which suggested that his uncharacteristically sudden course of action was related to the selfish desire to see her smile again.

He positively scoffed at it. He had just supposed that she would like to see Elysium again under the stars. That was all.

Or so he kept telling himself.

The time in Elysium seemed to pass in a joyful rush. Beautiful nymphs approached Sakura, gifting her with even more spectacular flower arrangements. Pure spirited young children took her by her hands and danced with her in a circle. At one point, a little blond-haired girl whispered to Sakura that she wanted to give Sasuke flowers, which made Sakura smile.

"Go on," she encouraged the half-shy, half-frightened child who hid peeking at the tall god from behind the shelter of Sakura's waist. Guiding the girl gently towards a silent Sasuke, Sakura nodded eagerly. "It's okay."

The tiny infant with muddled brown eyes inched closer and closer to the King of the Underworld, who stood with his arms folded, staring impassively down at her. At last she reached him and held up her humble offering; a small cluster of bluebell flowers.

"Thethe are for you, Highneth." She spoke with a lisp, her large eyes anxiously lifting up to look at Sasuke, before her face broke out into a tentative and uncertain smile.

Sakura's heart melted at the girl's cute voice. It was the most adorable sight; a frail infant standing in the shadow of the mightiest of deities. She glanced hopefully at Sasuke, who continued to gaze silently at the child. Surely even he couldn't reject such sweetness?

The inhabitants of Elysium and the Elysian Fields usually steered well clear of Sasuke whenever he patrolled in their midst. They knew he did not accept offerings of flowers, or any other form of grovelling flattery.

Yet it seemed to him that in Sakura's presence, they grew braver. The child's hand was now quivering, and he saw that the longer he did not act, the more the little girl seemed to shrink back towards Sakura.

"Hn," he grumbled, when Sakura's eyebrows drew together in concern for the child. This was utterly meaningless, sentimental _nonsense_. Yet something inside him twisted; his mother had often walked these fields during her reign and done exactly the same with the children who dwelled in them. He reached down, accepting the clump of blossoms from the girl, who beamed widely and giggled with delight, before turning to hug Sakura in happy thanks. Then, just like that, she was off, running away to catch up to her laughing friends.

Sakura couldn't keep the pleased smile from curving her lips. "See?" she said with a teasing edge to her voice. "It's not that hard to be nice."

Sasuke glowered at her. Just because he had taken the flowers, it didn't mean he was being _nice,_ and he definitely wasn't under any obligation to keep the silly blooms now that the girl had skipped out of sight. He tossed them immediately at Sakura, striking her straight in the head.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed, shaking them out of her hair. He began to move away with a smug half-smirk – but Sakura wasn't about to let him get away with it. Without hesitation, she aimed one of the many wreaths she'd been gifted at him. He froze when it succeeded in looping over his head, settling around his neck.

Sakura bit down a giggle as his face slowly turned to direct a withering glare at her. She decided it was better not to stick around to suffer the consequences and turned, bolting away from him. In her mind, she knew it was useless. He could catch her in a heart-beat if he felt like it; but that didn't stop her from running. She threw a quick glance back to find that Sasuke had just wrenched the garland off his shoulders and was flinging it aside in utter disgust. She couldn't help the laugh that flew from her throat at the look of abject contempt on his face.

Then his eyes lifted and locked straight onto her, and Sakura read the intent in them even from the distance she had managed to travel away from him.

There was no mistaking it; he was going to pursue her.

As she gripped the skirt of her dress and pushed her legs to speed up, a strange, soaring feeling surged through her veins, leaving her feeling oddly light.

It suddenly struck her that she was actually having _fun._

Sasuke didn't need to expend his chakra and flash-step behind her to close the distance between them. Even with a considerable head-start, simply running was sufficient enough to catch her. He was swift to close in, and when he did, she had just reached the summit of another slope.

"Too slow, Sakura," he taunted, reaching out to capture her right arm. Half-laughing, half-breathless, she spun at the final moment to face him as his fingers closed above her elbow, but doing so caused her feet to slip on the grass and lose their footing. With a squeal she fell back and the momentum of her movement succeeded in yanking a wide-eyed Sasuke forward with her too, sending them both rolling into descent down the hill.

Sakura could barely catch her breath; her ribs were aching from laughing so hard. She didn't know what was funnier; how angry Sasuke was likely to be at that moment over engaging in something so immature as tumbling down a hill – or the sight of him rolling unwillingly along with her. The world spun in a blur of grass and whirling stars above them, until at last they reached the bottom, where they lurched to a sudden stop.

Something warm had cushioned her fall. As Sakura slowly lifted her head, she found Sasuke lying beneath her. He was breathing deeply, and flowers had flown from the garlands she wore and tangled into his windswept hair. She couldn't help herself at the ridiculous sight – a petulant, glowering Sasuke with pretty blooms in his raven locks. It only made her laugh harder.

"Sa-!" Her lungs wheezed to inhale air. "Sasuke! Your hair-!" Sakura dissolved in a fresh fit of giggles.

The Death God was annoyed. He really _was_ annoyed. But the sight of her - cheeks flushed from exertion and mirth - thoroughly side-tracked him from his irritation. At that moment, she glowed so brightly, it _hurt._

By Elysium; he had never desired to kiss her _so damn much._ He wanted to reach up, press a hand to the back of her neck, tug her head down and silence her _completely._

But Sakura had already pushed herself off him. He sat up in turn, his heart racing despite his furious commands for it to settle. The exasperation finally kicked in as he shook out the remnants of flowers from his hair.

How _stupid_ the whole thing had been _-_ the grumpy thought derailed as he blinked in surprise, feeling fingers that were not his own brush through his dark locks.

Sakura innocently plucked out a flower stem that still remained caught in raven strands. Her hand lingered for a moment, diverted by the realisation that his hair was just as fine and silky in texture as it appeared. Sasuke turned his head, his eyes finding hers. They both froze for an instant at the connection – before Sakura held the offending purple bloom out to him.

"You missed one."

When he only stared, Sakura shrugged, placing it in her hair instead and collecting the scattered flowers she'd picked earlier. Then she rose to her feet, brushing off the remains of fallen petals from her dress. Sasuke followed her as she settled down beneath a golden-leafed tree that provided a perfect view of the star-jewelled sky. He sat beside her, within arm's distance, watching as she began to weave her flowers into her own garland. Fragile butterflies drifted towards them. Sakura felt a wry smile tug at the corner of her mouth when Sasuke waved them away from him with a scowl.

"They like you," she protested, and chuckled when a particularly bold one briefly landed atop the elbow Sasuke was resting against his left knee-cap. The death deity promptly but lightly blew it away, and the group of flying creatures finally flittered off.

Silence fell between them again, but this time, Sakura didn't find it to be an uncomfortable one. Every so often, Sasuke saw her glance up from of the corner of his vision, at the round, silvery moon and the glimmering stars. The smile was still there on her lips. It pleased him to see it remain.

Suddenly she released a deep sigh.

"The sky is so beautiful," she admired. She didn't know whether it was the magic of their environment, or the ambrosia he had given to her earlier working or something else, but she felt relaxed. Suddenly she _wanted_ to talk to him; to tell him more about herself. She hoped it would encourage him to do the same; although there were no guarantees with Sasuke.

"I used to watch the stars all the time when I was younger," she admitted. "I'd make these silly wishes on them." Laughing a little in memory, she finished, "Like I'd want my hair to grow long until it reached my feet."

Sasuke thought it was an awfully strange thing to wish for, and snorted at that.

"Hn."

Sakura went on, slightly embarrassed, "I thought that was the way to become a princess and live in my own castle, like every little girl wants."

"…" Sasuke, she could feel, was now looking intently her way. She trailed off as something suddenly struck her. She _was_ now dwelling in a palace, dressed in the finery of royalty… and sitting beside her was a handsome companion who certainly _looked_ like the prince of any girl's dreams. In many ways, she was living out her younger self's fantasies; except it hadn't quite turned out as peachy and rosy as her child version had anticipated.

She thought that Sasuke must have been thinking along similar lines too, for he was still staring at her.

Awkwardly, she dismissed, "I guess people wish for stupid things when they're young."

He finally looked away. "Hn." It was a mumble of agreement.

As she laced another flower into the growing circular arrangement, Sakura said, "I bet wishes must seem silly to gods. You can make anything you want happen, can't you?"

One corner of his mouth twisted a little. It was a common mortal misconception that deities could give life to anything and everything. "Yes and no," he replied.

She looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Different deities have different roles," Sasuke clarified, as he waved another invading butterfly away. "They create things that match their function and purpose. Those that don't are only temporary and eventually fade."

Sakura considered this. "So a sun deity can only bring sunshine – if they try to create rain, it won't last?"

Sasuke nodded.

"And if you tried to give life to things, they wouldn't last either?"

His dark eyes slipped back onto her. "Sustaining life is not my purpose."

"But you could bring dead things back to life if you really wanted to do it, couldn't you?"

Sasuke _could_ delay and temporarily prevent death if necessity required and he had the power to send back souls that were to be reincarnated, allowing them to be reborn on the surface. Returning the deceased to their original bodies for no valid reason, however, was an extremely ugly affair. He thought briefly of the unfortunate, zombie-like mortal Cronus had made an example of before his eyes using a technique that was forbidden even to members of his Clan. The dead were not supposed to be sent back to the world of the living. It upset the balance of nature. The gift of life, however, was not his to command.

"Once souls enter the Underworld, they cannot leave," he reminded her. "I do not reverse death."

"But you could send a human back in theory," she prompted, "even if that shouldn't be done?"

"Yes," he conceded.

Satisfied, she looked thoughtfully up at the stars again. "So I guess you never wished for anything at all when you were younger?"

 _Wishes?_ They were whimsical and useless; mortal follies. There were some things even gods could not bring to pass. Sasuke thought of his family for a painful moment, of how desperately he had wanted them to be restored to him when he'd initially been overcome with crippling grief at their loss. He had detested and cursed the cruel irony of his powers then; able to direct the spirits of mortals who he cared nothing for, but helpless when it came to reaching the void where immortal souls ventured.

However, Sasuke _had_ had a wish, in an age long past. He'd always wanted to overtake his brother, to be first in line for the throne. He'd wanted his father's and Cronus's acknowledgement, to be stronger, faster and better than everyone else.

It was ironic, that his desire had been granted – but at a significant cost.

He'd been a foolish, naïve young deity. Back then, he hadn't really understood what being King of the Underworld had truly entailed. What kinds of demands and sacrifices it required. His elder brother, in stark contrast, had known it all too well. He understood, now, all too clearly, why his calmer-tempered sibling had been chosen as the heir to follow after his father.

The word tumbled almost bitterly from his lips. "Power."

Startled by his answer, Sakura turned her eyes to him. Of all the things a god could desire, Sasuke had wished for _power_? It didn't make any sense to her; didn't all deities possess immeasurable abilities by default?

"Power?" she echoed curiously, recalling what she had been told earlier about Sasuke having abilities beyond what would have normally been his to command. "But you already have it."

He did. But the road he'd had to tread to claim it had been a harsh, bloody one. There was so much Sakura didn't know. He wondered what she would think if he told her.

"On that day-" the words felt foreign leaving his lips, were difficult to get out. He stopped shortly. Sakura had grown still, breath withheld at the realisation that Sasuke was starting to willingly _talk_ to her, too. "That day, I gained it."

Although his features remained composed, Sakura saw his hands clench into tight fists, betraying the tension afflicting him inside. She knew which day he was referring to; the image of his past self being dragged into the chasms of the earth was singed into her mind.

Sakura didn't want to push him to say more before he was ready to talk. She waited; when he said nothing else, she sensed the need to change the subject. Finishing off her garland, she slipped it around her neck. Sasuke continued to stare ahead in front of him.

Suddenly, she gasped in delight. "A shooting star!" she pointed up at the sky. "There are even some of those here!" Looking more carefully at the way the stars were arranged, she said, "They're constellations, aren't they?" Her eyes rested on a particular arrangement. "That one looks kind of like a deer."

Sasuke, whose gaze had risen to star-watch with her, blinked. "It is," he replied.

"Really?" Sakura was just as surprised to get it right. "In honour of a great hunter, or something?" she guessed.

Sasuke gave her a look. "Yes." Then, inwardly curious, he pointed at another one. "What do you see there?"

She followed the line of his finger, and squinted. The cluster looked like a box.

"A… cage?" She then noticed there were smaller dots connecting each side. "No. Wait. It's some kind of square…"

"A net," Sasuke told her.

"Oh yeah. I see it," Sakura nodded and gestured, getting a little too eager for her own good. "And that one looks like a horse."

Sasuke blinked questioningly at it, before glancing at her. The cluster looked nothing like the animal…

"...An archer."

Sakura muffled a giggle – she had been completely off with that one. "On a horse?"

"No."

"Whoops."

"There," Sasuke's hand changed direction.

"Uh… it's a fish?"

"Sakura," he lightly censured, unimpressed.

"But it looks like one!" she protested. "See, there's its little tail and-"

"It's a boat."

"Well… they're both related to water," she defended.

Sasuke let out another derisive snort. "That one," he quizzed next, pointing to their far right.

They went on, identifying different constellations, with Sakura guessing – some guesses wilder than others - and Sasuke affirming or correcting her. She asked him questions about individual clusters, what their stories were. Sasuke's answers were concise and to the point – but Sakura was just happy that she was getting responses. She was so engrossed in star-gazing that she didn't even realise that they'd somehow ended up sitting closer together, their arms brushing against one another.

When she began yawning, Sakura thought nothing of it. Her questions gradually grew further and further apart, until a heavy sleepiness began to weigh her eyelids down, causing her to hum nonsensically to the current explanation Sasuke was giving about some mighty warrior.

"That's nice," she mumbled, smiling slightly as blissful slumber crept in, holding out a secure blanket of pleasant warmth which began to fall cosily over her.

Sasuke's eyebrows drew together. He'd just told her the cause of the warrior's death – being torn to pieces by a ferocious tiger. Clearly she wasn't paying attention.

Perhaps it was the physical exertion of the Kraken battle finally catching up to her. Sakura told herself that she would just close her eyes for a few seconds and rest for a bit… just for a little while, and then she'd be as fresh as a daisy…

A soft bump on his left shoulder alerted the death deity to the fact that she had fallen fast asleep. He blinked, looking down at where her head rested snugly against him. She was breathing steadily, a contented little smile on her face.

 _Hn._ _Annoying._

But even as he thought it, the frown that had been lingering on his features softened at the sight of her, sleeping so soundly by his side.

Clearly she'd had a little _too_ much excitement for one day.

"…" Sasuke's eyes then lowered to where her right hand rested in position on the grass, splayed open between them.

So small. Her wrist was so slender and fine-boned. So _fragile._ Yet he had seen her toss rocks as if they'd weighed nothing when utilising his chakra against the Kraken. _  
_

His fingers brushed gently over her palm. Silently he placed his left hand over hers.

* * *

After returning to the palace and leaving Sakura sleeping cosily in her bed, Sasuke departed to the surface, the Helm of Darkness rendering him invisible to the eyes of mortals and deities alike. He had a very specific purpose and individual in mind, and it didn't take his soul-tracking abilities long to locate the person he wanted.

When he materialised, he found himself inside a large, dark, damp cave. South-east of Konoha, he noted, hidden deep beneath an unremarkable mountain. He walked noiselessly forward in the shadows, following the curve of the rocky tunnel into which he'd teleported. A strange smell filled the musty air; Sasuke was unable to immediately place it. Eventually he spied an opening ahead, from which glowed a dim light. The sound of machinery and bubbling water reached his ears as he ventured curiously closer. Stepping through the opening in the cavern wall, he froze at the alien sight that met his eyes.

The area was illuminated by eerie, blue and green light and filled with rows and rows of large, water-filled cylinders, holding all manner of animals inside. Some of them were in worse shape than others. Some Sasuke could not even identify, for they were altered too much beyond their natural states. As he walked through another aisle, he saw, much to his shock, that unconscious humans were being held in the containers, too.

 _What is this…?_ His eyes followed the lines of slender tubes attached to the bodies of the scantily clad, sickly looking people, connected to smaller containers outside which churned neon blue and green liquid through their veins. There were incision marks and bruises on their limbs and torsos. Oxygen masks sustained their breathing, connected to canisters next to each glass chamber.

The people ranged from the young to the elderly, men and women and children whose hearts he could see beating – but who were in a comatose state.

It was like a freakish science experimentation lab. But where were the mad scientists?

Sasuke's eyes then caught sight of a naked being completely unlike the others, contained within a larger chamber stored some distance away from the rest. A tall, skinny man – or at least, the death deity _assumed_ it was a man – the reality was that it appeared androgynous in form. The entire _thing's_ body was pitch-black. It was more like a shadow than a person.

Sasuke stared at it in refined disgust. He could only make out holes where the eyes were, and couldn't discern ears, a nose or a mouth. What in the world _was_ it? The plastic tubes sticking out of its limbs were pumping a blackish-red substance. It wasn't blood, the God of Death was startled to realise. The consistency was entirely wrong. It was something else-

"Yesss… you are ready."

His eyes widened as a voice echoed in the space, coming from his far left. He knew that voice. He could recognise it anywhere, anytime, at any place. As he slunk away from the shadowy test subject, the individual he had been seeking rasped on.

"You've disciplined your mind well, Kabuto. Your body is ready to accept the sample."

As Sasuke rounded the aisle he'd been traversing, he found a large work station, complete with computers, monitors and an impressive range of magnifying equipment. All manner of medical equipment and sterilising autoclaves rested tidily on two desks. There were also three large, cuboid blocks of stone, upon which were placed dead bodies. It reminded Sasuke of a human morgue. Suddenly he understood what the unpleasant smell was; decay mixed with strong disinfectant and other more unnatural chemicals.

Sitting on a chair beside one of the stone tables was Kabuto. His shirt was removed, and Sasuke saw strange marks on his torso. Beside him stood the snake Orochimaru, dressed in a black robe and holding a syringe in his hand with green liquid, his serpentine smile widening when the human doctor extended his right arm willingly.

Remaining safely out of sight – not that he needed to – behind the last aisle of test cylinders, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, wanting to identify the nature of the liquid Orochimaru was clearly about to inject into Kabuto.

A poisonous drug. Orochimaru's signature venom – mixed with something else even more sinister. Kabuto was about to accept poison into his bloodstream – and the fool seemed fully aware of that fact, too. Sickened, Sasuke could only listen on, his mind racing frantically to understand just _what_ in the world was happening.

"I know I can tolerate it, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto nodded. "And if my body accepts it, and we can utilise the DNA from my cells, then we'll be one step closer to merging Black Zetsu with its white counterpart."

 _Black Zetsu?_ Sasuke inadvertently glanced back in the direction of the shadowy figure in the glass chamber behind him. He'd seen the white ones that had attacked Tsunade and Shizune before. Did Orochimaru and Kabuto mean to unite the two different coloured species?

To what effect? What were they – and Cronus - _planning_?

"That is correct," Orochimaru released a rattling laugh. "Just think, Kabuto. You are taking not only the first steps to a breakthrough in the human world, but the first steps to immortality!"

Kabuto began to laugh. It didn't sound quite sane. Sasuke watched, appalled, as Orochimaru lifted the syringe and injected it into the brainwashed doctor's arm. Kabuto laughed the entire way through, and Orochimaru's smile only became even more gleeful. Repulsed, Sasuke looked away – only to spot another opening to their far left.

With Kabuto's manic laughter echoing behind him, Sasuke made his way to the opening. As he slipped inside, he saw humungous shelves lining the back wall of the space. There were eight of them, extending the entire length of the small room. On each shelf were fifteen jars containing colourless liquid.

Kabuto''s laughter had now turned to pain-filled groans. Sasuke blocked the unsettling sound out and moved closer to inspect the jars more carefully. Even as his mind immediately recognised what he was looking at, even as horror kicked in, it still took a few stunned seconds to really register what he was seeing.

In each jar were single or pairs of eyeballs.

 _Sharingan_ eyeballs.

Sasuke's heart did something it hadn't done since the day his clan had been massacred. It plummeted straight to his feet.

* * *

Sakura stifled a yawn and stretched lazily in bed, staring up at the canopy, her body relaxed. She remembered closing her eyes in Elysium. The next time she'd opened them, she'd found herself back in her room.

 _I fell asleep when Sasuke was talking to me,_ she recalled. How had what she'd intended to be just a few seconds of shut-eye turned into a full-blown sleep-fest?

It was the Kraken battle, she knew. The effects of channelling foreign chakra. She sighed as she sat up and got out of bed. Somehow her dress hadn't crinkled in sleep. She distractedly mused whether this had something to do with the handiwork of the skilled nymphs that had woven her gowns.

Smoothing back her hair, Sakura found her thoughts immediately turning to Sasuke. Obviously he had carried her back; where was he now, she wondered?

She mulled over their time in Elysium. She had enjoyed herself there; but why did she feel so _guilty_ about it? Why was it such a bad thing, that she had found their conversation beneath the stars pleasant?

If she remained in her room, Sakura knew she would just guilt-trip herself until she felt sick. She didn't _want_ to think about how she was losing her senses. As she exited her chamber, she met Ume in the hallway, who informed her that Sasuke had left while she'd been asleep to take care of business outside.

Apprehension filled her. Would Suigetsu choose this moment to tell her to execute their plan? After all, he said they'd do so when Sasuke left the palace. She had to avoid anything with water. She didn't want him catching her again so soon.

She went first to the drawing room, where she had a go at re-playing the starting notes of Sasuke's mother's tune. She managed the first six – then pathetically gave up and started making up her own tune instead. It was anything but impressive. Then she wandered through the art gallery, spending a while looking at paintings she hadn't examined before. She returned to the entrance hall, where Chizu told her that the Master had still yet to return.

Sakura huffed, thinking of what to do. Then it hit her with a smile. She'd go and pay her lovely horse a visit. There was a shortcut to the stables from the front of the palace. She'd go that way.

"I'm going to see Eos," Sakura let Chizu know, who offered to accompany her. Seeing the chores the maid had to do, Sakura told her not to worry, and left through the palace's front doors.

As she walked down the black marble steps, she found herself contemplating how familiar everything in Sasuke's palace had become to her. She knew where most of everything was, with the exception of a few doors on the second floor she had yet to investigate and most of the sweeping towers and walkways between them. But she didn't want to go stumbling into such far up places without Sasuke's consent. She certainly didn't want a repeat of what had happened in the shrine room.

Finishing the stairs, she glanced automatically up at the long, tree lined path leading to the palace gates - only to freeze dead on the spot, her heart plunging to her feet in stunned astonishment as her gaze settled on a thoroughly unexpected sight.

Slightly widened, inky black eyes blinked back at her in equal surprise. But they didn't belong to Sasuke; they were set in a face she had never imagined she would ever encounter in the Underworld. A face that belonged to the life she had been stolen away from on the surface.

 _I'm seeing things,_ was the first absurd thought to drift through Sakura's head, even when she knew categorically that she wasn't. The individual standing in front of her was no illusion. For a long minute she simply gawked in open-mouthed shock at the alabaster-skinned youth.

Feeling the odd need to dispel the awkward silence, the young man decided to pay her a sincere compliment, offering a mechanical smile that lacked genuine humour.

"Hello, Ugly."

Whilst she might have been affronted at the impolite term of address under normal circumstances, on this instance the insult sailed completely over Sakura's head.

She exhaled shakily in disbelief. It took her a few attempts to find her voice. Finally she managed to choke out, " _Sai?"_

She looked remarkably well, Sai thought to himself. An intense feeling flooded through him – was it called _relief?_ Naruto had been right; Sasuke had evidently not hurt her.

"It's a risk," he said solemnly. "But I had to see for myself that you were unharmed."

Sakura's heart thundered. Her head was spinning, thoughts cycling in a dizzying whirl of confusion and turmoil. How was he even there? How had he _found_ her? The incredible relief, comfort and indescribable joy of seeing someone from the surface again – even if it was the strange Sai - was significantly dampened by the terrifying anticipation of Sasuke's imminent return to the palace. She had a feeling he wouldn't be so happy to find her conversing with Sai. Sakura cast a nervous glance down the empty path behind him.

"Sai," she gaped, shaking her head at him in bewilderment. "What are you _doing_ here?" Snapping out of her frozen state, she rushed forward to him. He didn't look like the souls that arrived at the palace for an audience with Sasuke – but she needed to make absolutely sure her eyes weren't playing cruel tricks on her.

Reaching out after just a second's hesitation, she grasped him beneath his shoulders, her fingers closing around the fabric of his jacket. He was solid. "You really are alive," she breathed – which only made the mystery of his appearance even more baffling. "Then how are you here?"

Sai was silent for a moment, before replying softly, "I see. He has not told you."

Her eyebrows drew together. Did he mean _Sasuke_? But that was impossible. Why would _Sai_ speak of him? How would he even know about the death deity? The Underworld and its king were only visible to the deceased – and Sai was most certainly still alive.

"What? What hasn't he told me?" she echoed, letting go of him at last. "Sai, what's going on? How did you _get_ here?"

"Through the gates," he replied simply.

"But _how_?" she pressed. "You're not dead."

"No," he agreed. Mentally, he assured himself that he soon would be.

"You mean Sasuke knows you're here?"

The same emotionless smile graced his lips. "Actually, I snuck in." He closed his eyes, his smile spreading.

Sakura was dismayed. He had done _what?_ How in the world had he managed such a thing? Her gaze flicked behind him, even more anxious of Sasuke's arrival.

"Sai," she began, appalled. "How could you do that? Do you realise where you are? Do you even know what this place _is?"_

"Yes," his eyes opened again. "Being a Messenger, I'm able to enter the Underworld to carry out my purpose."

A messenger? Her puzzlement was growing by the second.

"What are you talking about?"

When Sai just stared blankly down at her, Sakura's frustration at his lack of answers rocketed, and her temper flared. "Sasuke could come back at any second! If he finds out you've snuck in here-!" She broke off. The thought was too terrible to continue.

Sai, however, looked awfully calm and remarkably unconcerned given the real peril he was in.

"How do you know about the Underworld?" Sakura followed, like a journalist grilling a speaker at a press conference. "Who sent you here?"

Then a possibility suddenly struck her, causing her to inhale sharply.

Sai had always been an odd misfit on the surface. She remembered the flower field he had shown her shortly before she had been abducted in one. He'd said something to her about having dreams, drawing the visions he saw.

Did he have some form of divine power, too? As weird as Sai had always been, Sakura never could have anticipated that her _classmate_ might harbour a dark secret of his own.

"Sai," she exhaled, dreading to hear the answer her heart already seemed convinced it knew. Because if her suspicions were correct, then there surely had to others like him living above. "Are you… even human?"

His eyes lowered. "I am sorry, Sakura," he apologised. "It was wrong for me to come this far. I went against my orders."

She wasn't about to let him weasel his way out of it.

"Answer me!" she grabbed hold of his shoulders again, shaking him slightly, her eyes shining with tears. She could feel her fragile composure slipping rapidly. All she could think about at that moment was the people she had left behind; Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, Ino, her _mother._

Her mother, who had always given her an ambrosia-tasting medicine to suppress the attacks Sasuke had informed her were no medical occurrences.

She hadn't wanted to dwell on how her ever-youthful mother might have gotten hold of the wine of the gods before. Now the only likely conclusion was impossible to ignore. Sakura felt sick to her stomach. If Sai gave her the response she was expecting to hear, then _how many more?_ How many more people on the surface were there, with undisclosed secrets just like him?

"Sai," her voice trembled, her thoughts fragmenting. "You came because you knew that I was here. You _knew._ You've known the second you showed me your drawing of the field, haven't you?" She was too angry to think straight anymore. _"Haven't you!"_

"Sakura-" he held up his hands, unable to provide her with the information she so desperately needed. "I-"

"And Sasuke!" she cut him off. "You couldn't possibly know about him or this place if you were human!" Her voice was rising. She didn't care. Everything seemed to be spiralling out of control.

Sai's silence only confirmed her theory, leaving her distraught. She ran a hand stressfully through her tresses, shaking her head in disbelief.

"What's the date?" she suddenly demanded, one of the most burning questions she had been yearning to know taking precedence over everything else for a moment. At his silence, she reached out to shake him again. "Damn it, Sai, _what day is it?!"_

For a terrible moment, Sai looked like he had lost his voice. Finally he managed hesitantly, as if he didn't understand why she would ask such a seemingly obvious question, "Today is Wednesday. June 25th."

Sakura's heart dropped as her brain rapidly did the maths. She had been kidnapped in early March. It was approaching _four months._

She was no longer eighteen.

Her hands slipped from Sai and fell limply by her sides. Sasuke had not even informed her. She found herself wondering about that time, when he had gifted a bracelet to her… had it been a random present, or had he given it to her for her birthday?

Nausea churned her gut. "Oh, God," she said faintly, feeling smothered. Her brain was struggling to process everything; how long she had been in Sasuke's Kingdom for, Sai showing up out of the blue, knowing about the Underworld which made him even more abnormal than she'd initially suspected. Was it possible that she had really been with Sasuke for that long? Should she have really been surprised, when it felt to her like she'd been underground for so much longer…?

"I've been here for nearly four months," she whispered. Her eyes burned from the shocked tears that she refused to allow to fall. Crying would do no good. Sasuke had succeeded in nailing that truth through her skull at the start. But for all the growth she had undergone under his watchful tutelage, Sakura felt at that moment like she was vulnerable and on the verge of falling apart all over again.

"I'm sorry," Sai apologised once more. He seemed genuinely apologetic, which came as another surprise to Sakura. She had always imagined him to be so devoid of feelings. But she had obviously been wrong about him. She had been wrong about a lot of things.

She raised her left palm to her forehead, trying to restore some semblance of order to the chaos ricocheting around in her throbbing head. Freaking out did no good. She needed to calm down and regroup - fast. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to do just that, composing herself to ask who had sent Sai with a message again.

Sai's heart had started to pound. She had said Sasuke wasn't in; the fact that he'd managed to get so far in the Underworld was testament to that truth. He'd bypassed the boat, instead making his own way across the river using ink-summons from the twin scrolls he'd packed at his waist.

A hazardous idea formed in his mind. If he were to summon a bird before Sasuke returned, then maybe, just _maybe,_ he could take Sakura back to the surface himself. He could be a hero, and finally repay the debt he owed to Tsunade.

He reached out, taking hold of Sakura's right arm. "Sakura. Come with me."

Her eyes widened in alarm as he tugged at her. "What?"

"If we move quickly, we can reach-"

The rest of his words were never spoken. A sudden dark blur intercepted, tearing Sai's grip ruthlessly from Sakura's forearm. Before Sakura's mind could catch up to what was happening, she had been shoved bodily away from her pale classmate and behind the barrier of a broad back.

"Trespassing," Sasuke's voice was hard ice, chilling Sakura to the bone. "Your final mistake, _Messenger."_

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. The fury coiling around his body was clearly palpable from the tense lines of his shoulders. His potent, deadly chakra signature pulsated around him, crackling with suffocating ill intent. Sakura's heart had never pounded so hard.

But she wasn't afraid for herself. She was frightened for _Sai._

The death deity was livid. He had been caught completely off-guard after seeing the contents of Orochimaru's freak testing laboratory on the surface. And the shocking discovery of the eyeball-filled jars had made him tune out everything else as his enraged and preoccupied thoughts had turned to just _how_ the serpentine daemon _filth_ had acquired copies of his Clan's prestigious blood-limit organs. Each jar had been labelled with the names of different relatives, those of which Sasuke had recognised as having possessed notable Sharingan abilities.

It had been the sight of five empty jars that had caused pandemonium to explode inside him. In that sickening moment, Sasuke had forgotten about Sakura, about _everything_ else.

_Uchiha Sasuke._

_Uchiha Itachi._

_Uchiha Shisui._

_Uchiha Obito._

_Uchiha Madara._

Sasuke had been so distracted by his dreadful findings, that he had only realised something was amiss in his Kingdom once he had returned to it.

It had been a thoroughly uncharacteristic error on his part. Perhaps he'd grown a little too sure of Sakura's status in his realm. But he had to hand it to the fool standing before him; Sai had chosen the opportune moment to infiltrate his Kingdom; something he could only do because of his role as a news-carrier between the gods.

He wondered just how much the idiot had revealed to Sakura. Sasuke then told himself it didn't matter; in a matter of minutes, Sai would no longer even exist.

Sakura saw the way his murderous gaze caused Sai to flinch back.

"G-Great God," Sai spoke unevenly, confirming to Sakura that he not only knew about Sasuke, but seemed to be on quite familiar terms with him. "I came with a message…"

Sasuke sneered at him. At the gut-twisting moment he'd returned to the Underworld and immediately sensed the Messenger, he'd teleported straight back to Sakura's position, just in time to hear Sai propose leaving his realm with her in tow.

' _You came to take her.'_ He communicated mentally, loading each thought word with venomous hatred.

Sai winced. ' _No. I came to tell you that Naruto wishes to meet with you right away._ Summoning the courage he needed to complete the rest of the message, Sai braced himself and went on: _He and Kakashi know that Sakura is here-'_

Sasuke's eyes widened in unadulterated rage. _'You spoke.'_

' _No! No, I didn't, I swear. Naruto somehow figured it out on his own- he insists that you meet him; he's waiting for me to return. He told me to tell you that if you refuse to speak with him, Kakashi will inform the others of Sakura's whereabouts, and-_

The telepathic connection was abruptly and painfully severed. Sasuke wanted to hear no more as his irises bled to crimson, the circle of his wrath complete.

"Sakura," Sasuke intoned, the sudden emptiness echoing in his voice alarming her. "Leave us."

She tensed at the instruction, her eyes darting worriedly to Sai, who, impossibly, seemed even paler than usual. Her hands balled into fists. No! She couldn't possibly leave Sai alone, not after Sasuke had uttered such threatening words. Not when she still needed to understand what the _hell_ was going on, and just how the two knew each other.

Heart thundering, she dared to defy the death deity.

"No. I won't move until I get some answers!"

She saw Sai's eyes widen at her in astonished disbelief, a split-second before a displeased Sasuke rumbled darkly, menacingly, "Then watch him die."

Sakura's heart lurched. Just like that, Sai suddenly tensed, his hands flying to his throat as he began to choke on nothing but air. Sakura gasped fearfully, appalled, as she watched him struggle for breath, his face growing paler and paler, until his lips began to turn an alarmingly bruised shade of blue.

Sasuke hadn't even lifted a single finger. It was a frightening reminder of the fatal power he commanded.

 _No!_ Sakura's lips parted in wordless horror. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing. Suigetsu had assured her that gods didn't end lives on a whim, just because they held a grudge.

Evidently, however, Sasuke did _not_ play by any rules but his own.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed. "Stop!"

But Sasuke did not. His eyes narrowed, a cruel, sadistic smirk twisting one corner of his lips as he toyed with the helpless Messenger's pathetic life. Sai tried desperately to grab at the scrolls at his waist, but failed without the oxygen required to function correctly. He staggered unsteadily on his feet, before buckling to his knees, crippled in position on the ground.

When blood began to pour from his mouth and drip from his nose, pure terror crashed into Sakura.

"Sasuke!" she cried aghast, her hands rising to her cheeks in mindless panic. "Stop it! _Please!_ You're _killing_ him!"

Sasuke's sinister smirk deepened. That was _precisely_ the point.

"I'll end you," he hissed, stalking forward towards where Sai was doubled over on the ground in agony, wheezing, his burning lungs feeling as though they were on the verge of bursting. Lightning energy screeched hostilely to life in the death deity's right hand as he closed in on his powerless victim.

Sai was dying before her very eyes and it was horrendous to watch. Sasuke didn't seem to hear her pleas, or even acknowledge her open distress.

 _What do I do?!_ Sakura's heart was beating so fast that her entire body quivered from its pounding force. What _could_ she do?! She was unarmed, and rooted to the spot by panic and a paralysing mixture of sickened horror, shock and fear.

This Sasuke was virtually unrecognisable to her. Never before had she seen this side to him. Even when she had first met him, even back when he had saved her from the harmful harpies in their nest, he hadn't radiated this sheer depth of malicious and murderous intent. Sasuke had always been deadly – but never outright _evil._ The lethal, malevolent, nightmarish aura surrounding him was black and menacing, aggressive and volatile beyond containment. It was nothing short of petrifying. He was in the mood for destruction, dismemberment. Injuring alone wouldn't satisfy him; he was blood thirsty, out to terminate life.

He was out to _kill._

Sai was coughing now, his lungs rattling as he spluttered, drooling blood and saliva on the path.

Sakura's eyes darted frantically from the ominous death deity to Sai's struggling form. Her entire body was quaking. Sudden thoughts of Sasuke, holding her close after the Kraken battle, his touch gentle and quietly concerned, drifted through the anarchy in her mind. It wouldn't match the image of the dangerous Sasuke she was looking at right then.

_This…_

She thought of Sasuke, pointing out constellations for her to identify, scowling when she guessed outrageously wrong. Her eyes began to well with tears.

_This isn't…_

She remembered Sasuke's smug, arrogant smirks during their sparring sessions. The way he was by her side the second she felt any pain. The uncertainty in his eyes, the way he'd held her when they'd danced together.

 _This isn't the Sasuke I know!_ The realisation exploded in her head and it finally jolted her violently out of her frozen state. This _wasn't_ the Sasuke who had shown her how to play the piano, or the Sasuke who had gifted her with Eos, his dark eyes waiting for her approval. It wasn't the same Sasuke who had played the harp to her and kissed her, who'd horse-raced with her and shown her diamond caverns, or the one for whom she had started to harbour such conflicting feelings.

This out of control _monster_ in his place was wholly unfamiliar to her. And that scared her beyond anything.

He had lifted his right hand, the electricity in it flaring blindingly. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he drew his arm back, preparing to impale Sai straight through the heart.

"NO!" Sakura's scream was blood-curdling. She bolted forward using the only weapon she could to physically halt him – her own body. Her arms opened as she ran towards him, sobbing, tears streaming down her cheeks. "SASUKE, _STOP!_ "

She flung herself at him, throwing her arms around his sides, locking her hands firmly above his midsection as she pressed her face into his back. With her heart, with every fibre of her being, she willed him to snap out of his wild state of blood-lust. She succeeded in trapping his arms by his sides, feeling the freezing, electrifying static of the jags of lightning in his right hand snaking precariously close to her skin.

The tug of resistance caused something to shift in Sasuke's mind. He blinked in surprise, caught off guard, slowly becoming aware of soft warmth behind him. The _Chidori_ stream in his palm flickered, diminishing in intensity as he turned his head left to glance back over his shoulder.

Sakura's left eye stared up at him, red-rimmed from the well of tears she was still shedding. He watched as they rolled down her damp, pale cheeks. She was clutching onto him tightly with all her strength, her body trembling violently against his.

"Please…" she whimpered. Her attempt at speaking was briefly broken by a heavy, sobbing breath that escaped her lips, before she continued in a pleading whisper, "Sasuke. Please… stop…"

He'd been so intent on terminating his prey, so hell-bent on tearing Sai's heart out, that he had almost completely forgotten that Sakura was still there. The sight of her stricken features, the way her terrified body was shaking against him… he exhaled, feeling something inside him wrench.

She was frightened. Of _him._ Sasuke could see the fear clearly in her weeping, distressed gaze.

Then he became conscious of how precariously close the skin of her bare arm was to the _Chidori_ crackling in his palm. The ebb of lightning in his palm blinked before snuffing abruptly out. Slowly, the red haze that had pulled over his vision began to clear. He only became aware of how far gone he had been when he suddenly came to terms with how hard his chest was heaving.

Sakura's legs almost collapsed in relief when Sai at last managed to take a full breath, gasping and clawing at the ground beneath his fingertips. His entire body was shaking from strain as Sasuke finally relinquished his merciless grip on Sai's respiratory system.

A dreadful, weighty silence hung in the air, mingled with the sound of Sai's laboured attempts at inhaling oxygen and Sakura's lingering sniffles.

When Sasuke finally spoke, his voice was callously cold - and tight with restraint.

"Get out of my sight," he hissed at Sai, who immediately moved to obey, struggling to his feet with great difficulty, too dazed from air deprivation to initially comprehend the astounding fact that Sakura had actually succeeded in changing Sasuke's decision to slaughter him – at least temporarily.

Fresh tears blurred Sakura's vision as she watched Sai stumble unseeingly and unsteadily away. She knew she could do no more; she had to trust that Sasuke would allow him to leave the Underworld unharmed.

The further Sai limped away, the more he felt the function and strength return to his body. He didn't dare to look back, to push his luck any further. His thoughts were consumed with the shocking realisation that Sakura had saved his life.

 _You live on my whim,_ Sasuke's voice then stabbed into his mind, sending icy pain searing through him. _Set foot inside my Kingdom again and_ _nothing_ _will stop me._

The threat and promise in the words was unmistakeable. Sasuke would crush him if he ever entered the Underworld in future and Sai had the nagging feeling that not even Sakura would succeed in helping him a second time.

Sai nodded, wheezing, too numb to form a coherent response. But Sasuke wasn't quite done yet.

 _And_ _Naruto_ _…_ the name was snarled with such intense loathing, that Sai dry-heaved, tripping over his feet before dragging himself up again as Sasuke finished dangerously, _I'll be_ _waiting_ _._


	45. Chapter XLIV

**Chapter XLIV  
**

* * *

_In truth, I find,_

_Naught but death,_

_My lungs are stricken,_

_Spent of breath,_

_For Fate has sealed my endless qualm,_

_So fragile the Flower,_

_That rests in my palm._

* * *

As Sai's vulnerable form continued to limp and stagger away, an anxious Sakura fought against the inner-medic instincts that were positively screaming at her to do something to help ease his discomfort. Would he even make it to the river bank in his pain-crippled state? She wanted nothing more than to rush after him, to make sure he could manage. But she didn't dare to move. Somehow, she just couldn't bring her arms to release their grip on Sasuke.

Perhaps it was the remnants of shock still clinging to her that were responsible for how firmly she continued to hold onto him. Or perhaps it was the sudden, displacing feeling that he was the only real, physical anchor keeping her overwhelmed thoughts from being swept away by the crashing tides of chaos.

A tense silence settled between them, in which Sakura willed her racing heart to calm its frenzied rhythm. It wouldn't. Neither would her mind cease its relentless spinning. And it was only when Sai's form had completely vanished beyond the mist-warding gates and out of their sight that the death deity finally broke the uncomfortable hush.

"Sakura." Her name was drawled as silkily as ever, but Sasuke's tone remained decidedly icy. "Let go," he ordered bluntly.

His hands, she noted, were balled into tight fists; a sure sign that his displeasure still lingered. Swallowing nervously, she finally compelled her arms to slip out from around him.

An inwardly seething Sasuke remained motionless, glaring ahead. _Nobody_ stayed his hand. Nobody ever dared. He was uneasy and outraged in equal measures that Sakura's tears had actually affected him enough to not only succeed in making him halt, but also reversed his decision to tear the wretched messenger boy's soul out.

He had spared Sai's life. It wasn't the act of her crying, he realised, which was the root of the problem. It was the unsettling realisation that she held some manner of influence over him – and he'd inadvertently let her become aware of it, too.

Sakura wondered how best to proceed. She had a multitude of questions and wanted an explanation for the dreadful scene she had just witnessed. Just what darkness had come over Sasuke? She decided to play it safe, however, to test the murky waters by beginning with a soothing expression of gratitude instead of confronting him head on.

When she cautiously attempted to thank Sasuke for allowing Sai to live, the death deity's inner frustration and resentment only crested.

"Sasuke," she began awkwardly, trying to level her voice. "Thank you for-"

The remainder of the sentence caught in her throat when he interjected, " _Never_ interfere."

Sakura shook her head, momentarily speechless. Had he honestly thought that she would just stand by as he murdered her _classmate_ in cold blood? She wouldn't ever allow it to happen to a stranger, much less to someone she personally knew!

It was enough to chase away the last of her hesitation. So much for playing it safe; unable to keep herself from demanding a justification for his alarming behaviour a second longer, she exclaimed in a mixture of anger and disbelief, "Did you expect me to just stand back and watch? You were going to _kill_ him, Sasuke!"

He spun around swiftly to face her, dark irises hurtling daggers. Sakura lifted her chin and met his gaze as squarely as she could. The fatal haze of red and the smothering black chakra aura surrounding him had cleared – but a disgruntled Sasuke was still a dangerous and unpredictable one.

"He _deserves_ it," Sasuke clipped.

Sakura blinked, startled and utterly appalled. For a terrible minute, she couldn't form a response. This wasn't the side to the death deity she wanted to reach out to and discover more about; it wasn't the part that fascinated her, the one which she had begun to see tentative glimmers of hidden deeply beneath the many protective layers he cocooned closely around the very essence of who he truly was.

This was his other, uglier side; the impulsive one that had abducted her without a care for the consequences. This self-centred, condescending, heartlessly unfeeling facet of his personality had just about pushed her to the edge of her limits. Suddenly Sakura was inwardly fuming at what gave him the _right_ to treat others so deplorably, with absolutely no consideration for anybody else's emotions and wellbeing other than his own.

For this Sasuke, only _his_ opinion was the one that mattered. He was _always_ right. His wants and desires took precedence over everything else. He walked around with a superiority complex that was larger than the Underworld itself – and Sakura _had had enough._

Just like that, she erupted. The panic and terror of witnessing his murderous streak were all at once overshadowed by the magnitude of how upset and utterly _frustrated_ she felt at coming up against a dead-end, a blank wall with him over and over and _over_ again. Her temper flared; she'd had enough of his selfishness and callousness – _someone_ had to take a stand and make him realise that he couldn't just go around treating others like they were merely pawns on his personal chessboard – pawns he could manipulate and discard at will. And a frowning Sakura figured she had a better chance than most – she was equipped and ready to face his wrath with her own.

"He _deserves_ it?" she echoed. "What gives you the _right_ to play with people's lives like this, Sasuke?"

When he simply continued to stare aloofly and unrepentantly at her, she ranted on, "You can't go around treating other people like they're nothing just because you believe you're better and more important than everyone else!"

Sasuke blinked, inwardly incredulous, even as his outer expression remained stony. Was she actually _reprimanding_ him? She actually _dared_ to reproach _him,_ the God of Death?

It was utterly preposterous for him to hear. But the mesmerising flames of defiance he could see burning in her emerald eyes made it impossible for him to look away or to interrupt her.

"You-" Sakura's spiking anger caused her words to lodge briefly in her throat for a moment, before she exploded, "You can't kill someone just because you _feel_ like it! You can't just go around destroying things on some- some careless whim! These are human _lives_!" She pointed an accusatory index finger at him. "You're the King of the _Underworld;_ aren't you supposed to be safeguarding the dead rather than _adding_ to their numbers?!"

She had worked herself up into quite a state – but Sakura couldn't stop the words that were pouring out of her mouth. Months – almost _four_ to be precise– of keeping silent were pushing their way up to the surface, like red-hot lava rising in the craters of a rumbling volcano.

"You can't go around bullying and belittling others because you think their feelings are insignificant and don't matter in comparison to yours! That's not the way the world works, Sasuke!"

 _What are you saying, you lunatic?_ A small, dismayed voice whispered nervously in her head, staggered by her tantrum. _You're_ _telling a_ _god_ _how the world works? Like you actually have a clue in comparison to his divine knowledge? Are you actually_ _listening_ _to how ridiculous you sound? He's been lenient, letting you rabbit on for this long at him. Maybe if you shut up now, he'll change his mind about aiming a Chidori straight through your thick skull-_

She crossly ignored it, booting it resolutely out of her mind. If she wanted to hammer her point home, there was absolutely no room for doubt.

"They _do_ matter!" she cried, relentlessly continuing her verbal onslaught. " _Sai's_ feelings matter. _My_ feelings matter! And do you want to know what I felt when I saw you lose control?" Not waiting for him to respond, she exclaimed, "I felt terrified! I was _afraid_ of you – for you! I felt like I was looking at a _monster_!"

_Monster._

The word reverberated thunderously in his skull.

_Monster._

It struck him like a physical blow, harsher than anything else she had ever thrown at him. Sasuke felt something inside him twist, as if the slicing blade of a serrated knife was being driven deep inside his chest. He wanted to tell her to _shut up –_ that she had _no idea_ of the history he and Sai shared – of the countless messages Sai had relayed that had contributed to the demise of his clan – but it was his tongue's turn to be tied in the face of her fiery outburst. For the first time in an age, Sasuke was rendered _speechless_ by a woman.

He had seen several glimpses of this feisty, assertive Sakura. He had always known she was slumbering somewhere deep within the outer shells of decorum and insecurity. It had been the Sakura he had wanted to coax out during their sparring sessions, the spirited one that was both exciting and unpredictable. Now he was being treated to a full-on spectacle and Sasuke didn't know whether he was utterly incensed by the fact that _he_ was actually being lectured - or thoroughly impressed by how far she had come, by the indisputable display of courage he was witnessing.

"I didn't recognise you, Sasuke!" Her voice was close to breaking, trembling along with the rest of her body. "You made me think of the monster I believed you were when I first woke up here. Before you began to show me that you're _not_!"

His disbelief was complete. How could she think such a thing? He'd abducted her, kept her in his world against her will – fed her the Forbidden Fruit, of which she was still so blissfully ignorant - and she _still_ didn't consider him to be a villain?

Another painful wrench inside - the closest he had ever come to unacknowledged _guilt._ Because she didn't understand that he _was_ a monster. An avenger. Someone who had only ever been good at maiming and destroying. How could Sakura even begin to entertain otherwise, _especially_ after everything he had done to her?

It was ludicrous, but typical of her goodness - Sasuke thought to himself, swallowing back the bitterness in his throat - to try to seek out the best in others. It had been one of the many things that had drawn him unwillingly to her from the outset. She hopefully tried to find even the faintest glimmers of righteousness in everyone and everything – even if they were already damned and didn't deserve her unwavering kindness or faith.

"You're not," she repeated, panting to catch her breath. The outburst had left her feeling emotionally spent– but much lighter.

It then occurred to Sakura that he had actually stood there listening to every word and allowed her to _finish._ He hadn't incinerated her on the spot. She was still alive, after everything she had verbally thrown at him. And the relief of speaking her mind at last felt absolutely _wonderful._

But she could see all too clearly that listening to her hadn't been easy for Sasuke's pride and he had _not_ liked what he'd heard. His jaw was set tightly, and so were the fists at his sides. To her surprise, however, he didn't look the least bit taken aback by her tirade. Perhaps, Sakura told herself, he had been anticipating and waiting for this detonation since the very start.

Seeing that she was done, the death deity stepped closer to her.

"Aren't I, Sakura?" he demanded, as if testing the confidence of her opinion, his voice tense with enforced restraint once again. "Are you forgetting everything I've done?"

Still she stood her ground, remaining staunchly in position. Her eyes shimmering with fresh tears, she answered back pointedly, "You let him live."

The lie that followed through clenched teeth was an automatic defence mechanism - one which rejected a reality that unsettled Sasuke greatly.

"I didn't do it for you."

But despite the vehement force of his words, Sakura knew better than to believe him. _Something_ in her expression had helped to snap him out of his vindictive attempt at terminating Sai's life. There was no other explanation. Had she not summoned the bravery required to place her own wellbeing in danger and intervene, she knew for certain that she would have been staring at Sai's bloodied corpse on the ground instead.

"You're not a monster," she insisted again with surprising conviction, the fresh tears in her eyes pooling, briefly blurring her vision. "I _know_ you're not."

Catching her chin between his thumb and index finger, he angled her face to look up at his, exhaling, "Then you're foolish, Sakura _."_

He was avoiding directly acknowledging her words, Sakura suddenly realised, the air stilling in her lungs all over again. He was on the defensive, trying to shun the fact that he had done the correct thing sparing Sai's life, concealing it behind a stubborn façade of arrogance and superiority.

"I know that deep down inside, you _know_ you did the right thing," she whispered, reaching out with a hand to touch his arm, trying to show him with her eyes just how much his decision to allow Sai to live truly meant to her.

Something flickered across his irises – and at that moment he almost _did_ seem taken aback as he read and acknowledged the look in her honest gaze. Then Sakura practically saw the angry denial shutter down over his features _._ However, he seemed to be genuinely unable to find anything more articulate to utter at that second other than a scornful, dismissive, "Tch."

He released his grip on her face in annoyance and stepped around her to climb the steps back up to the palace.

Sakura slowly breathed out. Had she finally gotten through to him? Was the lack of a cutting remark proof that he had truly _listened_? She could only hope so. Using the space between them, she rapidly collected her scattered thoughts. Sasuke had doubtlessly intended to kill Sai because he had infiltrated the Underworld without permission and because he'd likely overheard Sai's proposition that Sakura escape with him. But she still didn't understand just how the two knew each other. She had the nagging feeling that they shared a long and unpleasant history – and that the unexpected shocks were not over for her by any means.

The pressing need for answers – who and _what_ Sai was exactly, what message he had carried, and all the other things she desperately _had_ to find out ate away at any remaining trepidation inside her, replacing it with a burning fire that roared into being.

This time, she would not back down.

This time, Sasuke would tell her what she wanted to hear.

She whirled and hurried after the death deity, calling to him as he stalked across the entrance hall.

"Sasuke, wait!"

Her voice echoed with a resolution that made him blink. Gone was the uncertainty and tremor in her tone. In their place were persistence and determination, which only blackened his less than amiable mood further. He needed distance. He did not stop in his brisk stride as he entered the throne room, forcing Sakura to jog lightly to catch up to him.

"How does Sai know about you and this place?" she demanded, falling into step by his side.

The muscles in Sasuke's jaw tautened as he briefly tuned her out. His own thoughts were still preoccupied by the horror he had discovered in Orochimaru's laboratory – and just _how_ the moronic dead-last lump of stupidity that was Naruto had actually managed to figure out Sakura's whereabouts. Of all the mindless, brainless, incompetent deities out there, his arch-nemesis had been the one to solve the mystery of her kidnapping - when Sasuke had taken such extreme lengths to ensure he covered every single one of his tracks.

It was a painfully ironic twist of events. Sasuke felt like the Fates were laughing – at his expense.

"How do you know him?" Sakura's brain deployed each question on the tip of her tongue, firing them off at Sasuke like bullets. "He's known about me being here this entire time, hasn't he? For almost four months!"

It then dawned on her then that the death deity wasn't even listening. He was clearly distracted – which only made her even more frustrated. Slipping in front of him, she reached out, pressing her hands against his arms to physically halt him. The touch seemed to draw him out of his side-tracked state, for he blinked, his gaze finally focusing on her.

"He told me," said Sakura. "He told me it's almost July."

Her green eyes blazed with an emotion he had never seen in them before. Sasuke's own narrowed. He was regretting letting the foolish Messenger live already.

"It's true," she pressed. "Isn't it, Sasuke?"

He lifted his chin, glaring at her down the sharp blade of his nose. Finally he spat out, as if defying her to do anything about it, " _Yes._ "

Nearly four months of her surface life; Sasuke had taken that away from her and she could never get the lost time back. June 25th. Final exams would have ended, and Sakura ought to have been graduating to medical school after receiving her results.

"That bracelet you gave me," her voice grew quieter. "Was that my nineteenth birthday present?"

"…" Sasuke's eyes bore into hers, as cold and grey as hard steel. He did not answer. He didn't need to; Sakura already knew in her heart that it had been a personalised gift to mark the occasion.

She exhaled. As thoroughly upset as she was, the duration of her stay no longer seemed to be the most important issue. Whether four months or ten; it didn't change her current situation. What mattered more to her right then was just who Sai was – and who had sent him.

"And he knew I was here this entire time, didn't he?" Sakura was now clutching onto his arms tightly.

He was silent for a long moment. Then he repeated coldly, "Yes."

Sakura could feel her breathing quickening as she went on, "How does he know about this place?"

"…" She saw the tense line of Sasuke's lips. For a second she thought he was about to obstinately refuse to answer, but he surprised her by stating flatly, "He is a Messenger."

Sai had told her so himself. "What sort of messenger?"

"…" This time, Sasuke said nothing.

"How do you know him?" Sakura had the sudden urge to shake him. But a part of her was still afraid. People couldn't just do that to someone as intimidating and powerful as Sasuke.

He knew that Sakura had already figured out what Sai really was – it was just a matter of fully accepting it. What was the point of keeping from her what she already knew to be the truth?

"He delivers messages between deities," he disclosed.

Sakura's numbed mind rushed to process this. _Sai._ Her _classmate._ The pale-skinned, strange loner with his inappropriate remarks and blank smiles – to think that his true identity was a messenger between the gods…

The words that followed Sasuke's revelation might have been absurd before, but now Sakura spoke them without hesitation. "Is he a deity, too? Is that how he had the premonition of the flower field?"

Sasuke's irritation was increasing with every question she fired his way – but he wasn't angry with her. He was angry with _them._ _They_ had lied to her. _They_ had kept her in the dark – and now _he_ was expected to do all the explaining?

"Wait a minute," Sakura suddenly recalled something. "When he found me at the Carousel with Ino… he stayed behind." Releasing her breath in a whoosh of realisation, she finished, "Because he must have _known_ you'd been there. He knew, didn't he?"

She was cleverly starting to fill in the blanks. Sasuke didn't bother denying it. He wanted to give her the clarity she so desperately sought – but how could he, when he still didn't know the reasons behind Tsunade and the others' decision to keep everything from her? It wasn't the right time, he told himself; it wouldn't be as long as he didn't have the full picture, either.

That wouldn't be the case for long, he vowed to himself. He was going to get the whole truth from Naruto – even if he had to beat it out of the disgusting buffoon's chest.

Sakura's heart leapt. Sasuke wasn't confirming her suspicions – but neither was he denying them.

_So it's really true… Sai is a deity, as well._

Her head bowed, the weight of realisation like a crushing force bearing down on her shoulders. The hands at his arms fell away to rest limply by her sides. Sai wasn't who she had initially believed. Who else also harboured secrets like his? Suddenly her racing mind was throwing up all kinds of outrageous, wild theories, ones she never would have even contemplated before – and for a long minute Sakura wrestled to remain calm.

The next question was the most difficult for her to articulate. She'd asked it once before – but now it didn't want to leave her lips. She was scarcely aware of the fact that she had started shaking again. Her pulse was thumping out of control. A terrible feeling of nausea was creeping into her stomach.

"My mother," she whispered, not looking at Sasuke, her gaze fixed on her own two feet. "How does she have access to ambrosia?"

"…" Sasuke hesitated. If Sai's message held true, then Naruto would be arriving at the entrance to his realm soon. He couldn't have this conversation with Sakura before he had spoken to the fool – no matter how much he wanted to dispel all the lies she had been fed.

His continued silence was deafening. Sakura sucked in a sharp breath – before raising her eyes to Sasuke's face. His features were perfectly neutral, giving nothing away.

"Sasuke," she reached out to grip tightly onto the fabric above his chest. Her eyes welling with tears again, she demanded, her voice rising, " _How does my mother have it?!_ "

Sakura could feel her composure wavering. She knew she was rapidly losing her cool. Speaking the question aloud only made the single most conceivable answer all the more likely – and it sent her world lurching on its axis as she frantically found herself questioning _everything_ and everyone she had ever known. The way she'd always felt so over-protected. The way her mother had never allowed her to go anywhere on her own, without Naruto or Ino or someone else she trusted in tow.

The warm memory of her surface life, which had been a source of continuous comfort to her in the Underworld before, suddenly seemed fragile, as if spun from the most delicate of glass. The image was starting to splinter, fine cracks forming that threatened to smash everything she thought she had known completely.

"What aren't you telling me?!" she practically screamed at him, infuriated by the lack of clarity and emotion or _anything_ in his distant eyes. Overcome by rising hysteria, she did something extremely hazardous – something she never thought she'd ever have the courage to do.

She went against her earlier advice and _shook_ Sasuke.

That was when something finally flashed across his dark grey irises – something incredibly hostile – and dangerous. His left hand shot out, fast as a striking rattle snake, palm gripping onto the back of her neck as he jerked her forward, their faces a whisker apart.

" _I_ am not the one keeping secrets from you, Sakura," he hissed. His patience had reached its limit; she wasn't backing down and there was only one way to postpone the inconvenient confrontation.

Sakura's breath hitched. Before she could fully process the significance of his words, before she could do anything else, she found herself staring in muted shock at a spinning, crimson kaleidoscope; at a beautiful yet devastating six-pointed star that spun hypnotically, burning its ruthless command into her throbbing mind.

"Sasuke-!" Caught between furious indignation and dread, Sakura pushed against his hold, instantly recognising what he was doing. But his grip on her was like iron. Even as her brain began to slow down, distantly registering that it was already too late to save herself from the power of his Sharingan, she frantically fought to remain conscious. "No, I _won't_ sleep-!"

But the darkness of enforced unconsciousness was swift to rush up and claim her and seconds later, she fell into his waiting arms.

Sasuke clenched his jaw as he swept her up and carried her to the drawing room. Lowering her gently onto one of the elegant chaise longue chairs, he stood watching her for a moment. He knew she was upset that he'd cast sleep upon her, but he'd had no other option. She would wake up eventually; he had to make sure she remained within the confines of the palace when she came around.

The death deity turned and left the room then exited the palace, sealing the doors behind him as he did so. Nobody would enter and nobody would leave until he returned.

His mind was hell-bent on one purpose and one alone. He was going to unravel the mystery of Sakura – once and for all.

* * *

Naruto's teeth chattered as the misty air assaulted the exposed, tan skin of his face and hands. He wondered if it was just his wild imagination, or whether the daunting mouth to the Underworld really _did_ feel frostier than usual.

Perhaps even the fog here reacted to its ruler's moods. After all, when Sai had returned to them on the surface in a terrible state and relayed the death deity's response to his message, Naruto had known that Sasuke was beyond incensed.

But that didn't matter; he'd expected as much. All Naruto had been able to focus on instead, while Sai had been talking to him and Kakashi, was the fact that he had _seen_ her with his own two eyes. Sai had seen Sakura. And she had been _fine_.

Just as Naruto had hoped and believed, Sasuke had not harmed her.

And Sakura… she had somehow been able to curb Sasuke's killing intent and save Sai's life. Naruto's immense relief had rapidly escalated to confusion and fury. That Sasuke had been hiding her for all this time, deviously allowing the blame to fall upon Suigetsu instead! The blond didn't know exactly what was going on between the two, but he was determined to find out. He knew it was likely that the God of the Dead would come with questions of his own. Just how much had he managed to figure out about his captive?

Naruto gulped, suddenly anxious. He had been sworn to secrecy. Only a select few others knew the real truth. With the enemy on the move, Naruto wanted to believe with every fibre of his being that he might be able to trust Sasuke; to confide in him as he had done once, in a long ago past.

But he wasn't sure where Sasuke stood in relation to his elder ancestor. He didn't know where Sasuke's loyalties lay – which side he was really on. Would his allegiances shift if Naruto were to tell him the truth he had vowed to keep concealed at any cost? Then he found himself questioning – why would he? Sasuke had turned his back on them all and chosen his family over everybody else. Unlike the others who branded him a deserter, however, a part of Naruto was still reluctant to think the same, could even understand Sasuke's actions.

' _Not a word about the Essence,'_ Kakashi had warned him firmly before he'd departed. Naruto knew it was more imperative than ever that he tried to keep a lid on his impetuous emotions. Saying too much this time would yield deadly consequences if Sasuke really was working for their adversaries.

"Hey, big slobbering fella," he greeted a rumbling Cerberus, maintaining a safe and careful distance from the beast. "You look even scarier every time I see you."

The humungous canine's triple heads barked in unison as the Hound of Hell prowled forward ravenously, the heavy chains around its legs and neck clanking loudly as they dragged behind him.

That was when a voice as cold as ice spoke up from the depths of the swirling mist and darkness ahead.

"I told you to stay away."

Naruto swallowed, immediately on edge, his anger spiking instantly. He didn't care about the clear peril he knew he was in, the dire risk he was taking by simply standing in Sasuke's territory. All he cared about was getting answers.

"Sasuke…" He could hear his words trembling with rage, along with the rest of his body. "You bastard; you've had her all along!"

Sasuke's tall form melted out of the shadows. He stopped beside Cerberus, who had grown still at his master's command. When the death deity said nothing, offered no explanation whatsoever, Naruto struggled to contain the intensity of his feelings.

" _Why?_ " he demanded. "Why did you do it, Sasuke? Is it to get back at us? At _me_?!"

Still Sasuke did not respond. Naruto could feel himself losing his cool. It was remarkable and unnerving, just how quickly Sasuke had always been able to rile him – often without even speaking a single word.

Naruto knuckles were turning white from how forcefully he was clenching his fists. He had a sudden, thoughtless urge to leap forward and pulverise that indifferent, egotistical face to pieces, until that disdainful mouth told him everything he wanted to find out.

" _ANSWER ME, YOU DAMNED BASTARD!_ " he yelled. "Why did you kidnap Sakura-chan!? Do you even realise what you've _done?_ Or is this all just some kind of sick, twisted game to you, a way to hurt us!?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed into callous slits. It hadn't taken long to get the loud-mouthed idiot to get overly emotional. Naruto was still the same old foolish Apollo who still wore his heart dangerously on his sleeve _._

It was _disgusting._ Simply standing in the same vicinity as the brainless buffoon was insulting

"Sakura-chan has nothing to do with this!" Naruto was raging on, his blue eyes blazing fiercely. "If you want revenge, if you're looking to hurt someone, then take it out on me!" He stepped forward, holding out his arms in submission. "Give her back to us now and take _me_ in her place!"

"…" Sasuke sneered. His left hand itched to draw Kusanagi and carve out Naruto's tongue so he wouldn't have to listen to his aggravating drivel ever again. But if he did that, he would never get the truth.

"Damn it!" Naruto raised his fists in frustration at the continued silence that met his ears. "Say something, you asshole! Why are you doing this? I'm not your enemy, Sasuke! I've tried to tell you that I had no choice back then – _you_ gave me no choice!"

"Shut up," Sasuke finally snapped.

"No!" Naruto jabbed an index finger in his direction. "You've changed, Sasuke! All this crazy hatred has made you blind! _YOU'RE_ the one who betrayed _ME!"_

The death deity could feel his own composure slipping as Naruto tampered with old wounds that Sasuke had certainly _not_ come to re-open. But he couldn't suppress his escalating anger any further. The stupid fool actually had the _nerve_ to accuse _him_ of treachery?

His disbelief only heightened at what reached his ears next.

"We were going to stop the war together – we _AGREED_ to meet at Olympus! Why are you acting like it never even happened?! I _waited_ for you, damn it! I waited and waited – but you never showed! And when I found out you were on the battlefield instead, fighting with that _monster_ , Cronus-"

Working with _Naruto_ to try to prevent the conflict? What lunacy was he babbling about? Sasuke had no recollection of such outrageous nonsense. Tired of listening to the moron trying to defend his past actions by sprouting utter gibberish, he lunged forward without warning, a stream of _Chidori_ screaming to life in his palm as he snarled again in rejection, "Shut _up!_ I'm not here to listen to your lies! _"_

Naruto's heart jumped as he frantically evaded, retreating from the advancing deity.

"Lies?" he exhaled, looking genuinely bewildered and surprisingly shaken for a deceiver. "What are you talking about? Why would I lie to you-?"

"You _helped_ them," Sasuke seethed, finding himself dragged into the subject despite his initial resolution to avoid it. "You helped them crush my Clan!" He ran at the Sun God again, who tapped into just enough chakra from his seal to manage a duck in time and avoid having his head impaled by stabbing lightning energy.

"Are you _LISTENING_ to me, you stubborn asshole?! By the time I got to the battlefield, it was too late! Why won't you _believe_ me?!" He parried Sasuke's subsequent attacks, blocking and knocking them aside with his arms with a force that rattled his bones. "And what about _MY_ family?" Naruto shouted. "I lost my parents too- gwah!"

In a flash, Sasuke had snatched Kusanagi from its sheath. This time, Naruto wasn't fast enough. The swiping, whistling blade clipped his right arm, just beneath his shoulder, leaving a slicing, shallow wound that wept blood.

Sasuke smirked menacingly. "I could kill you now, Naruto," he mocked. They both knew he could manage it with little trouble or effort.

The blond winced, drawing back again. "Kakashi-sensei knows I'm here," he panted. "If I'm not back in two hours, he'll alert the others!" Through his teeth, he revealed, "Only Kakashi-sensei and I know right now, but if I don't return, they'll all find out!"

Sasuke's smug half-smile immediately vanished. He didn't appreciate the clear threat he perceived in Naruto's words – but he wasn't a fool, either. The fact that only Kakashi and Naruto knew of Sakura worked to his advantage. The two still hopelessly clung onto their past memories and experiences of who Sasuke had once been.

Their mistake.

He took a moment to regain focus. He'd allowed himself to be drawn into another meaningless scuffle with the idiot and had strayed from his initial intentions. Loathing for his eternal rival brewed deeply within him, an ugly, violent emotion. He wanted nothing more than to end the little joke of a deity's existence right then and there, to sever any lingering ties of the foolish, cursed bonds he'd had so long ago. But he knew it wasn't the time. Right then, Naruto was no good to him incapacitated.

Slowly, with a deliberate reluctance that he made sure his rival could see, Sasuke slotted Kusanagi back in its casing. The electrical current in his hand hissed abruptly and pointedly out.

Naruto sagged in relief, taking a minute to catch his breath. He had not come to engage in a physical fight – and blessedly, Sasuke seemingly hadn't either. He didn't bother healing the shallow, stinging cut in his arm. He told himself he'd tend to it properly later.

"Sasuke," he finally spoke again much more quietly, returning to the topic they had both arrived to discuss. "Why did you abduct Sakura-chan? Are you working with that creep Orochimaru? Or with _him?_ Is that it? Because she's completely innocent-"

The idea of cooperating with either of the two filled Sasuke with revulsion. But he hadn't come to answer to Naruto. It was Naruto who would answer to him.

"The Essence," he interjected with such bluntness, that Naruto couldn't keep the shock and alarm from scrawling itself all over his face in time. "Why is it sealed inside her, and who put it there?"

Pandemonium exploded within Naruto and he momentarily panicked. The haze of his memory reminded him that he had vaguely mentioned the Essence to Sasuke in their previous meeting, said something about keeping it hidden from Madara's seeking eyes. But how did Sasuke know of the Seal? How much else had he discovered – and who had told him?

 _What do I do, Kakashi-sensei?!_ Naruto thought frantically. He found himself thoroughly unprepared to handle such an unexpected twist. He'd vowed not to say a word - but could sense Sasuke's rapidly diminishing patience. What if the death deity was truly working for the enemy? What if Madara had somehow finally connected the missing dots? What if Sasuke's goal was to hand Sakura over in exchange for something important that he was seeking to acquire?

"Th- that's-" Naruto spluttered in a desperate, instinctive attempt to throw him off. "I don't know what you're talking about-"

The lethal plunge in air temperature informed Naruto that he had provided the wrong answer. He couldn't feel his numb fingertips or toes anymore.

"Answer," Sasuke's voice was equally frosty.

Naruto gulped. "Who told you about the seal? Was it Madara?" he asked fearfully. "Did that bastard tell you-?"

Relief flooded him when Sasuke moved his head slightly, signalling a negative. But he was still edgy.

"How do I know I can trust you?" he demanded through tensely clenched teeth. "How do I know you're not working for that snake or Madara?"

"You don't," Sasuke bluffed expertly. "But if you refuse to talk, she dies."

He watched Naruto's eyes widen as he took it the way Sasuke had intended – but not literally meant. Sakura _would_ likely come to harm – if Sasuke didn't know how to correctly stabilise what was locked away inside her. The sun deity, however, interpreted it as an open threat on Sakura's life.

"You asshole," he whispered. "If you hurt a single hair on her head, I swear I'll-"

"Speak," Sasuke cut in.

"I can't!" Naruto exclaimed, openly distressed. "I made a promise, damn it!"

Sasuke tilted his head sardonically, utterly unsympathetic to his plight.

"Then you'll just have to break it."

"Khh!" Naruto released a guttural sound of pure frustration and swallowed thickly again. He was trapped. Damn it. _Damn it!_ Sasuke always had a way of pushing him into a predicament! His mind was caught in the chaotic rush of cruel dilemma. Sasuke obviously wouldn't let him leave before he talked. And if he refused to answer, Sakura would suffer. He couldn't risk that. Her well-being mattered more to him than anything. Could he really afford to take the plunge and trust that Sasuke would choose to do the right thing after he shared everything he knew with him? What other choice did he really realistically have?

Still, the sun deity was apprehensive. He knew he was about to discuss the forbidden, was on the verge of breaking a strict, ancient oath of confidentiality which he had taken long ago to keep the truth about the Essence a secret from anyone beyond the select, trustworthy few who possessed knowledge of it. He was betraying the good faith of those closest to him, the people he respected most. He only hoped that he would be forgiven for what he was about to do – even if the punishing sentence for his traitorous actions was too terrible to contemplate.

"I…" he began hesitantly. "I'll be exiled to the Void if they find out that I'm telling you this!" Screwing his eyes shut briefly, he bolstered his courage. " _Damn it!_ " His eyes then lifted to meet the Death God's aloof gaze. "If you tell anyone else, bastard, I'll kick your ass, and then I'll kill you!"

"Hn." Sasuke sneered, sincerely doubting that he could do either.

"But…" Naruto's tone then changed. "I believe you won't harm Sakura-chan," he spoke with a conviction that caught Sasuke internally by surprise. "Sai told us that she's fine. And if she's been alright with you for all this time, then maybe… maybe I _can_ trust you."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He was nothing but a _fool._ But a correct one at that moment, even if he would never allow Naruto to comprehend it; Sasuke had absolutely no intention of allowing any harm to befall Sakura.

"Damn it. I don't know where to start!" Naruto rubbed nervously at the back of his head and began pacing about agitatedly in silence for a few seconds. Tsunade would _slaughter_ him. She'd tear him to absolute shreds. A hysterical Ino would claw him to pieces. The Perverted Old Hermit would give his sorry behind a good hiding. Not even Kakashi would step in to defend him once he realised what he'd done.

An impatient Sasuke was just starting to become extremely irritated by his delaying antics, when the Sun God swivelled back around to him and blurted, "Okay, I guess at the beginning. But you've got to _promise_ you won't share this with anyone else."

"Talk, idiot," Sasuke snapped, unable to tolerate any further time-wasting.

"Fine! Shit!" Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably, before loathingly forcing himself to speak the treacherous words he could never undo. "The Essence in Sakura-chan is the remainder of the…" This was it - the point of no return. He took a deep breath, heart drumming hard as he disclosed, "…Goddess of Spring."

He hesitated for another moment, before venturing, "Kore, we called her. You remember, right? You met her a few times with me back when…" his voice trailed miserably off. He had been about to pitifully say: ' _back_ _when we were friends'._

Sasuke's expression remained unreadable – but on the inside, he felt like a giant sledge-hammer had been wedged straight between his lungs, knocking all the oxygen out of them. _Kore._ So she truly _had_ existed. The Oracle had shown him a glimpse of the elusive, mysterious goddess – and Sakura had mentioned her from her visions, too.

 _Kore._ The girl Sakura had claimed to see him _kiss_.

His heartbeat began to accelerate as his thoughts were overrun by a depth of confusion so uncharacteristic and unfamiliar to him that he was rendered momentarily disturbed. Naruto definitely didn't seem to be lying. So why did Sasuke have no retrievable memory of ever encountering a goddess by her name?

What was going on? Even if he'd met her only once, he would've sworn he'd remember. His memory was the kind that never omitted even the minutest of details.

Naruto, who assumed from Sasuke's silence that he _did_ remember, continued, "She was responsible for creating new life during springtime and reversing damage to nature. But Cronus… that bastard got his filthy hands on her." His own fingers closed into fuming fists and his voice shook with raw emotion, "As part of his crazy plan to control both life and death, he poisoned Kore. Made every plant and tree she touched die. Her body was forced to go against the purpose it'd been created for, and it began to shut down, killing her. I- I wasn't there to see any of it, but Ino was." His eyes welled with tears. "By the time Tsunade-baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei arrived, she was already fading."

Sasuke was deadly still as he absorbed the knowledge of her tragic fate. His heart was now pounding as a strong and sudden sense of foreboding warned him that he was on the brink of finding out about something that went far beyond the scope of anything he'd ever contemplated before.

Wiping at his eyes, Naruto sniffled, taking a minute to compose his breathing again. Even after so long, the pain and torturous guilt of not being able to protect Kore's original vessel tore away at him.

"But they couldn't just let her soul pass on to the Void," he exhaled shakily. "Without it, there'd be no spring or life. Tsunade-baa-chan couldn't sustain life on her own anymore. So they took her soul out her body and wove a complex seal to keep it safe and stop it from going to the Void. Baa-chan extracted her blood, too. It took a long time, but she was eventually able to purify it again. With the water from the sacred pool in Kore's temple, they thought they could restore her." He shook his head sorrowfully. "But… it wasn't that simple…" Again Naruto's voice trailed off.

Hungry to hear more, Sasuke pressed, "Well?"

"They placed the Essence in the water along with drops of Kore's blood. Baa-chan tried to use her powers to reincarnate Kore. But since our own seals weaken our powers, that wasn't enough to make a new body. We didn't know what to do, and it was almost spring again, so Baa-chan called to Old Bag Chiyo."

The God of Death's hands curled into fists. He'd suspected it all along; Chiyo had been related to the events surrounding Sakura in some way.

"Old Bag Chiyo told us that even if we made a new vessel, it would die right away because the Essence wouldn't enter it. It could only be transferred into a new body if it was infused with the same degree of love and light that Baa-chan and my dad used to originally create it. Tsunade-baa-chan couldn't do it alone. So Ino gave up all her powers and combined them with Shizune's."

Of course it made absolute sense; Ino was – even though she was no longer active – Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love who had absolute dominion over all matters relating to the heart. She had sacrificed her abilities to ensure Kore's soul would be reborn. And Shizune, Goddess of the Hearth; her powers related to sacred fire – a source of warm illumination that was equal to the former King of Olympus's divine light. Combined with Tsunade's life-giving gifts, a strong, resilient vessel could be fashioned between them – and enough love and light to coax the Essence into entering a new body.

"They put their powers together and a new infant body was finally created with Kore's soul locked inside it. She even looked a little bit like Kore – but she wasn't all the same." Naruto shook his head dejectedly. "She didn't know who she was. We tried to inject more of Kore's blood, to see if it would help bring the old one back. We told her about her real identity, shared our memories with her. The blood eventually began to react with the Essence and slowly started unlocking parts of Kore's old memories. But then something else started to happen. Every spring, the new vessel began to suffer from these strange attacks we couldn't figure out at first."

Sasuke knew exactly what attacks Naruto was talking about.

"Baa-chan called to Old Bag Chiyo again. She told her the attacks were because the Essence was triggering spring in a foreign body. She said the Essence would slowly start to reject its new vessel because the seal on it prevented it from recognising the body as its true form, even with Kore's blood and all the ambrosia we used to try to stabilise it. Over the years, the attacks gradually grew stronger. She started to see more of her past life – but they were like visions, rather than her own memories. She started hallucinating and became really sick."

Sasuke felt sickened. What he was describing were precisely Sakura's symptoms.

Naruto paused, before going on, "Without unlocking the seal and uniting her soul, blood, memories and body, Kore can never be fully reborn inside any vessel. She's just a shell of her former self and eventually the Essence just poisons each one. The ambrosia helps to delay the process, but only if the dose is carefully controlled."

So for the Goddess to be truly reincarnated required her original blood to be combined with the Essence - which in turn contained the key to unlocking her memories - and the removal of the seal that prevented every aspect of her from merging into one being. Sasuke didn't understand why they had used a seal that they couldn't reverse. It made no sense, and flagged up all kinds of suspicions in his head.

"The seal is invisible," he stated. It was an indirect question.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "It was deliberately chosen to keep the Essence hidden from Cronus or anyone else who would go searching for it again. We've tried every hand seal we know to try and undo it. Nothing works. We just end up damaging the human vessel. Tsunade baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei told us that they never got the chance to learn from my dad how to reverse it. And because of that, she suffers each time. But there's nothing we can do." He raked his fingers stressfully through his sunshine hair. "There's no way to stop the cycle."

Sasuke found himself wondering just how new vessels were created. The Sun God seemed to read his mind, for he cleared that point up, too.

"The first vessel lasted for thirteen years before the poison stopped its heart. Old Bag Chiyo told us to place her in the pool of water from Kore's temple. The body dissolved, and the Essence finally came out. I saw it for the first time. It was… a beautiful gold… just like the sun…" his eyes watered again. Rubbing hastily at his face, he breathed out, "Then it just disappeared into the water. We thought we'd lost it forever – but Old Bag Chiyo just smiled and told us to wait for the following spring, and then place a few drops of blood into the pool again. So we did."

He smiled wistfully then. "We couldn't believe it when we saw the Essence create a new baby vessel all on its own in the pool. It had a strong enough life-force and had been infused with enough love to automatically rebirth on its own – but it kept coming back as a human after that. It was like the seal prevented it from fully realising its power to make an immortal vessel, like that was part of the seal's job to keep the Essence hidden. As long as her vessels kept dying, Cronus would just assume that we were trying to reincarnate something that was lost forever."

His head bowed sadly. "The new one grew, and looked different - and the cycle repeated itself. That's how it's been ever since then. Some vessels were born weak and others survived longer. We've learnt to spot the signs when a vessel is close to death, though. The attacks happen closer together, and instead of forgetting the visions, she starts to remember them."

The nauseous feeling was growing in the pits of Sasuke's stomach. Sakura had already begun to remember more. He was thoroughly unsettled by everything he had heard. Never could he have even begun to imagine the magnitude of what he had unwittingly stumbled across.

So this was why he hadn't known about Sakura before – why she had been so hidden from him for centuries. She hadn't existed in her current form. This was why her blood was human, and why she had aged naturally. This was why she had no knowledge of her father – and why she was haunted with phantom dreams of her former, first life. This was why she had acted so strange after entering the Garden of the Hesperides – and how she had spoken his past name.

It was surely the reason why she had always instinctively feared death so much, too. Because deep down inside, the Essence was conscious of its fate.

Suddenly everything made terrible sense.

Naruto swallowed thickly once more, his voice clogging over, almost breaking with emotion. "Y-you don't know how hard it's been." He covered his face with arm, trying to retain composure, not wanting to experience the humiliation of allowing Sasuke to see him _cry._ "Watching her be reborn and live s-so many lives. Watching her grow up, becoming attached to her only to lose her over and over again at any time. But this way's better than not having her at all. At least she always starts with a blank memory and never remembers who we are or that she's lived in different bodies – not unless we tell her, and it always hurts her each time."

"…" Sasuke's eyes lowered as the Sun God finally managed to regain his composure again.

"Anyway, we stopped using her blood; because each vessel was mortal, it just upset her chemistry and sped up the poisoning. Now we've only got a few phials left, so we just stabilise her vessels with ambrosia." He paused. "We tried to remind each girl who she was again after that, but we eventually learnt that the less we told her, the less she knew and the more slowly and naturally she remembered, then the less she suffered. Overwhelming her with her old memories – and telling her that she was doomed to eventually die - just made her deteriorate more quickly. She never could get her full memories back on her own, though."

Naruto exhaled. There. He'd said it all. Now Sasuke knew everything he did. He looked at the death deity again. His features were still indecipherable – but Naruto was adamant that somewhere deep inside, he had to have been affected, however insignificantly, by the heart-breaking story.

"Sakura-chan's the current one," he began again carefully. "Each girl is a little different every time, but… she's more special than the rest."

Sasuke thought about the radiance he had seen in Sakura's soul, the light that had been responsible for snagging his attention back at the funeral where he'd first set his eyes on her. Where did her soul end, and where did the Essence of Kore begin? Sasuke suddenly realised that there was no answer to that question – they were one and the same entity. The Essence was Sakura – and vice versa.

Which made her a slumbering goddess, trapped inside an imperfect body that was human by force – because the components required to complete her divine form were contained within a seemingly irreversible seal. But she had no idea.

She had no idea, because telling her the truth of her harsh fate would cause her distress. The more she remembered and the closer she came to who she really was, the more her body shut down. It was like the Essence had an inbuilt, deadly defence mechanism that would only yield its true memories to its fully restored form.

The Essence, the very source of life on earth, rejected its human guises and reincarnated itself in temporary bodies, like a phoenix that continuously rose from the ashes; a phoenix that was desperately waiting to find its correct home once again.

It was a cruel fate. But without the Essence, the balance of the universe would be grossly tipped in favour of death. Something burned unbearably in Sasuke's heavy chest as the depth of the awful predicament he was in washed over him. Just how was he supposed to deal with this? How was he meant to tell Sakura? She deserved to know, but how _could_ he?

Why had they chosen such a dangerous seal? He was even more furious with the surface deities than he had been before he'd heard the whole story – even though he now understood the valid reasons behind keeping Sakura veiled in blissful ignorance. How would she react to the knowledge of so many tragic past lives? Of an inescapable death sentence that could hit her at any moment? He'd only seen this version of the goddess, after all; _they_ knew more of the consequences that afflicted every reincarnated body – and time had clearly taught them the safest way to care for each vessel.

But how had Minato even come across such a seal? It sounded more like something that belonged to the ancient, forbidden dark arts of his Clan than something that the King of the Gods would utilise or much less teach to his loyal followers.

What he said next made Sasuke's mind whir to another abrupt halt.

"We all think Sakura-chan is her true reincarnated form. She's the closest one to resemble Kore in both looks and personality. That's why we've always protected her so much. She's also lived three years longer than any of the other vessels. Granny Tsunade believes that when circumstances begin to mirror Kore's original life, she'll be fully reborn. That bastard Madara is on the move with Orochimaru – and she's been abducted to this world again like she was before. It _has_ to be her. We just have to figure out how to unlock the damned seal…"

"…" Sasuke had heard enough. Without a word, he shifted to leave.

Naruto's heart thundered in a mixture of anger and anxious apprehension. That was _it?_ The asshole had absolutely _nothing_ to say about everything he'd discovered?

"Wait, Sasuke! There's something else!"

Sasuke paused, his back turned to the Sun God. He waited.

"Spring hasn't arrived this year because of you! The more you keep Sakura-chan here, the more stress you're placing on her body. The Essence can't trigger spring if it's not on the surface. More people are dying from famine – you _have_ to give her back! If you don't, you're not just putting humans at risk – you're putting _her_ at risk. If the Essence can't do its job, it'll poison her human body more quickly!"

"…" Sasuke's eyes lowered. He remembered finding Sakura, wheezing on the floor in the banqueting hall, the decanter of ambrosia beside her. Something wrenched inside him once again. "Leave," he finally uttered, his voice hollow, devoid of any feeling, any compassion, any _anything_.

The last of Naruto's composure splintered almost audibly. He could take no more.

"YOU BASTARD!" He exploded, his chest heaving. "DON'T YOU GET IT?!" His voice hoarse, he screamed, "SHE'LL _DIE_ IF YOU DON'T LET HER GO! NOT EVEN YOU CAN CONTROL IT! GIVE HER BACK TO US, DAMN YOU!" When the King of the Underworld simply continued to walk dismissively away, Naruto yelled in despair, "SASUKE!"

That was when the death deity – so casually and pitilessly - dropped his own revelation before melting away into the shadows once more; a crippling, blasting detonation that rocked Naruto's world in turn, sending it careening into a reeling orbit of chaos. Something that made the ground beneath the Sun God's feet fall away, as his heart near-stopped and descended into the dark abyss of pure turmoil.

"She has eaten from the fruit."

* * *

He dropped the heavy, thickly bound leather book onto the smooth oak table, causing the light from the candle-holder beside him to flicker from the impact. Unlocking the rusty padlock on the cover, his searching eyes agitatedly inspected the age-worn, crinkled contents page.

 _Kore…_ Where was it? His index finger trailed down the list of deity names. There was no such record. Scowling impatiently, he flipped the old parchment paper to Demeter's page instead, bypassing the sketched likeness of Tsunade's past guise and scanning the information written in a language that had long since died out on the surface.

_-Goddess of the Harvest, she is responsible for-_

Sasuke ignored the text. He already knew that. What he was looking for was-

His gaze was then snagged by something else.

_-and her daughter, Persephone, whose dominion over spring and nature-._

His brain processed no more. His eyes were glued onto the name that was rebounding around inside his head.

_Persephone._

He couldn't remember that pretty name, either. _Why?_

He returned to the contents page. Heart pounding, he looked it up. There! He practically wrenched the book open at the correct location, his eyes immediately stopping on the sketch of the goddess he'd been looking for.

Sasuke's breath stilled. It was the same girl he'd glimpsed in the Oracle, with Apollo. He was sure of it.

Her face was heart-shaped – like Sakura's. Her eyes were wide and doe-like – just as Sakura's were. But she was different, too. The death deity imagined she was what Sakura _would_ look like – in her perfected, true form. In a body that wasn't slowly being poisoned by the essence sealed away within it.

His attention shifted to the text below.

_Persephone (also known by her pet names, Kora, or Kore, The Maiden) was the Goddess of Spring, whose function was to ensure the nurture of flowers following the winter. While her mother, Demeter, ensured the continuation of the Harvest following the fruits of spring and summer in autumn, it was Persephone who initiated the growth of nature._

_Was…_ the text was referring to the goddess in the past tense. He soon discovered why, as his hurriedly skimming gaze finally found the passage he'd been seeking.

_-following poisoning during the War of the Gods, Kore perished and her soul passed onto the Void. Demeter has sustained all life on earth alone following her daughter's demise._

He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table, on either side of the book. He exhaled. Then he went back to one of the bookshelves and pulled out another book.

The record was exactly the same. In every other scripture he cross-referenced, Kore was listed as deceased.

So the idiot had told him the truth. Even his Clan's ancient records claimed her to be dead. Tsunade and the others had kept Kore's continued existence a successful secret.

Sasuke shook his head as everything sank in. That still didn't explain how he didn't remember ever meeting the goddess.

That was when another disconcerting thought suddenly struck him.

What if… what if he _had_ forgotten? What if the trauma of his past had somehow caused his memory to overwrite his recollections of her? What if she had been so insignificant that he hadn't even bothered to remember their meetings?

 _No,_ he dismissed indignantly. That simply wasn't possible. He _didn't_ suppress things. And he remembered every other deity in existence that he'd ever met, _except_ for Kore. Not recalling her was only half the problem; Naruto had claimed they'd met her together, and he couldn't remember seeing Naruto and a girl other than a shamelessly flirtatious Ino.

The other significant part was that _Kore_ obviously had some recollection of _his_ past self. That explained how Sakura had whispered the name _Hades_ on more than one occasion. Perhaps that was what had been responsible for the unnerving scene she'd claimed to have witnessed in the Oracle between them, too, though Sasuke was cautious that it still might have been an imaginary creation influenced by the fact he himself had kissed her.

But if he hadn't forgotten on his own… then what other possibility was there?

Only one. The thought began as a rustle that grew into a forceful breeze, gaining momentum until it became a whirling cyclone, a violent, destructive tornado that left his spinning mind disorientated and reeling.

What if Sakura wasn't the only one who had parts of her past memories locked away?

What if he had somehow been _made_ to forget? And if he had _,_ then of course he wouldn't remember, or know any better. Of course the logical thing would be for his pride to deny and outwardly reject the entire notion.

But what if it was the truth? And if it was, then what _else_ was he missing? Sasuke rubbed at his head in frustration. Suddenly it throbbed far too much from the weight of his troubling, unsettling thoughts.

The deafening silence in the tower room around him was his only answer.

* * *

_The golden antelope lifted its majestic head, ears twitching as it strained to make out anything amiss in the forest around it._

_Hades froze in position, his grip on the elegantly carved bow in his hand tightening. The beautiful creature had obviously sensed that it was being followed - no doubt thanks to Dead Last's graceless, lumbering movements._

_Hades scowled. Was it any wonder the stag had detected them already? He could hear noisy Apollo rustling in the grass behind him from a mile away. Taking up the offer of a hunting contest had been another stupid idea Hades had unwittingly allowed himself to be strung up in. Gritting his teeth, he sent a telepathic censure straight at the Sun God._

' _Be quiet, you moron! Can't you see you're scaring it?'_

' _Huh?_ _I'm_ _scaring it?' Apollo shot back indignantly. 'It's probably your grumpy chakra aura that's frightening the life out of the poor thing. You just can't help being a grouch, can you?'_

' _Shut up,' snapped Hades irritably, 'or I'll fire this arrow into your head instead.'_

' _Heh!' Apollo chuckled. 'I'd like to see you try. Everyone knows I'm the better archer, and besides – that's my prize! No way am I letting you steal him!'_

_Hades scoffed. Apollo, the superior archer? It was universally known that Hades had a far more accurate aim – and his speed outdid Apollo's by leagues. In addition, he was able to fire multiple arrows at once. Apollo probably managed two at most._

' _I saw it first,' Hades glowered._

' _So?' Apollo's telepathic voice challenged._

' _So_ _back off,_ _idiot.'_

' _Make me, bastard!'_

_It was in the midst of their bickering that the antelope abruptly turned and darted gracefully away._

" _Great!" Apollo exclaimed aloud. "Now look what you've done!"_

" _Damn it," Hades hissed, slinking out from behind the cluster of trees to give chase._

_They pursued the sprightly creature, racing with one another on foot to be the first to catch up to it. They leapt over upturned tree-roots and bushes, over rippling rivers and deeper into the heart of the forest._

" _No way am I losing to you!" Apollo declared._

_Hades sneered disdainfully. They'd see about that. Deciding to lose his loud-mouthed hunting companion, the dark-haired young deity diverged from the route they had been following together, disappearing further into the undergrowth._

" _Hades!" Apollo called after him in frustration. "Where are you going!? You cheater!"_

_The Sun God was ignored as Hades pushed purposefully onwards. The glowing stag was heading south, and he planned to intercept it and strike it with an arrow before Apollo could catch up. He moved swiftly and silently, his weapon poised to fire the instant he glimpsed a window of opportunity._

_It didn't take him long to track the animal down. Its golden hue glimmered ahead in the midnight-cloaked forest, beckoning Hades closer. The thrilling adrenaline of the hunt surging through his veins, he flashed a brief, devilishly cocky grin as the creature finally began to slow down. This prize was his for the taking._

_A dense group of shrubs temporarily concealed his view of the antelope and Hades veered right to filter stealthily through them. When he spied the stationary stag again, it was standing in a small clearing in the trees ahead. He raised his bow without hesitation, ready to let a lethal arrow fly forth at his locked target – only to falter and halt abruptly in position, jerking back to take refuge behind a tree._

_Against his better sense and judgement, against his wishes, his heart twisted violently deep inside his chest._

_He hadn't seen her for a while, since the night he had taken her to the Underworld to restore his mother's flower, to be precise._

_The night he had kissed her._

_Slowly he peered around the tree trunk and watched as a smiling Kore, dressed all in maidenly white, reached out to the animal, stroking its head gently. Next to the stag's golden hue, she shone just as bright._

_He lifted his bow again – but his trusty aim wavered. Why did_ _ she _ _, of all people, have to be the one standing there? Frustrated, he inwardly cursed. He couldn't very well fell the creature while she caressed it so affectionately. She would probably cry. Then a sudden thought struck him. What if the stag was her pet? Or Demeter's? It belonged to the forest, after all-_

_His thought broke off, when she suddenly spoke aloud._

" _Shame on you both. Have neither of you any respect for the life of the forest? Please lower your weapons!"_

_Hades frowned. Then he remembered that he was standing behind a tree, and she could sense him through her connection to plant life. When Apollo's voice whined in protest from somewhere behind him to his left, he knew the game was over._

_"Aww, Kore! Come on, I challenged the arrogant bastard to a hunting contest!"_

_"Not in my forest," she refused, turning her head to glare green-gold daggers at the sun deity. "This stag has only just fully matured and I will not have you hurt him."_

_"Aww, noooo," Apollo stepped out into the clearing, his bow dutifully lowered. Rubbing at the back of his shock of sunshine hair, he pouted, "C'mon, Kore, can't you give us another one? Some older, fatter one, maybe? We've got a score to settle!"_

_"No!" In response, she grabbed the bow from his grasp and smacked him over the head with it, which only caused him to howl even louder. Hades found himself smirking despite his initial disappointment. He could stand there and watch the fool being taught a lesson by this diminutive goddess for hours…_

_"Kore…" Apollo sniffled. "You've wounded me!"_

_"Serves you right," Kore kissed the stag's head tenderly, before giving it a pat to send it along its way. It darted quickly out of sight and off to safety._

_"Well, it wasn't even my idea!" Apollo bemoaned. "Hades was the one who spotted it!"_

_Hades slunk forward, bow clipped back at his belt, and glared at his rival. "_ _ You _ _suggested the contest, Dead Last," he retorted._

_"Oh yeah! Sure! Blame it on the Sun God; I'm such an easy target! Oww, my head!" he whinged, plopping himself down cross-legged on the grass - where he proceeded to rub at his throbbing skull pointedly – and just a little theatrically._

_The Goddess of Spring's eyes rolled at his animated antics – before slipping uncertainly onto Hades. She felt her heart pound faster as their gazes locked. When he stared blankly and aloofly back at her, she looked quickly away._

_"You had better leave the forest," she advised, pleased that her voice was stable despite how oddly breathless she suddenly felt._

_"But I'm boooored," Apollo complained._

_Hades's eyebrows twitched. The sun deity's voice was starting to grate on his nerves._

_"Now that you've ended our game, we have nothing to do!" Apollo went on, throwing his hands up in comical despair. "You'll have to find another game for us to play!"_

_Kore huffed, placing her hands on her slender hips. "How about this one?" she sarcastically suggested. "Race to the edge of the forest and then leave!"_

_Apollo jumped up and punched the air with an excited fist. "Oh yeah! You're on! See you at the edge, losers!"_

_With that he bounded off. Kore lifted a hand weakly after him. She hadn't literally meant for them to race – she hadn't even specified_ _which_ _edge… poor, dear Apollo had clearly taken it literally, as he did with most things. She sighed, a mixture of exasperation and fondness._

_Then it occurred to her that she was once again alone. With Hades._

_"Tch," the markedly more astute deity scoffed after a moment, folding his arms as his eyes closed briefly in open irritation. "That brainless moron."_

_"He- he's quite something," Kore agreed, dismayed to find her voice faltering at last. She could_ _ feel _ _Hades's eyes as they burned straight into her. Heat crept into her cheeks as she wondered whether he was thinking about their last meeting at that second, too. Or perhaps he had forgotten all about it. Perhaps he dismissed it as nothing – and that was why he had avoided her, why she hadn't seen him again for so long – even when her heart had both yearned and dreaded the anticipation of his reappearance every night._

_"Well," she recovered lightly, "I suppose we had better follow him before-" her breath caught in her throat when she felt an iron-like grip wrap around her left arm._

_Just like that, the dangerously unpredictable deity had closed the gap between them. Kore blinked in surprise; she hadn't even_ _ heard _ _him move._

_"Not a word to him about the flower," Hades hissed into her ear. "Or anything_ _ else _ _."_

_The last word was stressed emphatically – and Kore knew he was referring to the dance – and the kiss he had given her._

_Her skin tingled where his fingers held onto her. So close to her side, she could smell his distinctive scent – wood-smoke and alluring spice._

_"Why did you do it?" she breathed, asking the question that had tortured her for so long – even as she still refused to look at him. "Why did you kiss me?"_

_"I told you," he whispered harshly – and Kore could feel the tension rolling off him, crackling between them like a sizzling current. "It was a favour."_

_The words tumbled from her mouth before she could consider their impact and consequences. All she could think about was how much his closeness affected her, how it sent her heart somersaulting, her stomach tickling with senseless butterflies and her head spinning._

" _Then you owe me another to keep me quiet."_

 _For a moment, Hades was silently astonished by her boldness. Then he recovered, and a displeased growl escaped his throat._ _In an instant, he had snatched her other arm with his free hand and pressed her against the trunk of the tree behind her. Kore's breathing quickened. She was enthralled by the blazing, angry fire she saw dancing in his sooty-lashed, smouldering eyes. It made an exciting change to their usual, detached coldness. A part of her knew she was dicing with danger. The other, more significant part did not care. It was too distracted by the fact that it was the handsome_ _Hades_ _who had her body pinned back against a tree._

_She couldn't look away from his marvellously sculpted face. He was so close. So heartbreakingly beautiful. She knew what a shocked Aphrodite would say about her; she was hopelessly smitten with a god she knew very little about. But how could she help it, when such an overpowering magnetic attraction existed between them? Surely Hades felt it, too?_

_"Don't flatter yourself," he sneered, stealing away some of her exhilaration. "It meant_ _ nothing. _ _"_

_Kore thought that the crushing grip on her upper arms wasn't required; his gaze was doing a sufficient enough job skewering her in place._

_The words were cutting. They struck her like a physical blow. But Kore would not let him win – even if he had injured her feelings. She lifted her chin defiantly at him._

_"Then you shan't mind if I tell anyone," she countered, her eyes glittering with equal challenge._

_His glare intensified. Kore felt as though her very soul was being set aflame._

_"You test my patience," he seethed through clenched teeth - a clear warning that Kore knew she ought to have heeded. "You shouldn't mess with darkness, goddess."_

_She shook her head slightly, licking her lips, suddenly nervous of her predicament. Apollo had likely reached the forest edge already, and there was nobody else nearby to intercept them. She saw the way Hades glanced at her moistened lips briefly – saw_ _ something _ _shift and flicker within them._

" _Maybe it is_ _you_ _who shouldn't play with light."_

"…" _His mouth twitched, not quite a sneer. He could scarcely believe the impudence the tiny goddess possessed, trying to force another favour from him. Seeking to intimidate her into standing down, he leant forward until their noses were almost touching._

" _Do you know who I am, Goddess?" he murmured. "Do you know what I can do to you?"_

" _I'm not afraid," Kore answered. But the wobble in her voice suggested otherwise. She watched the sensuous smirk curve one corner of his lips and the blasted wings tickling her stomach intensified._

" _Aren't you." It wasn't a question._

_She could only manage a breathless shake of the head this time._

_Hades's irritation was slowly morphing to something else. Genuine curiosity. And an almost predatory, adrenaline-fuelled rise that was eager to take up the challenge she presented._

_He'd treat it as a deadly hunt. Only what she so foolishly didn't comprehend was that_ _ he _ _was the hunter, and she was the victim. She thought she was the one in control, the one who had the upper hand? Fine. He'd make her realise how wrong she was. He'd make her regret the day she ever messed with forbidden things._

_Tilting his head to the right, he whispered into her ear, "You wish to play games, Kore." Her name rolled sinfully off his tongue. It only caused Kore's heart to pound harder. "A mistake. I never stop..."_

_She stifled a gasp, as his lips brushed over her ear, leaving excruciating tingles in their wake._

" _..._ _Until._ _I._ _Win_ _," he finished emphatically.  
_

* * *

She was still asleep in the same place he had left her when Sasuke finally returned. As he approached her slumbering form, the heaviness in his chest seemed to increase, until it seemed to weigh him down enough to bring him to his knees beside her.

His eyes trailed slowly over her face, over her sweet features. Naruto had said she was closest in appearance to her original form. But more delicate. More vulnerable.

And now he knew exactly why.

"Sakura…" he whispered her name. For she would always be _Sakura_ to him – _his_ Sakura - no matter what other name or names she'd carried in her pain-afflicted past. Reaching out, he brushed the back of his hand gently against her flushed right cheek. It felt like silk beneath his feather-light touch.

"I…" his voice trailed. He didn't know what to say. How to say it. He desperately wanted to believe that this so-called 'vessel' – he _refused_ to think of her as merely a temporary accommodation for a divine spirit that would one day discard the mortal body it had fashioned before him – was stronger than the others. More resilient and capable of knowing, processing and accepting the truth.

Surely she was. Sakura was intelligent. She'd channelled and moulded her own chakra as well as his with remarkable ease. She was, as Naruto had stated, _different_ to the others. She _had_ to be.

Surely she was Kore's final form that would be fully reborn soon – somehow.

But what if she wasn't? For the first time in countless eras, Sasuke felt a sliver of genuine _fear_. What if he was the catalyst that would ultimately become responsible for Sakura's untimely passing? She'd already lived longer than the other bodies the Essence had generated to house it – but that didn't mean she was immune to death.

And he couldn't control or prevent it, just as the moron had said. For once, he was powerless to influence the destination of a spirit inside a human body. He couldn't control it, because her soul – Kore's – would always return to its pool. It did not belong in his world.

Yet he had bound its current body to it.

The hand at her cheek slipped away. Anger shook him to his core, burning in his veins like boiling, molten lava. His fingers closed into tight, furious fists. _No._ He _would not_ allow it.

"I won't let you," he hissed with formidable vehemence, making a vow to the sealed Essence within her – her soul – one which he swore would never be broken. "You won't leave."

He wouldn't let the Essence take this body from him. He was going to do _everything_ in every last ounce of power he possessed to ensure that the sleeping young woman before him was the _final,_ fully reincarnated form of Kore. He would find a way to reverse the forbidden seal responsible for her eternity of suffering and restore her body to its immortal state – and then he'd make her his Queen.

As a goddess, she'd be his forever.

 _Queen._ The word he'd never even allowed himself to entertain before echoed in his head – but he was no longer afraid or uncertain of it. The decision had come to him so naturally while he'd been listening to the truth about her. It had started as a whisper, and ended as a concrete goal.

Because Sasuke would not lose her. He couldn't. If he did, he knew she would disappear forever and forget every memory of the time she'd spent with him, and he'd never get the same Sakura back. _His_ Sakura, the girl who had somehow become irrevocably tied to every fibre of his being.

The Sakura he could not envisage a world or a bleak existence without.

For just as Kore was the earth's salvation, Sakura was _his_ Sun. _His_ Spring. He wasn't going to let a cursed seal outdo him. And he'd make the vision he'd glimpsed in the Oracle of her holding a crown of glistening diamonds a reality.

He would break the cycle of rebirth and save Sakura. He'd go to any lengths and do whatever it took.

At _any_ cost.

* * *


	46. Chapter XLV

**Chapter XLV  
**

* * *

_He speaks to me truths,_

_Which take in theft,_

_All I ever knew,_

_And all I possess,_

_Never had I thought,_

_In my heart or my head,_

_That I would find solace,_

_In the arms of Death.  
_

* * *

"Perhaps they are settling the matter with a battle," Sai mused monotonously. "Though this makes little sense to me; is it not inappropriate behaviour for old friends to physically attack one another?"

Kakashi sighed tiredly. "That's precisely the problem, Sai," he replied in a resigned tone. "Sasuke no longer recognises Naruto as his friend. I'm afraid he now views the entire world as his enemy."

Sai, who found the entire concept of friendship a rather difficult one to comprehend, pondered this. In truth, he was just relieved to still be alive. He'd half been terrified that Sasuke would change his mind about sparing his existence and intercept him before he'd even reached the surface. Sakura had clearly managed to keep the Underworld ruler's wrath in check, however, and for that Sai owed her his life.

"He is late," the alabaster-skinned messenger commented, unhelpfully pointing out the obvious.

Unable to focus on the book he'd been reading any longer, Kakashi's lone-visible eye slid up to the clock on the wall. It had indeed already passed the two hour time restriction he'd provided Naruto. Torn between having faith and waiting a little longer before raising the alarm or choosing to act immediately, he rose from his seat, hands stuffed into his dark blue trouser pockets as he drifted towards the window.

 _We agreed two hours sharp,_ he reasoned to himself. _I can't afford to take any chances when Sasuke's involved-_

At that precise moment, a single knock on the front door caused both of the room's occupants to direct their glances towards the hallway. Without a word, Kakashi moved swiftly to the mahogany-painted door. Sure enough, the peep hole revealed a glum-looking Naruto on the other side.

As Kakashi unbolted the locks and let the younger man in, he immediately suspected that things had not gone well from the crestfallen manner in which Naruto trudged past him. The blond's head hung low, his shoulders slumped.

Closing the door, Kakashi followed him into the minimally furnished lounge.

"Naruto…?" he began questioningly.

His voice seemed to act as a trigger, for Naruto immediately began to tremble in response, as the strain of holding back his feelings finally overwhelmed him. A heavy, heaving sob choked its way out of his chest, a sound so completely broken that Kakashi felt his own heart sink.

What in the name of Olympus had happened in the Underworld? What was so awful, so completely terrible, that the ever-optimistic Naruto, who never _ever_ gave up - even when stacked against monstrous odds - was reduced to such a pitiful state of miserable defeat?

It got worse; Naruto collapsed to his hands and knees on the floor, weeping in a manner Kakashi hadn't seen him do since learning of his parents' untimely demises.

Sai was greatly perplexed and mildly unsettled by such a disturbing display of open emotion and didn't know what to do or say. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut, leaving Kakashi to handle the breakdown.

The elder man knelt down, grasping Naruto by his left shoulder. "Naruto!" he exclaimed urgently. "What happened?"

But Naruto merely shook his head, unable speak. His words were swallowed up by the sobs assaulting his entire body, by the sniffles he tried so desperately to stem as he wiped senselessly at his nose with the sleeve of his jumper.

Behind the mask, Kakashi's jaw clenched. He wouldn't stand for this. This wasn't the Naruto he knew! No matter how grim the news, he _never_ lost hope.

The silver-haired elder grabbed hold of Naruto's other shoulder and yanked him back up to his feet. When he continued to shed tears, Kakashi shook him roughly, trying to snap him out of his hysterical state.

"Naruto!" he admonished harshly. "Pull yourself together."

"Y-you don't understand," Naruto blubbered. "We're t-too late, Kakashi-sensei! We're _too late_!" he released a loud wail, wiping at his eyes with the back of his other arm, doubling over again as the force of his devastation crippled him once more.

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat. What did he mean, they were too late?! Had Sasuke harmed Sakura following Sai's visit to the palace? He blinked, refusing to give into panic. He wouldn't learn a thing if Naruto kept this hopeless snivelling up, that was for sure.

How to calm him down? There really was no other way, Kakashi decided, to get him to return to his senses. Tugging the blond back upright, he angled a firm smack around the left side of Naruto's head.

The pain seemed to make Naruto focus at last, for he hiccupped, his glistening, red-rimmed blue eyes, rendered a darker shade of cobalt from sadness, lifted to meet Kakashi's gaze at last.

"What happened?" Kakashi demanded.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he heard next.

"S-Sakura-chan," Naruto stammered, still snivelling. "She- she's eaten the _fruit-_ " His voice broke off at the final word – a word that slammed into Kakashi with the devastating force of an overpowering tsunami.

 _The fruit!_ He could no longer hold back his alarm. _No._ He thought to himself in disbelieving horror. _No!_

Grabbing onto Naruto's shoulders with both hands, he shook him again.

"Are you sure? Naruto!"

"Sasuke said it himself!"

His grip on Naruto was almost crushing as Kakashi wrestled to remain unruffled. However, keeping his frantic thoughts from traversing down disastrous routes was proving difficult.

If Sakura had indeed eaten the Fruit of the Dead… the forbidden pomegranate of the Underworld… then it was over. She could never leave – and spring would never again bloom on the surface, for whatever duration was left of Sakura's lifetime.

 _Sasuke…_ His chest suddenly felt excruciatingly heavy with the knowledge of just how brutally vindictive the death deity had become – how low he had fallen to resort to punishing them in such a callous manner. _Why?_ _What have you done…?_

Naruto's grief, meanwhile, was finally shifting to anger. "That bastard!" he exploded. "I'll kill him! I'll _kill_ him!"

Kakashi withdrew his hands, thoughts whirling in an endless rush as something suddenly occurred to him. He felt a glimmer of optimism ward back the encroaching darkness that had been starting to pool into his mind.

He still hadn't listened to the full story. Perhaps not all hope had yet been lost.

"How many?" he finally asked.

"Wha-?" Naruto, his eyes still brimming with tears, failed to immediately understand the question.

"How many seeds has she eaten?"

Naruto blinked at him in dismay. "How many?" he echoed blankly. "I don't- Kakashi-sensei, what does that have to do with anything-?"

"I believe the number of seeds a person consumes corresponds directly to the length of time they must remain in the Underworld," Sai provided informatively, tuning back into the conversation.

Naruto's features twisted into a confused frown as his gaze moved from Kakashi, to Sai, then back to Kakashi again.

"Huh?" he exclaimed.

"He's right," the silver-haired elder nodded. "Now did Sasuke specify how many seeds?"

"Well, no," Naruto shook his head. "He just said she ate it, so I thought-"

"No," Kakashi interrupted, holding up a hand. "Unless we know for certain that Sakura has consumed twelve seeds, there could still be a way to get her back!"

"But Kakashi-sensei, _"_ Naruto exclaimed in despair. "He won't _listen!_ Even after I told him about what'd happen if he didn't give Sakura-chan back-" he abruptly clamped a fearful palm over his mouth, knowing that he'd already blurted out far too much.

Kakashi froze; the sense of horror within him mounted considerably as he wondered just how, in Zeus's name, Naruto could have done something so _reckless_.

But that was precisely the problem; it was _Naruto_ he'd sent down to the Underworld _._ Kakashi at that moment greatly regretted giving into the blond's insistent pleas to be the one to confront the Death God. He ought to have listened to his own instincts and ventured underground himself.

There was a tense silence, in which Naruto waved his hands in a desperate attempt to quell the fury he sensed brewing in his old sparring teacher.

"You told him _what?"_ Kakashi murmured at length.

Naruto's heart drummed. He knew Kakashi's anger manifested itself as a quiet storm – which was exactly why it was so intimidating.

"I-" he stuttered, face paling at the stern look his elder was directing at him. "Kakashi-sensei, he _made_ me! He said if I didn't tell him the truth about Sakura-chan, he'd kill her-!"

"How could you be so careless, Naruto!" Kakashi censured in frustration. "I warned you under no circumstances to mention the Essence!" He gestured with his hands. "Sasuke could be working in league with our enemy-!"

"Are you _listening_ to me?" Naruto yelled, pulling at his sunshine spikes. "I didn't have a choice! That bastard threatened to _kill_ her!"

Kakashi's jaw clenched. It was useless to argue and lose both their heads. That wouldn't help them - or Sakura. They both needed to calm down. Running a hand through his fine silver strands, he took a deep breath, finding himself once again forced to salvage the mess Naruto had created.

"What else?" he changed the subject. "Did you ask him about the missing phial?"

Naruto's eyes lowered gloomily. "No."

Kakashi's own rose exasperatedly to the ceiling as he struggled with his rapidly splintering patience. "Then did you discover the reasons behind Sasuke's actions?"

"No." The response was guilty.

"So in reality, you achieved nothing," an inappropriately smiling Sai pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Shut your damned mouth, Sai!" Naruto rounded on him. "You screwed up, too!" To Kakashi, he justified, "I didn't get a chance. He knew about the seal on the Essence, and he took me by surprise when he asked about it right away-"

Kakashi inhaled sharply. Sasuke had _known_ about the seal already _?_ How?

"This is bad," he muttered. "If Sasuke knows, then someone else must have told him, which means he isn't the only one."

"When I asked him, he said nobody had," Naruto informed him. The tears had finally ceased and he simply stood in a mixture of dejection and anger.

Kakashi's head was starting to throb from the burden of his troubling thoughts. Was it possible then that Sasuke had managed to find out on his own? He had always been a perceptive and clever deity – one of the most intelligent of his Clan, in fact.

Naruto, noting the stress lines on his elder's forehead, swallowed thickly. "I'll fix things," he began. "Kakashi-sensei, I'll make this right. I'll go see him again, and I'll make him understand. I'll use my fists this time to beat sense into him!"

Kakashi, however, shook his head. "We've tried doing it your way. You've done quite enough damage, Naruto. I'll take over from here."

"But Kakashi-sensei!" The blond protested.

"That's enough, Naruto!" Kakashi finally lost his temper. "We can't keep this contained between us anymore!"

Naruto's eyes widened. He couldn't accept what he was hearing. "No, Kakashi-sensei! We _can_ do this!"

"I won't protect Sasuke any further," Kakashi met the blond's gaze squarely. "Not after what he has allowed to happen. Not when we don't know his true motives. And not at Sakura's expense!"

Naruto exhaled. "You can't," he whispered, horrified. "You can't tell them. Then he'll have no way of ever coming back to us…"

Kakashi turned away, ignoring the ache in his own heart as he stated gravely, "He never intended to come back."

* * *

_The carousel's haunting melody filled her ears as the horse she sat upon rose and fell in a gentle, soothing rhythm._

_But there was nothing calming about the way Sakura could feel her heart thundering inside her. She remembered this, when she had so foolishly clambered onto the enchanting ride – and she recalled with perfect clarity what had happened next._

_When the horse drew to a stop, trembling butterflies broke out in her stomach. She knew who she would see standing by the control panel when she turned her head._

_She knew who had come for her. She'd forever associate carousels with_ _ him. _

_Closing her eyes, she willed herself_ _ not _ _to look. Perhaps, if she didn't, things would turn out differently._

_It was already too late, however. When she lifted her eyelids again, she found that she was no longer seated on the horse. She was standing by the ride's control panel instead. Staring down at her hand lingering just beneath the STOP button._

_She wondered what would happen if she pressed it._

" _Sakura…"_

_Her entire body shuddered at the sensation of a warm breath tickling the strands of hair above her right ear. Her name was exhaled in a silken caress that sent an electrical tremor down her spine._

" _You found me," she said, not really comprehending why she would speak such words. She only knew in her heart that she had inexplicably hoped he would – as much as she had dreaded his coming._

_Steely arms slipped around her waist and she was drawn back against a warm, strong body._

" _Come with me," he murmured, his voice pure seduction, brushing over her senses like alluring black velvet._

_She told herself that she didn't want to - that he'd steal her away into the very shadows she had always so terribly feared - but her eyes were already closing in surrender. Her head rolled to one side of its own accord, as smooth lips ghosted sensually over the graceful curve of her neck, leaving tantalising tingles all over her bare skin._

" _Yes," she whispered, the consent leaving her tongue automatically as her body seemed to melt against his._

' _Yes' - the word reverberated deafeningly as black smoke billowed in, enveloping them both in the cloak of darkness.  
_

* * *

Sasuke's pulse had begun to steadily increase. She was finally stirring and slowly starting to come back around.

He paced the room, uncharacteristically restless. Sakura would shortly awaken. Why did he feel so wretchedly unprepared? His mind was cycling through the same questions, over and over, driving him near-mad.

What should he tell her?

What part of the truth would he disclose?

How much of it?

Would he tell her nothing, to keep her blissfully ignorant, to protect her, the way Naruto had warned him she ought to be? Half of it, to lift at least some of the deceit that clouded her vision? Or a watered-down, full version?

 _Damn it,_ Sasuke internally cursed, completely frustrated as he raked a hand through his unruly raven locks. He had to make a decision - and fast. He already knew that he couldn't just tell Sakura everything, no matter how much he wanted to; there were some things that were just too dangerous for her to know, that would crush her – such as finding out about her impending fate – a fate he was going to do everything in his power to prevent from happening. She didn't need to know about the past vessels and how each body was condemned to dying young, he told himself fiercely. Not right then – that information would only startle her. She didn't need to suffer any more pain than what was truly necessary.

But neither could he remain completely silent, Sasuke knew. She was living a lie – and he couldn't simply stand by and contribute to the farce.

He could tell her about the parts she had already started growing suspicious about, he reasoned – such as the real identity of her mother and those she cared for on the surface. She wanted to know about the attacks, too; he could reveal the reason behind them, and simply avoid going into too much detail about the origins of Kore's Essence.

But what if his decision to tell her some truths backfired? What if Sakura became overwhelmed, and couldn't handle or process the reality of her situation? What if she became so upset, it triggered a more violent attack of sorts? Sasuke's heart skipped a beat at the possibility, a sensation that thoroughly unsettled him. Was he really prepared to deal with that, and any other unforeseen potential consequences?

Remaining ignorant and sheltered… or being informed and empowered enough to take her fate into her own hands? Which choice would Sakura prefer?

Sasuke already knew the answer. And he also knew he didn't really have a choice. If he was going to make sure that Sakura was the final, fully reborn form of the Spring Goddess, he _couldn't_ keep her in the dark about everything any if things _did_ go catastrophically wrong, then he did still have a last-resort - albeit desperate option - to reverse the potential damage of his actions.

If Sakura was harmed by part of the knowledge he was about to share with her, then he could give her a few drops of the River Lethe's amnesia-inducing waters. That way, she would forget once again.

The thought of manipulating her memory in such a manner, however, sickened the death deity. It was wrong on so many levels; tampering with her mind against her will, as well as going against the strict laws of Lethe's uses. He then angrily eradicated the unshakeable sense of guilt that followed merely thinking of involving the sacred river, reassuring himself that there would be no need to take such an extreme course of action – because Sakura was mentally stronger than all the other previous vessels the Essence had created.

Surely she would accept the truth and find a way to handle it.

He _believed_ it. After all, Sakura had shown him great resilience already and proven to him, by her acceptance of his world and everything in it, that she was capable of adapting.

Still, there were no such reassurances for how she was going to react when he told her what she so desperately sought to know. Would she weep? Scream at him? Try to leave his Kingdom altogether? The thought of the latter caused his throat to burn. Sasuke braced himself as she released a soft groan behind him, steeling himself for the inevitable confrontation.

Sakura's eyelids fluttered open, a massive headache lingering at her temples. She blinked, momentarily displaced as she found herself staring up at a beautifully detailed ceiling. Sluggishly, her brain recognised and finally registered her surroundings.

_Ugh. What happened…?_

A few seconds passed – and then the penny dropped. No sooner had she asked herself the question, recollection slammed into her.

Sai's shocking appearance and painful departure.

Sasuke's terrifying rage.

The argument that had ensued between them.

Discovering that Sai was even more abnormal than she ever could have imagined.

And lastly, Sasuke's spinning _Sharingan,_ singeing its undeniable command into her mind _._

Sakura bolted upright so fast that she was briefly assaulted by a surge of light-headedness. She paid it little heed, too incensed to dwell on the way the room temporarily swam around her.

Why that- that maddening, infuriating _jerk_ of a deity! He had knocked her unconscious, just because he hadn't wanted to answer her and left her asleep on an arm-chair!

How _humiliating!_

She turned her head – only to gasp as her eyes fell on the very same _jerk_ she was internally venting about. He stood by the grand fireplace, gazing intently at the flickering flames.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed, immediately indignant. She thought she saw him tense at the sound of her voice – or maybe it was just her imagination. Too angry to care, she swung her legs off the side of the chaise-longue, intending to stand up. "I can't believe you sent me to sleep!"

But Sasuke clearly had other ideas. His head whipped around, firelight glinting off his smoky irises. In an instant, he'd closed the gap between them, just as Sakura had gotten to her feet.

His right hand clamped onto her left shoulder, pushing her firmly back down into a sitting position.

"What are you-?" she began to demand, lovely features scrunched into a cross frown as she attempted to resist and rise again.

"Sit down," he ordered, cutting her off curtly with a scowl of his own, the slightly increased pressure of his fingertips making it clear that he would not permit her to stand.

She opened her mouth to argue – but he shot her a warning glance. Then he surprised her by nonchalantly pulling one of the elegantly constructed, single chairs adorning the room closer to where she was seated, stationing it directly opposite her.

She stared at him in genuine bewilderment as he sat down on the plush velvet seat, his knees less than half a metre from hers.

An ominous and inexplicable sense of dread suddenly churned Sakura's gut as instinct warned her that this wasn't like Sasuke at all. He was sitting in a manner that reminded her of the positions doctors and nurses adopted in hospital waiting rooms whenever they had devastating news to deliver to the anxious families of terminally ill patients.

Her irritation with him evaporated, only to be replaced by something else entirely more disconcerting – nervousness.

"…" He regarded her intently, his quick mind working to find a suitable way to begin. He knew it was imperative to proceed with caution; he didn't want to alarm her at the outset – but Sasuke had never been one to mince or sugar-coat his words. Telling her a truth he knew was bound to upset her was going to be challenging for a god like him, who didn't know how to articulate things in any other manner that _wasn't_ blunt.

Speaking tactfully had always been one of his older brother's countless strengths. Sasuke ground his teeth. Now he understood why he hadn't felt ready. He had only just digested the truth himself – and now was faced with the gruelling task of retelling fragments of it in his own way.

 _Tch._ This was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated…

Sakura, meanwhile, was growing increasingly anxious. Why was he _s_ _taring_ at her like that?

"Sasuke?" she searched his face for any clues about what he was thinking, finding it as unreadable as ever. "What? What's the matter?"

"You asked about ambrosia," he stated.

Sakura's heartbeat, which had been progressively increasing, began to pound as she was reminded of the question she had posed to him about her mother before he'd gracelessly enforced slumber upon her. Was he now _offering_ to tell her? Shocked and suspicious by his sudden, open compliance, she began to shake her head uncertainly. What in the world had happened while she had been unconscious? What had made him change his mind about telling her, when he'd clearly been opposed to it enough earlier to knock her out cold?

Deciding not to push her luck, however, she replied, "Yes."

He blinked. There. She _wanted_ the truth – and that was reason enough to tell her. He _had_ to; she _deserved_ to know. His fury at the injustice of her fate wouldn't allow him to let her bask in ignorance any longer.

Still, he felt the need to give her due warning.

"You want the truth," he continued.

Sakura eyed him with caution – as if expecting a sudden catch. "…Yes."

There didn't seem to be any strings attached, however. Sasuke's gaze locked with hers.

"What if you won't like what you hear?" he demanded. His eyes were hard, glittering like black diamonds.

Sakura swallowed. The nervousness within her was turning into a whisper of apprehension. He seemed to be testing her resolve – or giving her a final chance to back out at the last second. She wasn't quite certain which.

"I can handle it," she answered bravely.

"But can you accept it?" the death deity followed, watching her closely.

The apprehension intensified. Sakura almost faltered, breaking eye-contact. For an awful moment, she fell silent, as she sensed she was on the brink of hearing something that would surely change her life - forever.

Why else would Sasuke be giving her a forewarning, something he had never bothered to do before?

Finally, she replied, "If I couldn't, you wouldn't be telling me." Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him again, and said with conviction, "I'll take my chances."

"Hn." Sasuke's eyes briefly lowered. He'd settled for his starting point – but he would have to monitor Sakura's reactions carefully. He looked at her again.

"Did you see anything?" When she stared at him in puzzlement, he prompted, "While you slept."

Sakura frowned – this wasn't what she'd expected to hear first. What did that have to do with her mother? She sifted through her memory. She _had_ seen something, she was certain – but she'd dreamt vividly about the carousel afterwards, which made the recollection vague and fuzzy. And she definitely did _not_ want to think about the second vision that had followed – about the way she'd felt a certain _somebody's_ lips brush so teasingly over her skin.

She fought back the blush that threatened to assault her cheeks. It had felt so _real._ To her mortification, the flesh over the right side of her neck began to prickle at the mere memory. Sakura was suitably furious at herself. Whatever was coming over her? She was already horrified enough to find that her brain was starting to dream up inappropriate, imaginary scenarios of herself with Sasuke. And this was definitely no time to be dwelling on it! It had just been a stupid, _stupid,_ messed up, crazy alternate version of her mind's memory of their first meeting. That was all.

"I think I saw a forest," she replied, hoping he wouldn't notice her sudden embarrassment. "But I can't remember it clearly, this time."

So she still wasn't at the point of recalling dreams consistently on her own; this was reassuring to Sasuke. It meant she still had more time.

"Why?" Sakura leant forward slightly, curiosity vanquishing her brief spell of discomfort. "Did you find out anything new about what they mean?"

Anything new? That was quite the understatement. He'd found out everything.

"Your visions are memories," he repeated what he'd told her before.

Sakura held her breath. Had he finally gotten answers? "Whose?"

Sasuke hesitated despite himself. This was it; the moment that would begin to break the glass cocoon her surface friends and family had constructed around her.

"A deity's," he answered matter-of-factly – then paused. He needed to give her adequate time to absorb every detail he was going to disclose to her.

He watched as Sakura's eyebrows flew up in surprise – before knotting together to form a bewildered frown.

Had she heard him correctly?

" _Huh?_ "

"The memories belong to a deceased goddess," Sasuke clarified.

Sakura gaped incredulously. "What? But that doesn't make any sense," she shook her head. "How is that even- why would _I_ be seeing them?" she broke off at the peculiar look Sasuke angled her way _._

She swallowed back the sudden dryness in her mouth. "How?"

"…" The truth loaded itself on the tip of the Death God's tongue. "They are contained inside a fragment locked inside you, Sakura."

He waited for the revelation to hit her – only to feel irritation spike within him as Sakura's expression morphed from one of open-mouthed befuddlement – to sudden, unexpected mirth.

Sasuke stared. She was finding this _funny?_ It was anything but humorous!

"S-sorry," she burst into a short fit of giggles, trying in vain to suppress her amusement by covering her mouth with an apologetic hand. "But you should hear how ridiculous that sounds, Sasuke." She muffled a giggle again. "I mean, that's just completely…" her voice trailed upon witnessing the way the death deity's eyes narrowed disapprovingly at her inappropriate bout of laughter.

"That's just…" her muddled tongue couldn't complete its initial sentence. For that was when it slammed into her – a wave of suffocating, horrific realisation that promptly devoured any misplaced, lingering feelings of amusement.

_He really means it._

A heavy silence ensued, in which she struggled to come to terms with what he was telling her.

"You…" she managed to whisper at last, her lips parting in abject alarm. "You really… aren't joking…"

His head shifted slightly to the right, the motion causing the earring in his left ear to glint – the confirmation she didn't really require that he had never been more serious.

Sakura slowly exhaled, fingernails digging into the edge of her seat. There was something in those bottomless eyes that made her heart start pounding even harder and faster. Suddenly all she could think about was the warning he had given her when she'd so boldly claimed she could handle the truth.

' _But can you accept it?'_

She swallowed. The sense of dread was growing progressively stronger. A small part of her pleaded that she had only asked about her mother. But a larger part knew it was already too late to turn back; the burning need to make sense of the outrageousness she was hearing absolutely prevented it.

"I-" she fumbled. "That's just- what are you _saying?_ What do you mean a fragment of a _goddess_ is inside me? That's just crazy! I'm human!"

"Yes," he agreed.

Sakura placed her left hand over her chest and released a shaky breath, more confused than ever. "Then why would it be with _me?_ How could it be?"

This was the part where it was necessary for Sasuke to deviate a little from the truth. To protect her - to keep her from knowing about the previous vessels and the horror of Cronus's past actions. He knew that knowledge really _would_ overwhelm her – and he couldn't allow that to happen.

"It chose you," he stated.

It wasn't a complete lie. The Essence _had_ chosen to create Sakura in her present form.

For a few seconds, Sakura was appalled and rendered speechless. Just what in the world was he suggesting? She hadn't known what to expect – but it certainly hadn't been anything like _this._

"Chose me," she repeated senselessly, desperately trying to keep her spiralling thoughts composed – but it was becoming increasingly challenging. A thick lump had formed in the base of her throat, and she was starting to feel increasingly restless and nauseous. "What do you mean- _what_ chose me? What _is_ it?"

"A fragment of Spring."

Sakura's breath stilled. Even as he said it, she was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Spring?" she said blankly, stupidly. "You mean- as in- the _season?"_

His gaze on her face remained steady in unspoken confirmation.

She had some mystical fragment that was somehow responsible for triggering _spring time_ cooped up inside her _?_ The very idea was preposterous. She'd never had any kind of special abilities while growing up.

Sasuke was mistaken. He had to be.

"No," she said faintly. "No. That's impossible." Recalling her science lessons, she went on automatically, "The earth's orbit is responsible for the changing in seasons."

Something flashed across Sasuke's irises at the glazed look in her eyes and he leant forward in his seat. As he had expected, she was withdrawing into a shell of denial.

" _Think_ , Sakura," he urged her harshly. "When do your attacks happen?"

 _Spring_ , the answer reverberated thunderously in her skull. Deep in her heart, she somehow knew Sasuke wasn't lying to her. Why would he lie about something so terrible? The dots were certainly connecting. The only problem was that Sakura was having an awfully hard time accepting the full picture they were forming.

The so-called 'fragment' sharing her body was responsible for the pain she'd suffered every single year at the start of spring-time, for her entire life? It was responsible for plaguing her with memories that didn't belong to her?

The death deity could see the fine tremors that were starting to afflict her muscles. Perhaps he had revealed too much.

"Why me?" she whispered.

"…" Her sense of trepidation grew when Sasuke's eyes slipped away from hers.

"Sasuke!" she spoke louder, reaching out to grasp tightly onto his right forearm. Her eyes glistening with the tears he could see she was fighting to hold back, she near-pleaded, "Why would it choose _me?"_

Something twisted inside him. He couldn't tell her the honest truth. Instead he responded vaguely, evasively, "It can't survive on its own. It needs a compatible vessel."

A compatible _vessel?_ Sakura's shock and devastation grew. She was some kind of temporary human _container_ for a fragment that had lost its original form? She was sharing her body with an essentially parasitic entity that left her lungs gasping for oxygen whenever the spring season began?

The implications of that were too terrible to think about.

"Compatible?" she echoed incredulously. "What- it just randomly decided it wanted to live in _me?_ Is _that_ what you're saying?"

"…" Sasuke did not answer. He didn't need to.

An astounded Sakura wondered how in the world _she,_ of all people, had come to be deemed a suitable host. The only thing she had in common with the spring was her name – and her exotic hair colour that matched the cherry blossom trees which bloomed at the start of the season.

Her brain frantically tried to put things into context. "Has it chosen others before me?"

Sasuke hesitated. He knew he was skewing the truth – making her believe that she was just a coincidental vessel chosen on a whim by the remnants of a Spring Goddess. But what choice did he have? He couldn't tell her she was the latest embodiment in a countless succession of incarnations that were doomed to die from the moment the sealed Essence fashioned them.

"Yes," he answered stiffly.

Sakura shakily breathed out, her hand slipping from Sasuke to return limply to her side. Her head bowed, and she squeezed her eyes shut, battling to keep from crying.

But she could feel the hot, wet tears prevail as they leaked from the corners of her eyes. It didn't make any sense! She was just an ordinary human girl who wished to become a medic. Why would a fragment of a spring goddess select _her_ body as its home? She didn't have anywhere near the mental and physical strength required to carry such an awful burden, to look after something that was so decidedly _beyond_ her in every conceivable way.

"No," she covered her face despondently with her hands, shaking her head. "I'm normal," she insisted desperately. "I've always been _normal!"_

Sasuke uncomfortably watched her. He had still to deliver the finishing blow that would send her world crashing into turmoil.

An idea suddenly entered Sakura's mind. Inhaling sharply, she looked up at the silent death deity again.

"Can it leave?" she questioned hopefully. "Can you take it out of me?"

Sasuke shook his head.

Sakura could no longer hold back a stifled sob as she lowered her face back to her hands.

 _No,_ she told herself. _No!_ This _wasn't_ happening!

First she had discovered that Sai wasn't wholly human – and now that _she_ herself was carrying something divine that didn't even belong to her?

"I don't understand!" she exclaimed, squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't understand why it would choose _me!_ I'm- I'm nothing! I'm nobody!"

But hadn't Sasuke chosen her, too? Sakura's heart lurched as an awful thought then collided into her. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place with an almost audible click.

Her _mother._

The _ambrosia._

Her breath hitched. Hunched forward in her seat, with her elbows on her knees and hands on gripping both sides of her head, her tear-brimmed eyes flew open as she released a quivering gasp.

"My mother…" she whispered dazedly. Her heart was now hammering erratically inside her, on the verge of bursting completely out of her chest. "The ambrosia…"

"Without ambrosia, it would become unstable inside your mortal body," Sasuke explained. "Your mother knows this."

Sakura's horror was complete – for she _felt_ , with every fibre of her being, that it was undeniably true. She was suddenly remembering all the times she had woken up in the night, suffering from attacks that had become progressively more intense and agonising as she'd grown older. Had this fragment been inside her for her entire life? Had her mother done _nothing_ to prevent it or help her? Had she known this all along – but never thought it important enough to actually _tell_ her?

A thought even more dreadful than any other then invaded her mind with riotous force. Had her mother… had her mother been the one to _place_ the fragment inside her?

The possibility was too horrifying for her to verbally question. Sakura's heart felt like it was being cut to pieces as the sharp blade of betrayal sliced through it.

Then Sasuke spoke the words that confirmed her greatest fears, words her mind had already tentatively entertained – but stubbornly refused to register. And with those eight words, Sakura's entire universe began to disintegrate.

"She has ambrosia... because she is a goddess."

Sakura gasped. Her mother's beautiful face drifted into her thoughts. Those warm, honey eyes. Her formidable temper. Her unchanging, ever-youthful features.

Sakura's chest ached for her. Her head throbbed as she found herself questioning how she could possibly be mortal, if the woman who was supposedly her 'mother' wasn't.

Was she even her mother at all…? Or was that just a lie, too? Was that why she had never been told about who her father was?

"No," she wept. She didn't know what was real and what wasn't anymore. She felt faint. Dizzy. Disorientated. She desperately wished she could snap out of the nightmare she was experiencing – but there was nobody there to comfort her.

Nobody but Sasuke, and the punishing truths she no longer wanted to hear.

"She never wanted you to know," the Underworld's King went on.

"Stop," Sakura whimpered. "Please, no more!"

"There are others," Sasuke went on ruthlessly, disregarding her request. Somehow he _couldn't_ stop. He was angry - and every name he said next was emphatically punctuated with the force of his seething fury.

With each name, Sakura felt the walls around her, representing the life she had _thought_ she'd known and loved on the surface, splinter and shatter further, throwing her mind and heart into the clutches of merciless chaos.

With each name, her heart lurched, as if being clawed to bloody tatters by vengeful, monstrous talons.

"Sai."

His face flashed in Sakura's mind's eye. The strange, emotionless artist.

"Kurenai. Kakashi."

She gasped again, close to hysteria. Her numbed mind struggled to register the familiar names.

Her college teachers.

"Shikamaru. Lee."

The lazy genius and the infatuated, thick-browed boy who called her his 'Flower of Youth'.

"Neji. Hinata."

The stoic Hyuuga and his shy, timid cousin – one of her closest friends. She thought of them – but suddenly it was like she couldn't even recognise them.

"Gai. Iruka. Shizune."

Other teachers. Her mother's _best friend_ and head nurse at the hospital.

A charade. Her life had been nothing but a _charade._ Suddenly, everything she had believed in was slipping rapidly through her fingers, like fine granules of sand. The solid foundations of the world as she'd experienced it before meeting Sasuke were rocking violently and crumbling away, sending her plummeting into an ocean of darkness, helpless to fight against the rushing, murky tides that were pulling her under. She was drowning, suffocating from the intensity of the anguish that tore through her with unforgiving force, shredding her insides to pieces.

No more. She covered her ears in a hopeless attempt to block out Sasuke's voice. She couldn't stand to listen to any more! But she could still hear him, and when Sasuke hissed the final two names, it was like two iron nails had been driven straight through her heart, puncturing it beyond repair.

"Ino."

"No," she choked, rocking back and forth despairingly, sobbing uncontrollably. Her _best friend._ The girl Sakura trusted more than anyone else.

And then came the last one, spoken with such disgust, that Sakura's heart palpitated dangerously as it shattered into a million fragments.

" _Naruto."_

She saw laughing, bright blue eyes. A smile so bright it rivalled the sun itself.

"NO!" she screamed senselessly at Sasuke, rising to her feet. "You're _LYING!_ "

He was up from his chair too in an instant as she tried to manoeuvre away from him, to leave the room entirely. She couldn't breathe, couldn't focus, couldn't think, couldn't _anything._ She only knew that she needed to get out, to get as far away from Sasuke as she physically could.

"Sakura-" he caught her left wrist, spinning her roughly back around to face him.

"I won't listen!" she panted, struggling to get away, her vision obscured by the tears that just wouldn't stop falling. She was out of control, emotionally distraught, close to hyperventilating. She wasn't anywhere close to her usual, rational self. All sense and logical thinking had abandoned her head, swallowed whole by the yawning jowls of hysteria and shock, her body fuelled purely by the ransacking, pillaging, violent cyclone of emotions running rampant through her.

"Let me go!" she shrieked hysterically, her skin recoiling as though his hand was a fiery shackle upon her. Suddenly, an unstoppable, blistering force sizzled through the sea of torment, leaving her breathless and stricken.

 _Rage_. Suddenly, Sakura _hated_ him, hated all the pain he had brought raining down upon her from the cursed second he had chosen to kidnap her into his kingdom. She _hated_ him for making her question everything she had ever known, for all the conflicting, terrible things he made her feel. And more than anything, she hated him for taking away and completely destroying her final blanket of security, the one thing she had been clinging so desperately onto for the entire duration of the time she had spent with him.

The bitterness of loathing flooded all manner of coherent thinking. It swirled like a brewing, rising maelstrom inside her, boiling unstoppably, burning like acid through her throat until it crested to the tip of her tongue, where it was spat out like venom at Sasuke, in the form of three words that struck him stronger than any physical blow could.

"I _HATE_ you! _"_

Sasuke's eyes widened marginally. Then he glowered down at her. She had _wanted_ to know! Why was she taking out her resentment and frustration on _him?_

He didn't understand her. Once again, she was driving him absolutely _crazy._

"You wanted the truth," he snapped indignantly.

Even as the words dripped angrily from his lips, he knew they were the wrong thing to say, that he wasn't helping Sakura deal. It was evident that she dreadfully needed comforting – but Sasuke didn't know _how_ to do it. His heart raced fitfully inside his chest. He _despised_ the disturbing feel of it.

The truth had pained her, as he'd expected. But never could he have anticipated this depth of anguish. Sakura had turned so deathly pale, that Sasuke was filled with a sickening sense of apprehension.

What if she _couldn't_ accept it? What if, in his eagerness to make her hate them the way he did for keeping her ignorant, he had really pushed her too far? What if he had contributed to the very thing he feared most – triggering the start of the downward spiral that would end with her untimely demise?

 _No,_ he savagely rejected in his mind. It was just the shock and initial anger. She was stunned and upset, needed time to absorb it – and then she _would_ handle it. In order to be the final form of _Kore,_ she _had_ to.

Feeling the senseless need to say something regardless, he uttered harshly, " _They_ kept this from you, Sakura!"

"No!" she yelled at him again, her voice raw and hoarse with emotion. With a sudden surge of strength that caught Sasuke quite by surprise, she succeeded in tearing her wrist out of his grasp, before shoving her way quickly past him. "Leave me _ALONE!_ "

It then struck Sasuke as she fled - sobbing inconsolably - from the room, that giving Sakura space was the only form of comfort he knew _how_ to offer.

Swallowing back the bitterness in his throat, the death deity remained frozen in position. Something ached unbearably and heavily deep within his chest as three words reverberated in his head, ricocheting tortuously in his skull.

' _I hate you.'  
_

* * *

"That intolerable woman," Jiraiya muttered to himself in frustration, as he took refuge in one of the multitudes of caves that surrounded Konoha's mountainous borders. Tsunade was being a stubborn, unbearable shrew as usual, refusing to take any suggestion or advice he offered to her seriously.

She had always had the problem of thinking wine and women were the only two things he knew anything about. Although Jiraiya would never dream of denying that he most certainly _was_ very well educated about those two particular things, there were also many other subjects he considered himself well-learned in.

Not that Tsunade had ever bothered to notice. She'd always been far too busy fawning over that _inadequate_ lover of hers in the past – and had never gotten over his death.

Jiraiya frowned, the mask of careless mirth he preferred to display to the world all but non-existent at that moment. He wasn't going to wait idly around for them to summon a meeting with Danzou, first. He'd never quite trusted the man.

It was time for him to take matters into his own hands. With a little assistance from one of the few deities he _could_ stand, of course.

"I got your message," he stated, as he immediately sensed the arrival of his companion. "It sounded quite urgent. It certainly isn't like you to panic, Kakashi."

The silver-haired man sighed, speaking the words he truly wished he didn't have to.

"It's about Sasuke."

A small, knowing smile curved Jiraiya's lips, as he mused aloud, "I was wondering how long it would take you to talk."

* * *

Despite the thick barrier formed by the solid double-doors and the mightily constructed walls, he could still hear the muffled sounds of her sobs. A scowling Sasuke prowled restlessly back and forth outside her chamber, agitated and impatient beyond his limits.

He had never felt like this before – so tense and on edge. He was certain he didn't like it. In fact, he positively _detested_ the foreign emotions that were wreaking havoc in his body. But it was impossible to focus on his own feelings, when Sakura had locked herself inside her room for so long and just _wouldn't stop crying_.

He'd intended to give her time and space. He'd respectfully remained in the drawing room for as long as he'd been able to stand. Then his feet, of their own accord, had carried him to Sakura's room. Now he found that he couldn't leave, as if his ears were prisoners compelled to listen to her weeping.

Why wouldn't she stop? How was it possible for someone so small to shed so many tears? He couldn't understand why or how he was so affected by them, so uncharacteristically unsettled and put out.

The glowering death deity stalked noiselessly left once more, before swivelling back to the doors abruptly, raising his right hand to knock and signal his presence – only to catch himself at the final moment.

What was he thinking? She was clearly still upset. What good would it do if he entered the room, right then? He'd already heard several ominous thuds, clatters and crashes which signalled she'd hurtled objects about inside. Sasuke's rather accurate sense of intuition informed him that the next item had a near one hundred per cent chance of being aimed directly at his head if he dared to venture, unwanted, into her chamber.

 _Tch,_ he inwardly vented in frustration. The fingers that had curled into a fist with the intention of rapping against the doors tightened, as he found himself suddenly examining his still raised hand as if it didn't even belong to him.

And he found himself moodily wondering; since when had he even started to resort to _knocking_ to enter rooms in his own palace? It was utterly absurd. At what point had he even begun considering such superfluous _human_ customs?

He knew the answer. It was _her_ damned influence. Sakura was making him think and do things that had always been inconceivable to him before, things that had always seemed so beneath his pride.

Sasuke yanked his treacherous hand back angrily and resorted to leaning against the wall by the doors, his arms folded unhappily across his chest as he glared sullenly down the stretching hallway.

Although his body remained tensely still, his mind continued to race. He didn't understand why he felt the near-maddening need to do _something._

She was suffering like that because of the lies she'd lived on the surface, for which he had not been responsible. However, he _was_ responsible for wiping away her ignorance and inflicting the pain of truth upon her.

' _I hate you.'_

His jaw clenched, expression darkening as the hated words came back to trouble him once more. All at once, almost against his will, he found himself gloomily thinking of all the actions he had chosen to take in his quest to keep Sakura in his world.

He might have smirked at his cleverness, before. At how well he had covered his tracks. But evidently, he hadn't concealed them well enough. The _Dead-Last_ idiot of all idiots had somehow managed to work out Sakura's real whereabouts, after all. And it was clear that foolish Naruto and Kakashi were trying to resolve Sakura's situation themselves, without alerting the other surface deities.

That was just another of the many mistakes they had made when it came to him.

But instead of feeling smug about getting his way, as he might have in the past, all Sasuke tasted was an unpleasant bitterness at the back of his throat as he thought of the fruit he had fed to her with his own hand. And Sakura… she still had no idea of what it meant to consume six, harmless-looking crimson seeds.

He swallowed. Guilt was an emotion virtually unknown to members of his proud, majestic Clan. Sasuke had only ever experienced it in direct relation to being unable to prevent his family's demises - so he was at quite a loss to recognise the significance or the meaning of the strange heaviness that had taken stubborn post somewhere deep within his chest.

The heaviness _urged_ him to act, to move; to do something, not for himself or his own gains – but for once, for Sakura's sake – even if indirectly. His chest burned from the thoroughly unfamiliar feeling. He wanted to fight against it, to shun it entirely – but then he heard her soft, broken sobs again, and found that he could not.

So restless and discontented was he, that when his mind suddenly put forward an alien suggestion to him, he gave it no second thought, and instantly moved.

* * *

For an immeasurable length of time, Sakura remained locked inside her room. She'd cried more tears than she thought were medically possible, until the rivers pooling from her eyes had run completely dry and her lungs had exhausted themselves from expelling every shuddering, broken sob they could muster. She'd alternated between bouts of hysterical weeping and fits of wailing rage, pummelling the unfortunate cushions on her bed one second - then hugging them tightly to her chest the next. Eventually she'd collapsed onto her bed, mentally, emotionally and physically depleted.

The wetness had long since dried on her cheeks and she had fallen still and silent. She lay on her right side, staring vacantly into space, her throat sore, her breathing shallow and her head throbbing.

The combined feelings of shock, rage and denial had faded away to leave only a dull, aching pain in their wake. Sasuke's words had recycled themselves in her mind, over and over and over again, tormenting her with the harshness of what she had finally – after a very long and lengthy struggle – accepted to be the absolute truth.

She knew it was true, for she began to remember little things that she had always dismissed as normal occurrences before. Back when she had been so naïve and trusting. Back when she had been so pitifully foolish and sightless.

Her mother and her friends had always been so outrageously – and Sakura had always believed unreasonably - over-protective. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever been out on her own before Sasuke had taken her. That was because she hadn't; at least one of her friends had always been with her. She'd just been too preoccupied with silly, teenage notions of friendship to notice that she'd never really had her own personal space. Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, or one of the others had always accompanied and chaperoned her outside her house. Her mother had never allowed her to fall out of their – or her- line of sight.

She'd always insisted that Sakura lock the doors at home. She'd given her a necklace that was supposed to protect her – although it had fallen short at foiling Sasuke. Sakura had always received strict instructions to never to open the door to anyone when she was home alone. And her mother would always consistently check on her.

And now Sakura knew exactly why. It wasn't just because she was an only child. She held something inside her, a fragment that belonged to a deceased deity, which had chosen _her_ as its temporary vessel. How her mother had allowed it and how it had even come to be locked within _her_ of all people in the first place were questions she still didn't have answers to.

She also had no idea how she could possibly be related to her mother if her body was mortal, like Sasuke stated, but her mother was not. Sakura had the oddly certain feeling that asking the death deity about it would prove fruitless. He'd been the immediate recipient of her hysterical breakdown – but she knew he wasn't the one responsible for the fact that she had a goddess's remnants inside her.

Only her mother could give her the real explanation she so desperately craved and needed.

She then wondered how Sasuke had found out the truth himself. Had he spoken to one of them? To her mother? Did he personally _know_ Tsunade? The bizarre thought made Sakura's head ache more. It hurt too much to even think about it.

She closed her eyes tiredly. Nothing made sense any more. How could she ever go back to her old existence? Now, more than ever, it was impossible. All thanks to a certain death deity, who had come into her life and mercilessly flipped everything she'd known upside down – quite literally.

Her heart constricted as her eyes burned with the fresh need to shed tears that she no longer had the strength to summon. _Sasuke._ If she hadn't been abducted by him, if he'd never dispelled the blissful bubble that had been enveloping her for her entire life, then she would have been none the wiser.

She'd still be on the surface, living her ordinary life, completely oblivious to the real identities of those closest to her – and the terrible secret she harboured inside her.

Her left hand clutched above her chest. Where was it exactly, this fragment Sasuke claimed she held? Was it infused with her heart? She released a quivering breath, recalling the searing pains in her chest that corresponded at the start of every spring. What would happen if it were somehow removed?

Would she _die?_

She whimpered fearfully, curling into a tighter ball as she asked herself the same, excruciating question once again. _Why?_ Why would such an awful power be stored away inside her? And why would her mother keep it from her, cover up and dismiss all the countless blood-tests and medical examinations as routine procedures?

The blade of betrayal cut her deeper than anything else. It was like a constant, unbearable sting. How did someone go about picking themselves up again, when everything around them, everything they'd believed in, turned out to be nothing more than a travesty?

Her eyes opened once more, the indignant anger of being misled by those she loved most slowly sparking back to life. Through the depths of grief and helplessness, a sudden flame kindled into being within her. And a voice spoke from one corner of her mind, with surprising force and intensity.

 _What good has it ever done you to cry?_ It demanded. _What will it change now? You've shed your tears – now what are you going to do next? Stay here and hide forever, rejecting what you already_ _know_ _is true – or will you accept that you can't change what's happened, and get up and carry on?_

She swallowed thickly. The strength she drew from the return of balanced thinking seeped slowly into her limbs, allowing her to stir at last. Carefully she sat up, turning her eyes to the fireplace, where they finally succeeded in focusing on the flickering flames.

 _I can't… I_ _can't_ _fall apart. Not now,_ she told herself fiercely. _It's difficult, and it hurts so much – but if I've been able to deal with being in the Underworld for all this time, then I can accept and deal with this, too._

She had no choice. She _had_ to handle it - because the alternative, to continue to weep and wallow in despair, was definitely not an option.

She'd learnt that lesson from Sasuke already.

Sakura released a slow breath as she bitterly tried to reassure herself that this was just another unexpected and unpleasant shock in a string of unanticipated incidences that she'd experienced within a relatively short duration of time.

The only difference was that it happened to be the most dreadful. It had stunned her senseless, swept the ground out entirely from beneath her feet, left her crippled for a long while and almost believing that she could never stand again.

But she would. She _would._ Sakura swallowed and slipped off the bed, planting her sandal-clad feet on the floor before rising. She sucked in another deep breath as she walked towards the warmth of the hearth. Now that she'd had the time to absorb everything, she could begin thinking more rationally, more objectively.

Surely her mother had her reasons for hiding such a burden from her. Surely her friends – the other _gods –_ it was strange and testing to think of them as such – had their motives, too.

Sakura's mind then whirred to an abrupt halt as realisation suddenly dawned on her.

 _Suigetsu._ Now she knew why he was helping her. Her mother had surely sent him to search for her!

She exhaled, working hard to keep her breathing steady, even as her heart began to increase its pace once more from the staggering weight of understanding.

He'd been so secretive about his intentions all along; was it because her mother had sworn him to silence?

 _That must be it!_ Sakura shook her head, anger flaring inside her chest once again.

Then something else occurred to her. Something more unnerving. If her mother _had_ indeed asked for Suigetsu's help, then surely she had to trust him to some extent – didn't she?

If the Ocean God confirmed her suspicions the next time they communicated, then how did that change her situation? Would she then finally be ready to go through with their original, agreed plan?

However, the thought of stabbing Sasuke in the back at that moment, more than ever before, made her feel terribly sick.

She had asked him for the truth. He'd only given her what she'd wanted. And she was still contemplating doing something so deplorable?

How could she? But if she didn't, then how would she return to the surface and confront her mother and the others?

Sakura rubbed at her throbbing head. Everything was such a mess. She couldn't think anymore. She had to get out of her room, to clear her head – she had to get out of the palace. The need to do so was near stifling.

As she exited her room, she found Ume and Chizu waiting outside. Ume, who had been hunched in a sitting position against the wall, jumped up at the sight of Sakura.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Mistress! Finally you have come out!"

"Are you alright, My Lady?" Chizu's forehead was creased with concern.

"I'm fine." Sakura answered dully. Then, after a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Where's Sasuke...?"

"The Master had business to attend to outside the palace," Chizu replied.

"He told us to look after you, and instructed us not to let you out of our sight!" Ume nodded anxiously. "Are you alright, Mistress? We heard you crying for so long…"

"You look awfully pale," Chizu reached out to take Sakura's hands. She gasped in alarm. "Goodness! Your hands are freezing, child!"

That was funny, Sakura thought to herself, as she didn't feel the cold at all. In fact, her entire body was oddly numb. The remnants of shock, she assumed.

"I'm fine," she repeated.

"Will you not eat something?" Ume pressed close to her side, as if trying to warm her. "You look so dreadfully pale, Mistress. The cook has prepared some delicious fresh soup just now. I could fetch you some at once?"

It had been a while since she had eaten anything, but any appetite Sakura might have had before had completely evaporated. The very thought of putting anything in her mouth made her feel nauseous.

"No thanks," she patted Ume's arm distractedly. "I'm really not hungry." She paused, before informing them, "I want to go for a walk."

"Of course, My Lady," Chizu nodded in understanding. "We can go to the gardens, if it pleases you-"

"No," Sakura interrupted. "I mean I want to go outside the palace."

"Oh," Ume shared a nervous glance with Chizu. "Hmm. W-well, Mistress. You see-" she stammered awkwardly.

"Our Lord has commanded us to ensure that you do not leave the palace grounds, My Lady," Chizu took over, looking apologetic.

Sakura clenched her teeth. Oh, he _had_ , had he?

Well suddenly, she didn't care much for his instructions. She wanted to take Eos for a head-clearing ride – and she would be damned if anything or anyone stopped her.

Feigning compliance, she sighed. "I suppose we had better listen to His Highness, then." She said, offering a small – but false – smile.

Ume nodded, smiling tentatively back in open relief that Sakura wasn't arguing.

Sakura almost felt guilty. _Almost._

"I'll just go to the stables, then" she shrugged. "But please – I hope you won't mind, I'd like to be alone with Eos for a bit."

The elder maid, however, hesitated. "The Master ordered us to remain with you…"

"I'm sorry," Sakura apologised. "I just really need to be alone, right now. If Sasuke comes back, you can tell him I asked you to give me space. I'm sure his horses will keep an eye on me for him, anyway."

Her maids shared looks of uncertainty – torn between their Lord's strict commands, and Sakura's wishes to be left in privacy.

"As long as you do not leave the palace grounds…" Chizu began unsurely.

Sakura squeezed both their hands. "Thank you for being so understanding," she expressed softly. "We'll go for a walk together later."

With that, she parted from them and made her way to the stables, where she found Eos waiting. The angelic-looking horse jutted her head eagerly over the wooden barriers at the sight of her mistress, neighing excitedly at the unexpected visit.

Sakura noted that three of Sasuke's mounts were also still inside – including Alastor. She immediately recognised the temperamental stallion from the manner he snorted smoke upon glimpsing her.

A young stable boy, clad in a faded brown tunic and baggy trousers, had just finished brushing all the horses' coats and exited the stable doors, a bucket and brush in his hands.

"M'lady," the freckled, ginger-haired youth bowed politely to her.

"What's your name?" Sakura asked. She was startled by how young he seemed. He looked no older than fourteen at most.

"Sora," the boy kept his light blue eyes shyly lowered.

"Thank you for looking after her," Sakura offered.

Sora blinked, clearly surprised to hear open gratitude being expressed to him from a superior. Unaccustomed to it, he stammered, blushing fiercely, "Uh- it- it's my honour, M'lady."

Sakura smiled at his endearing bashfulness. "Could you please saddle her up for me?" she asked.

"Of course, Miss," the youth set his cleaning equipment down and moved immediately to do as he was requested.

"Hey, there, little beauty," Sakura turned back to Eos as she waited, smiling as she stroked her silky mane tenderly. The sight of her trusty mount flooded her with immediate comfort. Sakura leaned in, resting her cheek against Eos's lowered forehead. After a minute, she pulled back, watching as Sora proficiently secured the reigns.

Now that she had seen how it was done once, she told herself she could do it unaided, next time.

"She's ready, Miss," Sora scratched the back of his head. The awkward motion reminded her vaguely of Naruto when he was embarrassed – and made a fresh lump form in Sakura's throat.

"Thank you," she said. "Could you give me a hand up?"

The boy obeyed without a word, joining his gloved hands together to give her a boost into the saddle. Once Sakura settled comfortably in it, she said to him, as she patted Eos's neck soothingly, "Please tell your Master when he comes back that I've gone to the bridge. He'll know where that is."

Sora nodded, standing aside to allow her to manoeuvre her horse freely. "Yes, M'lady."

With that, Sakura leant forward and whispered her desired location to Eos.

* * *

Sasuke stared aloofly down at the motionless form before him, one corner of his lips drawing back to form a disdainful sneer.

The fool wouldn't meddle again. He'd make sure of it. Reaching out, he placed the first two fingers of his right hand lightly against the comatose individual's forehead, acting before he could change his mind.

 _Release,_ he instructed.

* * *

Gai sighed heavily as his eyes examined the stars twinkling high above.

"Do you recall the days?" he lamented to the person sitting on the hilltop beside him. To any onlooker, they appeared to be father and son, for both shared the same, thick fuzzy black eyebrows, odd round eyes, strong jaws, and closed-cup, mushroom hairstyles. They also wore similar green turtle neck tops, trousers, and darker green, sleeveless, open, padded jackets on top. "When we'd look down from the heavens at the world below?"

"Yes, Gai-sensei," Lee agreed emotionally, his lower lip quivering. "Those were our glory days, indeed!"

"They are not lost!" The elder seraph suddenly exclaimed with gusto, punching a fist into the air. "We will reclaim them! Lee! Never give up on the Power of Youth!"

"I never will!" Lee promised. "I promise, Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!" His idol nodded approvingly, his gaze shifting back to the vast landscape ahead of them.

"I promise!" Lee repeated enthusiastically. "I-" he broke off abruptly. "GAI-SENSEI!" The younger of the two suddenly stood up, his eyes snagged by something he was certain hadn't been in the horizon ahead of them before. He pointed. "LOOK THERE!"

Gai was on his feet in an instant, as his gaze fell upon a shadowy figure some distance away from them, slumped beneath a cluster of trees that had only managed to sprout a sparse amount of unhealthy yellow leaves. They rushed forward, closing the gap quickly, until they drew to a stop beside the motionless form of an alarmingly familiar individual.

"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee gasped, kneeling beside the still body, surprise rendering his dark eyes almost comically wide. "This is- can it really be?!"

As if roused by their voices, the figure stirred, groaning as it began to regain consciousness at last.

Gai reached out, clamping a hand on Inoichi's shoulder.

"Inoichi!" he exclaimed, his genuine bewilderment momentarily dwarfed by the relief of seeing his friend unharmed. "Inoichi!" he shook him. "Can you hear us? Please respond!"

The pale-haired seraph grumbled under his breath, as he raised a hand to his aching head, "You're loud enough to wake the damned dead, Gai."

Instead of being insulted, Gai laughed loudly. Lee burst into tears, overcome with his emotions.

Beyond their perception, midnight eyes narrowed scornfully at the reunion.

 _How_ _sentimental,_ he thought disgustedly. How completely pathetic and utterly pitiful they were – every single one of them.

As silently as a shadow, Sasuke blinked out of existence.

* * *

She'd forgotten just how spectacular the sight was. Sakura's eyes followed the rippling flow of the massive, cascading waterfall. As she had hoped, the unrivalled beauty of the crystal clear waters helped to soothe her frayed nerves and calm inner worries – even if only temporarily. As she leant her elbows on the top of the white-marble breezeway's exquisitely carved protective parapet and gazed at the tranquil view, she found her thoughts drifting to the last time she had stood on the very same bridge.

It seemed so long ago. So much had changed since then. _She_ had changed. It was impossible to think of herself as the same girl she had been on that fateful day when she'd first woken up in the Underworld.

Unbidden, the memory of Ino on the phone to her hairdresser floated into Sakura's head. Ino, her best friend, the young woman she'd always considered the biological sister she'd never had, who she near-idolised – not that Sakura would ever openly give the blonde bombshell the satisfaction of knowing just how much she truly looked up to her.

Sasuke had told Sakura that Ino was an immortal. So which goddess was she?

What about Hinata? She couldn't imagine such a shy, timid little wall-flower possessing such great power.

Then her mind turned to Naruto. She thought of his twinkling blue eyes, of his goofy smile that was capable of disarming her even when she was at her most displeased with him.

_Naruto…_

Sakura's eyes began to burn with the familiar sting of fresh tears. Hadn't she used them all, already? But instead of being upset or furious at herself for another moment of weakness, she felt nothing except a hollow emptiness as a single tear rolled down her right cheek. She closed her eyes, willing herself to remain composed.

It was easier to command than do.

The ride to her destination atop Eos had passed in an adrenaline-fuelled blur. She hadn't had time to give into depressing thoughts, or to dwell on them as her mount had carried her, like the wind, through the diverse expanse of the Underworld. But after leaving her horse waiting by the entrance doors that led up to the breezeway, and venturing up onto the bridge flanked by two waterfalls, Sakura found that they were starting to creep back into the spotlight of her mental contemplations, despite her best attempts to ward them away.

Sakura's eyes opened automatically then – as if sensing the arrival of another presence. She exhaled, keeping her gaze fixed firmly onto the sparkling cascade ahead of her as her pulse picked up speed, immediately responding to his arrival.

Sasuke stepped onto the breezeway. He walked unhurriedly towards her, drawing to a halt a carefully calculated distance away, just beyond arm's reach. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his trousers, the cool casualness of his posture betraying nothing of the inner tension that was also plaguing him.

Together, they stared at the view for a long minute in silence.

The last time they'd spoken, Sakura had screamed at him to leave her alone. More than several surface hours had passed since then, and Sasuke wasn't sure what to expect. She certainly seemed to be calmer – but he remained cautious, waiting for her to make the first move.

Sakura was uncomfortably recalling her earlier breakdown, too. A sense of guilt flashed through her; she'd said things in the heat of the moment, yelled things at him without thinking. Her brain had been fogged by hysteria back then, as her riotous feelings had gotten the better of her.

Sasuke had only given her the answers she, herself, had requested of him.

She wondered if the fact that she had left the palace against his instructions bothered him. When the death deity did not mention it, however, Sakura assumed that perhaps he understood.

At length, she spoke.

"I didn't want to believe you," she whispered.

Sasuke's gaze also remained stubbornly locked onto the stunning scenery in front of them. He said nothing.

Sakura inhaled deeply, before going on, "Even though I knew, deep down, that you were telling me the truth… I didn't want to believe it." Her eyes lowered to her hands, resting flatly atop the parapet. Swallowing, she continued quietly, "I didn't want it to be true."

She looked back up at the waterfall again. "Everything I've known… all the things I thought I was so sure about…" she shook her head. "Everything's falling apart. I-" she broke off, swallowing thickly again, her eyes stinging more insistently this time - much to her dismay. She told herself that talking to Sasuke about it was a mistake. She'd only work herself up into a state once more.

But somehow, she _couldn't_ stop. Talking was a way to sort through her jumbled emotions – though she doubted Sasuke was willing to hear anything else on the subject, given the way she had lashed out at him verbally earlier.

She had no idea how wrong she was. The death deity was listening intently to each and every word, his ears catching every detail over the steady sound of flowing water.

Sakura bowed her head. "I don't understand why my mother would keep all this from me…" She finally glanced at the death deity. He remained still, staring unwaveringly ahead.

A slight, sad smile touched her lips as she looked away from him again. "I guess I understand if you don't want to talk about it now," she said softly. "I just- I kind of lost it earlier. It's just so much to take in and I got so overwhelmed…"

She gulped. Why was her tongue finding it so difficult to articulate what she wanted to say? Sakura knew the answer. Her thoughts were all over the place.

"…" Sasuke's eyes shifted. His face, however, remained angled forward.

Sakura sighed heavily. After another long pause, she spoke again. "I don't really hate you, Sasuke," she murmured, by way of apology.

Sasuke blinked. He slowly and noiselessly released the breath he hadn't even realised his lungs had been withholding.

"It's funny," she added. "Because I know I should."

Sasuke's shoulders tensed at that. She didn't see the subtle change in their lines – her eyes were now lowered.

"I mean, you've turned my life upside down in every possible way. But…" she bit her lower lip for a second, before finishing, "…without you, I…"

His head finally turned left in her direction.

"Without you, I would still be living a lie," said Sakura. All of a sudden, the threatening tears welled up in her eyes, spilling free. Shakily, she ventured, "They aren't who I thought they were. None of them. And I- this _thing_ I have inside me-" she placed her right hand over her heart. "This thing that hurts me- it _scares_ me so much."

The troubling heaviness in his chest seemed to increase as Sasuke watched her. He wanted to step closer. But he didn't dare to bridge the gap. His limbs, hatefully, were once more weighed down by uncharacteristic hesitation.

"Will it kill me, Sasuke…?" she asked in a hushed voice. Her entire body was now shaking. "Will I die?"

"No," he finally spoke, his answer sharp. She flinched. Sasuke bit his tongue – before repeating in a less harsh tone, "No, Sakura."

She breathed out. His words were spoken with such steady conviction. And suddenly, she believed him. He held sway over death. He wouldn't allow any harm to come to her.

Closing her eyes once more, she whispered, "Everything's different now. I don't know what's real and what isn't. What to believe in. Nothing makes sense." Her voice cracked. "It's like I don't even know who I am anymore- who I'm meant to be."

Something suddenly shifted in Sasuke's chest at the sight of her, so slight, so _broken_. Then his feet were carrying him automatically forward to her, closing the space between them as he drew to a stop by her side.

He didn't think about what he said next. The words tumbled out by themselves.

"Sakura," he stated.

Her eyes opened, shining with the tears it unsettled him to see. They turned up to him, as her lower lip quivered.

"You're _Sakura,"_ he reaffirmed.

She exhaled.

 _I'm… Sakura._ Her mind echoed. It was unexpected, but somehow, those two simple, yet obvious words helped to reassure her.

"That's right…" she gave him a tiny smile, so terribly pained, that Sasuke found his right hand lifting instantly in response – as if in a sudden trance.

"I'm Sakura," she agreed, her eyes welling once again.

When his fingertips brushed her left, tear-stained cheek, she did not move. The rushing waterfall around them had fallen away into a quiet hum, and suddenly all her eyes could focus on was the handsome god standing so close beside her.

Her tearful gaze trailed slowly over his face, marvelling as she glimpsed little details there she was certain she had never been able to distinguish before.

Such as the inexplicable shadows that seemed to darken his bottomless irises, as his cool palm cupped her cheek; such as the slight frown that weighed on his forehead; and the barely perceptible way the left corner of his mouth was tilted downwards – as if the sight of her, so distraught and unhappy, not only bothered him - but directly _affected_ him.

And it was at that moment, standing together with the God of Death, on his mother's bridge, that it hit Sakura full force at last. Suddenly, she could _see_ it, as if the river of her grief had washed away all the murky stains marring her past vision, leaving nothing but a pristine, transparent looking-glass that left her with unobscured clarity.

He _cared._

A surge of unknown, unexpected feeling flooded through her - like a barricade had been lifted from within her chest - as the significance of what she was seeing cascaded through her entire body, leaving her completely astonished.

He had _always_ cared. She had simply been too blind before, had never bothered to look close enough to realise just how _much –_ until that defining moment.

The stark revelation only spurned more tears to fall. His eyes, which had been drifting slowly over her features, suddenly drew to a halt, finding a single point of focus.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. The fingertips at her cheek seemed to be directly channelling an electrical current into her nervous system. Suddenly she was trembling for entirely _different_ reasons.

"Sakura," her name was whispered unevenly, as if Sasuke's own lungs were having a hard enough time catching oxygen as well. At some point, his head had bowed down towards hers. All Sakura could hear was the frantic _thump, thump, thump_ of her thundering heart and the blood rushing wildly in her ears. Somehow, her body had angled itself towards his, pressed into the crook of his left arm.

His thumb stroked the silken skin of her cheek, as Sasuke instinctively found himself offering her the comfort he hadn't known how to earlier. Comfort he hadn't even realised he _could_ offer. And somehow, as if by magic, it seemed to be working, for Sakura was leaning into him, her eyes fixed on his as if she was incapable of looking away.

His thoughts were in dissonance, but he couldn't tune into their disorder. All he could see were her bewitching green orbs, enticing him closer and closer.

Sakura would later be at a loss to explain what came over her next. Perhaps it was the desperate need for reassurance – and the fact that Sasuke was the only person available to give her physical solace. Or perhaps it was just that she was so exhausted, so _tired_ of fighting all the time _._

The usual warning voices that screamed at her whenever she'd found herself in similar scenarios before had fallen alarmingly silent. There was nothing but the waterfall and her heartbeat.

Subconsciously – or perhaps not – her head tilted back marginally, chin angling upwards. Even more treacherously, her lips parted slightly, releasing another unsteady breath.

Something flickered across Sasuke's midnight irises; he could _sense_ her submission, feel it in the marked lack of resistance in her body – and it was the unspoken consent he had been seeking, for which he had been yearning, for so terribly long, to receive.

His heart thundered as he quietly exhaled in turn. Without a second of hesitation, he closed in to eliminate the short gap between their faces – and Sakura was all at once overwhelmed with warmth as his lips pressed lightly against hers.

He kissed her softly. Slowly. Sensually. Any remnants of fight that might have remained within Sakura seeped out of her bones as her body shuddered and seemed to melt into his. Her wide eyes remained open for a moment – before fluttering shut as she finally stopped struggling against the tide that rose over her, and succumbed at last to pure _feeling_.

A sizzling mix of fire and electricity crackled through her veins, leaving Sakura's mind reeling from the intensity of the unchartered sensations coursing through her. It was frightening, how instantaneously her body responded to him. Flittering butterflies burst free from the deepest pits of her stomach. His touch made her quiver, made her feel like she was plummeting from a great height. The gentle way his lips were moving against hers was chaste – but the reaction they elicited within her was positively sinful.

The feel of her softness against him, the sweet taste of her; Sasuke was burning… _burning_ … and only Sakura could soothe the agony and put out the fire that was threatening to consume him entirely. He was completely disarmed, so out of his element at that moment by the exhilarating rush of what he was experiencing but he _didn't care._ Because this was _Sakura_ who was in his arms and those were her trembling lips that were starting to move ever so slightly - and with painstaking hesitancy and tentativeness – against his. Her response was hardly perceptible – the kiss barely reciprocated - but he felt the difference all the same as her lips remained parted against his.

This time, he hadn't stolen it from her. This time, _she_ had given him permission. And that changed _everything._

With great reluctance, he broke the kiss at last, trying to maintain even breathing, even as his chest heaved. His left arm, however, stayed in place, holding her snugly against him. Sakura's cheeks were dusted pink, the colour restored to her previously pale skin. Her long-lashed eyes remained closed for a long moment, as the foreign tingles his touch ignited lingered. When they opened at last and fixed onto him again, Sasuke saw them shine with fresh tears.

He felt a constriction, a painful tightness in his chest at the sight. She was upset again – but _why?_ He wanted to claw the disturbing feeling out – but it was no use. It wouldn't budge. These feelings were as new to him as they were to her; he was as crippled by the pandemonium inside him as she was.

The death deity could read the unspoken words in her expressive eyes; the way they seemed to plead with him as she shook her head slightly, as if in direct response to the uncertainty of what had just passed between them, as well as the unfamiliar, tormenting feelings his touch stirred to life inside her.

 _Please stop,_ they begged _._ He could see the fear in her eyes – because she believed that they were so different. That what he was doing was wrong. She didn't realise, however, that they weren't as unalike as she thought.

After all, he hadn't told her that she _was_ the reincarnated form of a goddess.

 _Stop,_ her eyes implored.

A tiny, unhappy depression formed in one corner of Sasuke's mouth again as the fingers at her left cheek finally lowered. _Stop?_ She still didn't understand _._ He _couldn't_ stop. He had tried; for years he had battled and struggled and waged war with himself, trying to purge her out of his system. It was now more impossible than ever before, for she had somehow managed to ingrain herself within the deepest parts of him. But he could not speak the words to tell her.

He could not find them.

The death deity expected her to pull away. Sakura had immediately contemplated it, knowing she was foolishly allowing herself to be pulled deeper into the sticky mess that was tangling around her. But suddenly everything felt so _out_ of her control, and she was so terribly _drained_ by the emotional rollercoaster she'd experienced _._ The desperate need to cling onto something solid to keep her anchored, to keep her _sane,_ took precedence over everything else.

Sasuke was surprised when she lowered her head instead, and buried her face into his chest.

Sakura listened to his heart pounding, as fitfully as her own; like birds in captivity the organs seemed to be, seeking to flee from their cages. And she knew then, even as another tremor of fear and uncertainty overtook her – even as she told herself what she had just allowed to happen was utter _madness._

She knew, as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut, as if to keep out the rest of the world - that something was happening between them - something was shifting and changing.

And they both knew it.

* * *

He had frozen in place, blinking incredulously in wide-eyed disbelief, his mouth hanging open in shock. For a long minute, he struggled to absorb what it was he had just witnessed, completely unable to accept it.

The sphere of water in his palm then abruptly scattered, the droplets spattering angrily in all directions in response to his rapidly escalating anger.

Suigetsu's hand lowered, fingers curling into furious fists as his amethyst eyes narrowed to form dangerous slits.

He had lived long enough to know _precisely_ in which direction matters were unpredictably heading.

He would _not_ allow it. No more playing the nice deity. It was time, he decided, for him to _actively_ intervene.


	47. Chapter XLVI

**Chapter XLVI**

* * *

_Beware the cunning deity whose solicitous grin,_

_Offers false promises that would lure you in,_

_Whose liquid assurances seek to swerve your path,_

_To the dark route of betrayal, and Death's perilous wrath,_

_No care has he, for the trust he would claim,_

_You're naught but a pawn in his immortal game,_

_No pity, no kindness, has he for your loss,_

_You're no more than a tool - the price of a cost._

* * *

After they returned to the palace and left their mounts in the waiting hands of the stable-boy, Sasuke wordlessly gestured for Sakura to follow him. Curious and somewhat grateful for the invitation to not be left alone to her fretful thoughts, Sakura trailed compliantly after the death deity as he silently led her to a sprawling wing on the upper floor that she had not ventured through before. They passed through many doors and passages, taking so many turns that Sakura soon lost track of the route. It was only once they began to climb dizzying sets of spiralling stone staircases that realisation finally kicked in; Sasuke was leading them up one of the many towering turrets that she had glimpsed from outside the majestic building.

As she shadowed his steps, Sakura tried her best _not_ to dwell on the kiss they had shared on his mother's bridge, in front of the cascading waterfall. They hadn't spoken a word to each other for the duration of the ride back to the palace – but then, their horses had flown far too swiftly through the Underworld for them to exchange any conversation.

If the strange, crackling tension that had existed between them had been uncomfortably stifling before, it was now near unbearable. Sakura was suddenly hyper-aware of Sasuke, in a way she had never been before. Of course, his physical presence had always set her on edge, but she'd always previously attributed that to apprehension and nerves, as well as his status and the deadly aura of danger that crackled around his form like an ominous storm cloud.

But now her heart was thudding for entirely different reasons. The lingering memory of his tantalisingly sensual kiss tormented her. She swore she could still feel the remnants of butterfly wings fluttering agitatedly in the depths of her stomach when his lips had caressed hers.

The sensation was entirely unsettling. Sakura was completely adrift in a sea of bothersome, conflicting emotions, told herself she had to be insane to be unable to dismiss it as nothing. But she wasn't fool enough to retreat into the shell of denial any longer. As much as it pained and horrified her to admit it, her body, despite her mind's screaming, indignant protests, despite her better sense of judgement, was drawn to him. She had always found Sasuke attractive, of course – she'd conceded that a long time ago. Admitting - and coming to terms with - the feelings that he sparked to life inside her was another matter entirely, however.

But there was no way to hide from it; Sasuke's touches set her nerve-endings alight so intensely, that simply thinking of his kiss made foreign tingles surface in all sorts of uncomfortable and worrisome places.

It was an extremely concerning development, but what startled Sakura most was how she hadn't even _thought_ to recoil from his kiss, the way she had on the previous two occasions when he'd made a move on her. More alarming still was how eagerly her body had seemed to melt against his. How it had slotted snugly against his side like a missing puzzle piece - and how the feelings that had zigzagged through her like lightning had been frightening in their intensity, left her mind reeling in turmoil.

And most terrifying of all was how Sakura wasn't even sure this time whether she had hated the unchartered sensations completely – or whether a part of her had almost _craved_ the head-spinning rush they provided.

 _Why didn't I push him away?_ She censured herself for the millionth time. _I knew it would just make things even messier between us, but I carried on, anyway._

She already knew the answer. She had nobody to blame but her herself.

Sasuke hadn't preyed on her weakness. In her vulnerable state, _she_ had been the one to seek comfort from him. And he had certainly delivered, and succeeded in diverting her thoughts from their agonising focus of her entire world being turned upside down – if only for a brief while.

But it had been wrong of her to accept his kiss, she knew in hindsight. It was decidedly easier to be furious with her foolish actions now; back then, however, she hadn't been able to muster even half the strength required to resist him.

Sasuke was gorgeous, and she was a young woman. Sakura tried to console herself that it was surely only natural, for her to feel some degree of physical attraction toward him. But it definitely wasn't alright for her to encourage it. Even if she did have some damned goddess fragment or whatever it was that was locked inside her – they were still from completely different worlds.

He had still _abducted_ her.

And there, Sakura acknowledged, was the real root of the problem. While she certainly understood _why_ he had done it a lot better than she had in the past, Sakura still couldn't find it in herself to forgive him.

She wondered if she ever would. She wondered if he felt even a sliver of remorse for his actions – for the emotional trauma he had caused her.

Still, unshakeable guilt gnawed away inside her; hadn't letting him touch her led him on? That hadn't been her intention at all. And surely Sasuke had to realise it, too, to know, deep down, how impossible it was for them to be together in the way he had made it all too evident he wanted.

It wasn't the right time to confront him about it, she knew, but Sakura was also acutely aware that the time was fast approaching when she _couldn't_ delay the subject any longer. Especially given the stressful fact that the longer she spent time with him, the blurrier and more convoluted everything was becoming.

She couldn't allow another kiss to happen again, Sakura admonished herself fiercely. She _couldn't_ let Sasuke touch her like that anymore. She was petrified of what it would do to her, if he did. Now that she had been unable to fight him off once, she dreaded to think what would happen if she gave him the chance to close in again.

Her mind then turned fleetingly to Suigetsu. He had been right. The more she dragged this out, the riskier her situation became. The more her resolve shook. She had to steel her courage and take action – very soon. Even though it made her feel wretched and treacherous; after all, Sasuke had lifted the veil of deceit from her vision, awoken her to the reality of her existence.

But she couldn't stay with him. She _had_ to get back home, to her mother, to try to make concrete sense of everything Sasuke had told her. She couldn't afford to delay for much longer; it was simply getting too _dangerous._ Her pounding heart was testament to that fact.

However, Sakura still didn't like the idea of poisoning the King of the Underworld. In fact, she now liked that option even less than she had before. Surely there had to be a less painful, less callous way to trick him out of relinquishing Kusanagi?

She swallowed down bitter remorse, her eyes fixed on the red and white _uchiwa_ emblem stitched proudly onto Sasuke's back. Suddenly her throat felt oddly dry. She knew she was emotionally overwhelmed. Switching the focus of her musings to the subject of her mother, and the unpleasant truths she had learnt, seemed to help to temporarily distract her from all the upsetting contemplations pertaining to the Death God.

At last, Sasuke drew to a stop by a sold, arched wooden door at the landing of the staircase. Sakura thought that all the training they'd done together was surely paying off, for she was not breathless. Neither did the muscles of her legs ache. She watched as he unlocked the door with a large, bronze key which he fetched from the small pouch attached to the plaited leather belt at his waist.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked.

In response, he pushed the door open and stepped into the darkness beyond. A flare of flame ignited upon his index finger, and he used it to light the multitude of candles stationed about the room, before directing a precisely controlled blast of _katon_ at the iron-carved fireplace.

Sakura followed after him. It was a surprisingly spacious circular space. Its walls and floor were cold, grey stone, and it was packed full of bookshelves, holding a massive collection of thick, leather bound books.

He gestured for her to take a seat on the plush, dark blue rug by the hearth as he closed the door behind her. Sakura did as she was told, her curiosity multiplying ten-fold. The room was chilly, but she didn't want to let Sasuke notice that it bothered her. The air smelled of that strangely pleasant scent of old books – and burning, cinnamon wood-smoke. There was a smooth, curved oak table pressed against the left wall.

Sakura held her hands out to the cosy, warming fire, and glanced nosily around as Sasuke searched for something on one of the bookshelves. Her inner book-worm was intrigued as she eyed the multitude of other objects around her with keen interest; several gold chests of varying sizes, she marvelled, worn out scrolls, painting frames covered by heavy cloth - and a large world globe that looked very different to any she had seen on the surface.

It was like she had wandered into an attic of ancient, untold wonders – minus the cobwebs and dust. There was even a large, antique-looking wardrobe lined against the right wall, chained shut with a padlock, and a single, high arched window, showing nothing except expected darkness beyond. But as eager as Sakura was to explore everything, she remained patiently in place.

Finally, Sasuke turned back to her. He had an impressively large book in his hands. As he deposited it into her lap, she protested, "It's heavy!"

"Hn." In response, he moved it to the rug and sat down, cross-legged, beside her. When she simply stared at him uncertainly, his eyebrows drew together.

"Open it."

Bemused, Sakura lifted the time-worn, faded front cover to reveal the title page. It was written in a language she couldn't comprehend.

"Uh," she began awkwardly. "I can't read this."

His left palm passed briefly over her eyes, and she blinked. Suddenly, the characters were as clear to her as her own native tongue.

Now perfectly capable, she read the title page: _An Illustrative Guide to Surface Gods and Goddesses._

Her heart leapt a little in surprise, and she glanced at him, to find his eyes were on her. He nodded briefly. She looked back down. She had searched for books just like this – in vain – in the humungous library. Now she knew why she had never been able to find them. Sasuke obviously stored them in a different section of the palace entirely, hidden behind a locked door. And now he was granting her permission to look through one. The significance of that was not lost on Sakura.

As she flipped to the contents page, she found a very lengthy list of mostly unfamiliar names, arranged in alphabetical order. Deciding to start at the beginning, rather than try to find any she recognised, Sakura turned to the first god in the guide under the letter _A -_ one she could not identify _._

Each page had a detailed sketch of a deity above their name and role. The sketches were drawn in colours that had faded to varying shades of dull orange and brown by the wear of time, making it difficult to accurately make out distinguishing features such as hair and eye colour. There was no other information, which Sakura supposed made sense; Sasuke had purposefully chosen to show her a book that would not overwhelm her already overloaded mind. Although the volume was ancient, the book was generally in surprisingly good condition.

Sasuke watched her from the corner of his vision. Sakura was fully absorbed in what she was reading, as always, eager to obtain new knowledge. He waited for her to find the first familiar face as she leafed through the thick, old parchment pages.

He didn't have to wait very long. He saw her hand visibly freeze and heard her sharp intake of breath as she came across a drawing she immediately recognised.

_Aphrodite._

_Goddess of Love, Desire and Beauty._

Sakura's mind screeched to a stunned halt as she instantly identified her best friend. Her lips parted in astonishment, and her heartbeat quickened. So it really was true – Ino _was_ a goddess, and those were certainly her attractive features.

But there was something decidedly different about her, too. Perhaps, Sakura thought, it was the fall of her even longer, rippling hair, the unfamiliar clothing, or the lavish jewels adorning her scantily-clad, voluptuous slender frame. She was reclined seductively upon a resplendent chair, one very similar in style to what Sakura had found herself lying upon when she'd awoken from the sleep Sasuke had enforced on her. But she recognised that mischievous, sassy twinkle in 'Aphrodite's' eyes right away. It was unquestionably Ino.

Although it hurt dreadfully, to have the undeniable truth pierce painfully through her all over again, Sakura found it awfully apt – almost _ironic,_ really – that Ino would have such a function. So that accounted for her obsession with romance, how men grovelled at her feet and her enthusiastic attempts at match-making. Of course it fit her perfectly.

And so did everybody else's roles, she discovered. When her eyes stopped next on _Apollo,_ another startling jolt of recognition struck her. Handsome and radiant, she clearly made out Naruto's features in the characteristically cheeky grin. His hair was a little longer, a little more unruly. But it was definitely her boisterous friend.

"The Sun God," she whispered, half caught between wanting to break down again and laugh out loud at the absurdity of it. That explained how everything he touched was filled with such exuberance and warmth, such optimism and joy. He was the source of light itself.

Beside her, Sasuke had tensed. He wanted to tear the stupid page out and fling it into the fire where the fool it depicted belonged. But he reeled in his irritation and loathing, giving Sakura however long she needed to gaze at each page and come to terms with the true identities of those closest to her.

Sakura quietly continued, recognising Kurenai as _Artemis_ , Goddess of the Hunt and Shikamaru as _Athenos_ , the God of Wisdom. With each face she identified, her anger escalated. A thick lump then formed in her throat, one that stubbornly refused to budge, when she came across the sketch of _Demeter_ , Goddess of the Harvest.

Sasuke eyed the picture with carefully refined aversion. Sakura's hands had balled into fists. A quick glance at her betrayed the tension in her soft jaw, the fresh tears that shimmered in her eyes, threatening to spill anew. It was a long time before she managed to speak again.

" _Why_?" her voice quivered with barely-restrained fury. "Why would she keep all this from me?" When her question was met with silence, she turned pleading eyes to the death deity next to her for answers.

"She wanted a normal life for you," he replied.

Sakura shook her head incredulously, as her gaze returned to the sketch bearing her mother's likeness.

"But why _,_ when I'm _not_ normal _?_ "

"..." Sasuke didn't want to answer that one. It skirted far too close to hazardous territory. He couldn't tell her the real reason why she had been kept in the dark; that someone who had killed her in the past was searching for the very same power contained within her.

That was a conversation, he thought, that would be better left to her incompetent _mother_.

Sakura, however, exhaled, forming her own conclusion. "She thought I couldn't handle it, didn't she?" She swallowed, before continuing, "How could hiding the truth for all these years possibly _protect_ me? They thought keeping me wrapped up in cotton wool would be better than discovering that my entire life has been based on _lies_?"

There was another long silence. Then Sasuke suddenly asked flatly, "Would you rather have not known?"

Sakura glanced at him, surprised by the abruptness of the question. Sasuke was staring ahead, watching the flames dancing in the hearth. Following the line of his gaze, she pondered whether she would have preferred to continue living in ignorant bliss.

Of course it would have hurt much less. But her life wouldn't have been _real._ The people she'd considered closest to her had fed her nothing but deceit, a false existence, for all of nineteen years.

"No," she murmured. "I needed to know." Then she vented, "But when I think of all the lies… it just makes me so _mad._ I always believed I had some kind of medical condition. All those blood tests… she should have been honest with me from the beginning!" Shaking her head, she looked back to the book. Now that she'd had the time to absorb the facts, she could ask the questions she hadn't thought of during the initial shock of discovery.

"I can't believe I've lived my entire life oblivious to the fact that my own _mother_ is a goddess _._ And a harvest goddess! What does that even involve, exactly?"

"She is responsible for sustaining life on the surface," said the death deity.

This confused Sakura further. Meeting Sasuke's eyes, she frowned, "But _harvest?_ She works at the hospital, saving people's lives. Shouldn't she be some kind of- I don't know, gardener or farmer or something, instead?"

Sasuke moved his head slightly, signalling a negative. "There can be no life without crops, Sakura. And humans in turn must live to harvest them."

The two were connected, Sakura understood.

"So my mother blesses the crops to grow each year? And she tries to maintain human life as much as possible so everything balances out?"

He nodded once.

Sakura pondered this as she stared down at the sketch, her emotions swirling turbulently inside her. After another minute, she continued to leaf through the pages, identifying a masked Kakashi as _Hephaestus_ , God of Craftsmanship. He was masked, even in his past guise.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered to herself. Kakashi, who never arrived to his lessons on time!

Sai, as expected, was _Hermes_ , the Messenger of the Gods – and Shizune was _Hestia_ , Goddess of the Hearth.

Sakura guessed she understood why Shizune and her mother were so close, now.

She carried on flipping through portraits of other deities she did not recognise – when her attention was suddenly caught by the sketch of a smiling girl with large, doe-like eyes and an abundance of flowers in her hair.

 _Persephone,_ she read. _Goddess of Spring._

She stiffened and straightened. _Spring._ Like the piece that was locked away inside her!

"…" Sasuke's eyes slipped onto her. He watched her stare down at the drawing, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as if she was trying to piece together something that she couldn't quite figure out.

Or perhaps her subconscious was trying to recognise her past self – and failing.

"Is it hers?" Sakura asked at length, her voice a hushed whisper. "The fragment inside me – does it belong to her?"

"She is the only Spring Goddess recorded here."

"But the girl I've had dreams about… her name was Kore," said Sakura, her thoughts muddled.

"An informal name, maybe." Eying the beautiful portrait, Sasuke prompted, "Does she look familiar?"

Sakura shook her head. She couldn't tell. Her visions of 'Kore' had always been from an inside perspective, as if she had been living the memories through the goddess's eyes directly.

"I don't know what she looked like." She was certain that she didn't recognise her – and yet, looking at the sketch, she felt something stir inexplicably deep inside the most distant catacombs of her mind. As if in some distant, far-off dream, she might have known this face. The disconcerting feeling made her skin crawl; it was nothing short of perturbing. She shuddered, and reasoned that it was probably just the fragment that was responsible; after all, she didn't understand how it functioned, how conscious it was inside her.

"Sakura," Sasuke immediately picked up on the goose-pimples that had surfaced on the skin of her forearms.

"It's nothing," she assured him. "I just-" she struggled for a second, to express exactly what she was feeling. "Looking at her makes me feel kind of weird. It's crazy. I don't know why."

Sasuke did. But he clenched his jaw, to stop himself from saying anything he knew he would regret.

After another pause, she asked softly, "What happened to her, Sasuke? How did she die?" Tracing a finger over the lovely face almost unconsciously, she added, "How did her power end up as something that chooses human bodies as hosts to survive?"

The death deity wanted to tell her everything. But he couldn't. He feared what it would do to her, if she knew too much, too soon.

So he was forced to withhold information once again. "Maybe she died during the war. Many gods passed to the void, back then."

Sakura interpreted this to mean that he did not know for sure. But hadn't Kore known him as Hades? How was it that Sasuke didn't seem to have any memory of her? She was about to question him about that particular mystery again – but then remembered his previous, unfavourable responses, how he had made it clear that he hadn't personally known the goddess - and thought that maybe it would be better to bring it up at another time.

She blinked, tried to push back the lingering feelings of discomfort as she continued turning the pages. She recognised Hinata as _Selene_ , the Moon Goddess. She could see the resemblance clearly. Her friend was certainly as ethereally beautiful as her function suggested. As she flipped through the remainder of the book, she quietly recognised Suigetsu as Poseidon, God of the Oceans, but was careful not to loiter on the page. The final deity she recognised from the vision Sasuke had showed her was Zeus – King of the Gods. Handsome and resplendent, he had an air of charm and authority in his poise and expression. Something about his features reminded her oddly of Naruto. She quietly wondered if that, too, was a coincidence – or more.

She then remembered the additional names Sasuke had given her, whose faces she hadn't spotted while leafing through the pages. "What about the others? Iruka and Gai-sensei, Neji and Lee?"

"Seraphs," Sasuke informed her.

They were _angels?_ Sakura's astonishment was complete. Exhaling quietly, she closed the book and sat in silence, slowly taking in what she had discovered. To have inescapable reality set even further into stone was difficult to digest. Her mind was spinning in a violent cyclone of questions.

Why had all her surface friends kept her in the dark about their true identities? Why hadn't her mother thought she could handle the truth? Had she authorised the fragment to be sealed inside her, or had she somehow sealed it in herself? How was Sakura even her mother's daughter, if she was human like Sasuke insisted? And just _who_ was her father? What had happened to him? Why had the fragment deemed _her_ – out of all the girls in the world - a suitable body to inhabit? What, exactly, had happened to the goddess it had originally belonged to, the _Kore_ Sakura kept dreaming about?

And what of the attacks that afflicted her every spring? What if they became worse? Did their increasing intensity have something to do with her not being on the surface? Was she really safe from harm?

Sakura didn't expect that Sasuke would answer all these questions – in fact, she was quite certain that there was a high probability that he would choose not to comment on the majority of them. The only people who _could_ give her the absolute closure she so desperately needed were her mother and friends.

But that didn't mean that Sasuke couldn't shed light on other aspects.

"Why aren't there any records like this on the surface?" she wondered aloud. "Does it have something to do with what happened in the war?"

Sasuke's lips twitched – not quite a sardonic smirk, as his gaze remained locked on the fireplace. "Cronus burned them all."

Her wide eyes returned to study his handsome profile. "Why would he do that?"

"He wanted to erase all records of the surface gods," the God of Death disclosed.

Sakura frowned. "Wouldn't people have remembered, though, and passed down the knowledge, anyway?"

The Underworld ruler shook his head slightly.

"The effects of the war made most humans lose faith," he began. "Eventually, their descendants replaced us with other deities. Over time, we were forgotten."

Sakura hesitated only momentarily, before venturing, "I'd understand if you might not want to talk about it, but… why did Cronus start a war?"

She saw him visibly tense, and knew she had infringed on a sensitive topic.

"…" It was a private subject that Sasuke never discussed with anyone. He did not even like to visit it in his own mind. The memories were just too painful. But he was also conscious of the skewed, biased picture that would be painted to Sakura if she heard the truth from other sources.

It was probably for the best and in his favour, Sasuke decided right then, for her to hear it directly from him.

He opened his mouth to answer – then clamped it tightly shut again. This was never easy to talk about, and he was not even certain where to begin. After a lengthy pause, however, he forced himself to speak. The words that fell from his lips felt foreign, even to his own ears. Such was how unaccustomed Sasuke was to sharing any details of his past with others.

"Zeus and his followers…" he started rigidly. "They maintained life on the surface. They were worshipped and revered by humans. But our Clan…" he paused, struggling with the bitterness that pooled into him at the recollection – before he continued matter-of-factly, "…we were feared. Never honoured. Mortals wouldn't pray to us."

Sakura waited with baited breath, both pleasantly surprised and somewhat nervous that Sasuke was _finally_ shedding more light on what had happened back then. And he was doing it willingly. She didn't dare to speak or even move, for fear that he would decide against revealing more.

"This angered Cronus," he went on after another stretching moment of silence. "The gods who were exalted by humans held the greatest power and influence on the surface. But he had worked to maintain the cosmos long before Zeus had even been born." Sasuke's hands curled into disgusted, angry fists as the image of his war-mongering, treacherous ancestor drifted through his mind. "He watched Zeus's steady climb to power, while he remained confined to the shadows and chaos beneath the ground."

"But how did he end up underground?" Sakura couldn't help but blurt out.

Sasuke's midnight eyes found hers.

"His father, Uranus, ruled over the skies. He knew how much Cronus craved the throne. But his powers were destructive, and Uranus saw greater potential and stability in Crius, his other son." Sasuke's lips curled back to form a sneer of disdain as he looked back to the fireplace. "To make Cronus prove his worth, he set him a test."

"What kind of test?"

"He sent him down to the surface, and instructed him to build a world unaffected by the ravages of time." Sasuke paused again. "It seemed impossible; Cronus manipulated and devoured time. But his quest eventually led him underneath the surface, where he found a dark world that responded to the chaos within him, one in which he could manipulate time and shadows at will."

A world untouched by time's flow - Sasuke had told her long ago that time passed differently in his Kingdom.

"So he created his own Kingdom, and named it the Underworld. He established order, founded the system that all Kings who followed after him inherited. It eventually became the place where souls were sent to be judged."

Sakura released a silent breath of fascination. So Cronus had been the one who had essentially fashioned the Underworld into what it was today? She hadn't ever really considered who might have constructed Sasuke's realm in the past. She had simply assumed that it had always just existed.

"So where did all the human souls go before the Underworld was created?" she wondered curiously.

"There was no afterlife," said Sasuke flatly. "The Fates wove and cut the thread of life, and souls were devoured by chaos and shadows, until they were no more. Crius took pity on humans and their strife, and wanted a place where their choices in life could be measured and rewarded – or punished, if they acted wrongly."

Sakura thought that she could understand why Uranus had favoured Crius of the two brothers. Sasuke fell quiet again, and she patiently waited for more.

"But… he lacked the abilities to make this come to pass," the death deity spoke up slowly. "So he called upon another sky god, one who had the power to influence weather, law, order and fate."

"Zeus," Sakura exhaled in understanding.

Sasuke nodded. "Zeus shared his vision, and they worked together with Cronus to create the scales of good and evil. They established a system of judgement for humans in the Underworld – with Cronus as the overseer. For the first time, the mortal world became truly balanced."

Sakura rested her chin in her palm, turning her face toward him as she listened intently to every word. Sasuke rarely spoke to her in depth like this, seldom gave her such detailed explanations. There was something mesmerising about his voice; it was almost melodious in its fluency and flow, and caressed her ears with its silky smoothness.

She didn't want him to stop talking.

Sakura was then suddenly struck by the stark realisation that she had certainly gotten what she'd aimed for at the very start; Sasuke was telling her this because he clearly afforded her more than a slight degree of trust.

It had taken almost four surface months, but she had proven successful in the task she'd been given, after all. The guilt of this, however, was crushing. Sakura struggled with the thought of how her betrayal would impact the god who was sitting beside her; this proud, regal King who was sharing a significant segment of his past, hidden history with her because he deemed her worthy enough to know it.

She bit down on her lower lip. She couldn't afford to think about that now.

Sasuke was going on. "But when Cronus returned to his father to share his accomplishments, his brother was still favoured and chosen to rule over the sky, regardless. In his rage, Cronus killed their father and waged a war with his brother - a war that upset the balance of life and death."

Sakura released a horrified gasp. For Cronus to kill his father; his own flesh and blood!

"That was when Crius called upon Zeus's aid once more." Sasuke tilted his head slightly. "Zeus wasn't alone; he had a large following of powerful deities. The very same god Cronus had worked with to create order defeated him, and was eventually handed dominion of the sky after Crius passed to the void. Cronus was forced to accept defeat – but recognised by all the other deities as a King in his own right."

So there had been a war _before_ the one she'd been told about? Sakura's mind was swimming.

"King of the Underworld," she clarified.

Sasuke nodded. "Both sides agreed a truce," he said. "It lasted for a long time. But it was never enough for Cronus. The humans scorned him, despised him and his descendants. We were nothing but darkness and death, cursed for the ruin humans believed we wrought."

"But you don't bring death," Sakura remembered what Sasuke had told her before about the nature of his abilities – that although he _had_ inherited the power to terminate lives if the need absolutely arose due to being the last of his kind, it wasn't his function as King to do so. "You judge and oversee the destination of souls."

Sasuke was silent. His expression had darkened considerably. Finally he answered stiffly, "There was one."

Sakura's lips parted. Death – _true_ death – had actually had a physical form back then? Someone had gone around, personally reaping souls from their bodies?

Was that why mortals had feared Sasuke's Clan so much?

She hesitated – then dared to whisper, _"Who?"_

The muscles in his chiselled jaw visibly tensed. Pain stabbed through his heart. _No._ He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to talk about Itachi - about _Thanatos_ – the deity humans had dreaded and despised more than any other.

He wasn't yet ready to tell her about his older brother.

Sakura sensed the rapid plunge in mood, and hastily diverted the subject back to its original course.

"So… what did Cronus do next?"

Sasuke blinked, as if her voice withdrew him from the shadows of his thoughts. He didn't much feel like continuing – but knew that he had to see the story through to its end. He had already come too far to turn back.

"Humans didn't see that Zeus had assisted in setting up this system, too," he went on tersely. "Eventually Cronus appointed my father as his successor and stepped down from his duties as King. While Zeus and the others revelled in the worship of mortals, we were confined to the shades, to a world without light. Enslaved to the very race that cursed us."

Sakura's eyes lowered. She had never thought of it from that perspective. It seemed like a harsh fate, indeed.

"We were shunned, our services dismissed and unacknowledged. There were no temples built in our name. But Cronus was determined to find a way to make mortals recognise and honour us. And he thought the only way to do that was to take the throne he had been tricked out of claiming. Olympus."

There was another lengthy silence. When it became apparent that Sasuke wasn't going to say anymore on the subject, Sakura shook her head.

"And your Clan…" she started quietly. "They wanted recognition too, so they fought with him."

"He was our Leader," Sasuke uttered shortly. He said no more. He didn't add that Cronus had deceived them all – had promised them reverence and respect, only for them all to discover, far too late on the battlefield, that they'd been used as sacrificial pawns in his deranged plan to enslave all of humanity to his will. He'd broken all the rules in his lust to attain absolute power. So many deities had gone against their intended functions that day. It was for that precise reason that his entire Clan had been lost to the void.

The bitter regret of that and watching helplessly as his family had been annihilated in cold blood was still far too painful to recount. Sasuke had only been spared the same fate because he had been the last Uchiha left. Sakura had already glimpsed that section of history.

She watched him. His sooty-lashed eyes had lowered broodingly from the fireplace.

Then something terrible suddenly occurred to her.

"You-" she sucked in a sharp breath. "You and my friends – and my mother. You _fought_ against each other back then?"

She could tell from the manner in which he visibly tensed that she was right.

And that was when it hit her. It wasn't that Sasuke and the surface gods simply didn't like each other. They were sworn _enemies._ On opposing sides of a bloody feud that had ended terribly – with Sasuke's entire family wiped out.

Finally, her kidnapping made absolute sense. Sasuke had taken her because her mother would never have permitted him to come anywhere near her. She could almost picture Tsunade's - _Demeter's_ – rage. The only way for the death deity to acquire her had been to snatch her away from the surface, from right under her mother's nose.

She thought of how awful it had to have been for a King as proud and loyal to his Clan as Sasuke was, to desire the daughter of someone who had been his family's enemy.

Then she thought of how awful it was for _her,_ if his actions were somehow a form of revenge over her friends and mother, too.

The disturbing realisation both angered and devastated her. Inside her chest, her heart was slamming against her ribcage. All at once, she felt physically sick.

"That's why-" she began. "That's why you had to-" – only for Sasuke to reach for the book before rising fluidly – as if he anticipated where the conversation was heading and did _not_ want to traverse down that path.

"We're finished here," he announced curtly.

Sakura bit her lower lip as he replaced the book on its shelf and opened the heavy wooden door that led back down the spiralling stone steps. The candles in the room immediately snuffed out, clearly signalling that the conversation was over.

He didn't want to talk about it, Sakura knew. It only made the determination inside her burn even stronger. He couldn't keep putting it off forever, she told herself fiercely. Eventually, he would have to account for his actions – to give her the long-overdue explanation he owed to her.

But she reluctantly let it go then, for he had already furnished her with a great wealth of new information. As he locked the door and began to guide her back down the tower, Sakura kept her eyes fixed onto his back, vowing to herself that now that everything made sense, this would be the last time she stayed her tongue.

* * *

They did not speak to one another for the remainder of the route back to the palace's entrance hall. The silence between them was tense. Suffocating. When they finally reached the grand staircase, Sakura stood at the top landing and watched as he made his way down without a word of parting, before he disappeared in the direction of the throne room.

She finally let out the breath she hadn't even realised she'd been withholding. She felt edgy. Restless. She knew exactly what she needed to do next.

She turned and made her way back to her chamber. Entering the bathroom without a moment of hesitation, she crossed to the toilet door and locked herself in. Yanking the plug viciously into place in the sink, she turned the taps on full-blast, filling the basin hastily to half-way before she twisted them shut and called angrily out to the deity she wanted to interrogate next.

' _Suigetsu! I know you can hear me!'_

' _Who the hell wouldn't, with a yell like that? Way to give me a headache,'_ was the immediate, sarcasm-loaded response, before his face rippled into being upon the water's surface. Something about his expression told Sakura that he didn't seem to be in a particularly cheerful mood.

' _It's true, isn't it?'_ She wasted no time firing at him, her pulse galloping. _'My mother is a goddess, and she sent you down here to get me back!'_

A startled Suigetsu's eyes widened – before quickly narrowing to form slits. Tsunade had sworn him to absolute secrecy, but it seemed that Sasuke had opened his big mouth at last and spilled the beans – something that came as quite the surprise to the Ocean God considering that the moody Lord of the Dead rarely ever strung a complete sentence together.

' _I already know it is,'_ Sakura gripped the sides of the sink. _'So don't try to deny it!'_

' _Why would I?'_ He shocked her by flashing a razor-sharp smile that did not reach his eyes. _'You've obviously got everything figured out already, Sakura. Now, aren't you clever?'_

' _Why didn't you tell me?'_ she demanded. His patronising words only made her angrier.

' _Look.'_ He raised an index finger at her, not taking a liking to her tone. _'Let's just make this perfectly clear. I don't_ _owe_ _you anything, kiddo. Your mother gave me a job, and I took it up. All these little extra details aren't included in my contract.'_

' _So she really did send you down here?'_ Sakura asked.

Suigetsu snorted. _'She had no clue where you were. That's why she asked me to look around places for you. I came here all on my own.'_

So her mother really _did_ know Suigetsu personally – and clearly well enough to request his tracking services. Her interest was snagged by the mention of a 'contract'.

' _So what is it?'_ Sakura pressed. _'What do you win for getting me out of here?'_

' _A headache,'_ Suigetsu retorted. _'Seriously, Pinky, if I'd know how headstrong you'd turn out to be, and how long I'd spend cooped up in some dingy cell waiting for you to get your act together, I would've thought twice about agreeing to this shit.'_

Sakura ignored this. _'You knew all along, and you never told me!'_

' _Hey, quit bitching at me,'_ the sea deity glared. _'Blame your mother. She's the one who was all hush-hush-don't-say-a-word-to-Sakura about it. How should I know why she'd want to keep you so clueless about everything? I don't even care about that. All that matters to me is that I get you home and that she delivers on her end of our bargain.'_

' _What bargain?'_ she demanded again.

' _You really are a nosy little snoop, aren't you?'_ he lifted his silver eyebrows. _'But that's really none of your business, so butt out.'_

' _I want to know,'_ she persisted.

' _What's with all this urgent questioning?'_ he stretched his arms behind his head, a thoroughly relaxed gesture that only served to heighten Sakura's frustration further. _'Isn't it enough knowing your mother trusts me to get the job done? Do you really think she'd send me if she_ _didn't?_ _Maybe you need to show me a little more faith, because I'm starting to feel cold-shouldered, right now.'_

Sakura faltered despite herself. It was true; her mother obviously had to have some form of trust in the Ocean God. And surely that meant that _she_ could afford to trust him, too?

' _You could've been honest with me from the start!'_ she mentally exclaimed.

' _Nope. Because your mother made me promise not to tell you anything,'_ he answered. _'She was really insistent about it, too. And you know what her temper is like.'_

Sakura raked a hand stressfully through her rose tresses. So it was really true; her mother had kept everything from her because she believed she couldn't handle reality!

' _They're all gods and goddesses,'_ she ranted. ' _My mother, my friends – and I had no idea, because nobody ever told me!'_

Suigetsu pulled a comical face. _'Life sucks, eh? I get that you're upset about it, but it really has nothing to do with me. Actually, I'm kind of surprised His Royal Grouchiness never told you sooner.'_

' _He told me about Cronus, and why he started the war,'_ Sakura revealed. She saw amazement dance visibly over the sea deity's features again as he registered this.

His jaw dropped. _'You're kidding me,'_ he gaped in astonishment. _'He actually_ _talked_ _to you about all that?'_

Sakura nodded.

' _Well,'_ Suigetsu mused, reluctantly impressed. She'd gotten even further with Sasuke than he had anticipated. _'Look at you. Getting him to share the skeletons in his closet.'_ He seemed to find this saying inappropriately funny, and snickered at his own little joke.

Sakura was in no mood to jest. She only wanted her answers.

' _Did you fight on my mother's side during the war? Against Sasuke? Is that why you hate him so much?'_

Suigetsu blinked, caught somewhat off-guard by the unexpected line of questioning. _'I… uh… well. I was more of a neutral, back then.'_

Something about his tone whispered to Sakura that he wasn't being entirely honest with her on the subject.

' _So you_ _didn't_ _help?'_ she was immediately suspicious.

Suigetsu looked irritated, and moved his arms so that he was holding up his palms defensively. _'Whoa, whoa, hold up a second!'_ he shook his head. _'What's with the interrogation? What does all this even have to do with us? Nothing's different.'_

It was her turn to stare in open-mouthed disbelief down at him. Nothing was different, he claimed? _Everything_ was different, couldn't he see that? Nothing was the same!

' _We're still breaking out of here together,'_ he continued. Then his luminous eyes narrowed. _'Or are you gonna tell me that this has somehow thrown another spanner in the works? Because let_ _me_ _tell you now, Pinky; I don't want to hear that.'_

Sakura swallowed, and took a deep breath. Then she said it. _'I'll get us out – but I don't want to do it by poisoning him. Not after everything he's told me.'_

Suigetsu struggled with the sudden swell of exasperated fury that flared inside his chest. He couldn't believe it – he couldn't believe they were going over this _again._ And yet, he had almost anticipated this the moment he had witnessed the kiss Sasuke and Sakura had shared at the waterfall.

That was it, he told himself. The final line she had crossed. He'd had enough, had given her more than enough chances to see sense. He was now going to make her comply once and for all – or he'd take matters into his own hands.

Which wouldn't bode so well for her.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she watched his expression change entirely. His usually amiable, playful features morphed into something cold and condescending and absolutely terrifying.

It was at that precise moment that the first, very real ripples of alarm stirred inside Sakura's veins, as the stark realisation that she knew absolutely _nothing_ about this deity and his real nature - other than that her mother had sent him - hit her once again.

Suddenly, he didn't look so friendly. Suddenly, he looked cruel and capricious and downright malicious _._

Had Tsunade really sent him because she genuinely trusted him? Or because she had been desperate? Didn't the fact that they'd made some sort of deal suggest the latter? If Suigetsu was truly an ally of her mother's, though, wouldn't he have offered his services for free?

Shocked by the abrupt change in his disposition, she could only listen mutely as he spoke words that caused a freezing iciness to creep up her spine.

' _Tell me,'_ he sneered. _'How_ _else_ _do you plan to get us out? Huh? You gonna bat those pretty eyelashes at him and ask him to let you go? I wonder why I never thought of that brilliant idea.'_ He laughed - a sharp, brittle sound. _'Or how about this? Maybe you could ditch the pleasantries completely and give him the fuck he's really after, see if that works?'_

An affronted Sakura could feel her cheeks reddening with anger. What did he take her for, a ditzy air-head? Some kind of _fool_ who didn't have a clue who or what she was messing with _?_ It was precisely because she had grown to understand Sasuke better that she knew poisoning him was the worst possible way to go about escaping. She'd agreed to it at a time when she hadn't known much about him at all.

' _That's disgusting-'_ she began furiously.

Suigetsu was swift to cut her off before she could communicate anything else. _'You know, I thought you were just being a bit of a chicken at the start, which I kind of understood. But now I know that you're not scared; you're just fucking_ _stupid_ _. I thought we were already clear that this is the_ _only_ _way we can get out of this hellhole. And now we're back to square one again?'_ He threw his hands into the air. _'What part of this can't you get through your dense head? You're choosing to give_ _him_ _the benefit of the doubt, over someone your own_ _mother_ _asked to save you? Seriously?'_ His lips curled back to reveal pearly rows of jagged teeth.

Then he said it – the words that made Sakura's heart plummet to her feet. _'I know what this is all really about. It's not just that you think the manipulative little asshole has been honest with you. I saw what happened at the waterfall. Don't try to weasel your way out of this one; you weren't faking that!'_

Sakura's cheeks burned. She could no longer contain herself. _'So what?'_ she bluffed, brushing it aside as nothing. ' _Isn't that what you've wanted me to do?'_

' _I told you to string him along, not to fall in fucking love with him!'_

She bristled, horrified. _'I am_ _not_ _!'_ she rejected vehemently.

' _Maybe not right now,'_ Suigetsu conceded, glowering up at her. _'But keep this shit up for any longer, and you might as well be!_ ' He held up a silencing palm when she tried to protest and pressed his fingers to his forehead in frustration. ' _I can't believe this.'_ He muttered telepathically. _'Who in their right mind would ever have feelings for a heartless psychopath like that? I thought only Karin was fucked up enough to pine for him.'_

Sakura was aghast. _Karin_ was in love with Sasuke?

' _If you'd just hear me out!'_ Sakura tried again. She was ready to punch something in her exasperation.

' _No,'_ the ocean deity's eyes snapped up again and he jabbed an index finger straight at her, one that caused the water's surface to ripple. _'No,_ _you_ _listen to me, Sakura. I've had it with all this bullshit. Either you're in on our original plan, or I'm taking matters into my own hands.'_

Her heart was now racing. She wanted to explain that she felt like she had finally gained Sasuke's trust – that surely there was a small chance that she could reach some sort of compromise with him. How could she be sure if she didn't even try? And if _that_ didn't work, _then_ she would be forced to go along with Suigetsu's option. But every time she tried to get a word in, she was interrupted. All she could do was simmer in silence as he ranted on.

' _You really think he'll agree to anything you suggest? Like he's actually reasonable? Like he's actually capable of pity? Just because you shared a little smooch and he's told you a few things, you think you can get through to him? Give me a fucking break!'_

But he hadn't seen what Sakura had. She was recalling the way she had been able to still Sasuke's vengeful hand when he'd been hell-bent on annihilating Sai. Hadn't _that_ been a form of compassion? But how could she possibly make Suigetsu understand? How could she describe in words what she knew in her heart was true and had seen with her own eyes on several occasions; that she seemed to be able to influence Sasuke's moods and actions – even if only to a slight degree – that he seemed to somehow be directly affected by her – at least, on some emotional spectrum that she still hadn't completely figured out.

' _Let me guess,'_ Suigetsu jeered, hitting the nail right on the head. _'You think he's opening up to you. You think you can get through to him. You're feeling_ _pity_ _. For the very same bastard who didn't think twice about ruining your life! You think he's some kind of tortured and misunderstood soul who needs saving, or something – is that it?'_

Sakura felt her eyes sting. She was silent. All she could think of was the pained expression in Sasuke's eyes, just before he'd kissed her - when he'd seen her cry. And she knew it was _insane._ Suigetsu's anger at her was nothing compared to her internal loathing toward her pitiful self. What was _wrong_ with her? Everything the ocean deity was saying was true. Sasuke had kidnapped her! He was enemies with her mother and her friends. He deserved every awful thing that came his way and yet…

And _yet_ …

She knew she was making this so much more difficult and complicated than it had to be. All she needed to do was spike his drink. It sounded so simple. It _ought_ to be simple. But her kind nature simply wouldn't allow her to do something so deplorable, without absolutely exhausting all other options first.

' _You think I've given you nothing except lies about the monster he really is?'_ Suigetsu laughed again, an unkind sound. _'Reality check: he only lets you see what he wants you to see. But what the heck, stuff my promise to your mother. Here are a few more truths for you. If he told you about his loony ancestor Cronus, then you've probably figured out that he fought against your mother and your friends back then. And I don't know what bullshit he's fed you, but he wasn't just taking orders, either. He wanted to_ _kill_ _them._ _Especially_ _that Apollo. Oh, what name does he go by, these days?'_ Suigetsu tapped his chin in mock thought. _'Oh, yeah;_ _Naruto._ _'_

Sakura gasped in dismay. She felt something construct tightly inside her chest. Her heart.

' _He- he knows Naruto…?'_ she managed.

' _Knows him?'_ Suigetsu's eyebrows shot up. _'I guess he hasn't told you this part. They were always hanging around together!'_

Sakura felt as though someone had physically stabbed her in her stomach. All at once, she couldn't _breathe._

Sasuke… and Naruto… not only knew each other personally – but had actually been _close_ , back then?

She couldn't believe it. What had _happened_? Just how much more was there that she still didn't know?

' _And how'd he treat him, huh?'_ Suigetsu took advantage of her visible horror. _'He stabbed him in the back, the way he does with everyone once he finishes with them. The way he'll do to_ _you_ _, once he gets what he wants! But he's blinded you so much, you refuse to see it.'_

' _I'm not…'_ Sakura began, enraged, her eyes welling with tears. Her hands closed to form livid fists. _'I'm not blind! I'll never be blind again!'_

' _Oh yeah?'_ Suigetsu challenged. _'Then prove it. Because right now, you're playing right into his hands by feeling sorry for him. He doesn't deserve it, Sakura. Someone like you – he doesn't deserve you!'_

Sakura released a shuddering breath. She tried to push away the haunting onyx eyes that drifted into her head, the Sasuke who had watched the stars with her in Elysium, the Sasuke who had kissed her _so gently_ – tried desperately to replace them with the image of the Sasuke she had first met in the banqueting hall, who had told her, with ice in his voice and gaze – that he'd kidnapped her on a mere _whim._

Maybe what Suigetsu was saying was true; maybe Sasuke was heartless and cruel with the rest of the world. But with her… he was different. She had seen it, more than enough times.

With her, she knew the pain and hesitancy in his eyes - eyes that viewed everything else with such disinterest and contempt - were no lies. She _hadn't_ imagined it. With her, he showed glimpses of a side that was concealed from the rest of the world, enclosed beneath an impenetrable cocoon of pure titanium.

A cocoon that seemed to tremble and crumble entirely when he held her in his arms. When he kissed her.

And that was when it struck her. A most terrible and treacherous thought. How to go ahead with Suigetsu's plan, in a ruthless manner that Sasuke would never suspect.

The tears pooling in her eyes spilled. Sakura's head bowed and she sobbed without a sound, tortured by the internal conflict that was clawing her insides to shreds.

If what Suigetsu was really saying was true… if Sasuke had really been out to hurt her friends and family back then – if he still despised them enough to hurt them - then he really _didn't_ deserve mercy. But how could she even be sure that was what had really happened, when she didn't know Sasuke or Naruto's sides of the story?

All she had was an ocean king's word – someone who had been promised a reward to bring her back, one he obviously wanted to do everything in his power to make sure he acquired.

Suigetsu was merciless in the face of her tears. There was no concern in his eyes. Nothing but hardness and disgust.

' _If you really knew everything there was to know about him, you'd never hesitate.'_ He communicated. _'You wouldn't shed a single tear for his undeserving, sorry ass. Snap out of it and use the damned poison. Show that arrogant bastard that he hasn't won this game!'_

A pressured Sakura felt like she was cornered. Like she had no more options left. Time had run out – and she was no more ready than she had been at the start.

And it was entirely her fault. She had nobody to blame but herself, for ever allowing things to come this far.

Sensing her resolve wavering, Suigetsu pounced for the kill.

' _You want to see your mother, don't you?'_ he questioned, much more quietly. _'You want to understand why she kept everything from you, right? You'll never see her if you don't go through with this. And if you don't get back onto the surface soon… it'll mean trouble for you.'_

Her head jerked up at that. Inhaling sharply, she demanded, _'What do you mean - it'll mean trouble for me?'_

' _Why don't you ask your new boyfriend to explain?'_ Suigetsu sneered derisively. _'I hear he's pretty good at clearing things up for you. Maybe he'll even clear up some of the cobwebs he's put in that ditzy little head of yours.'_

It was the worst possible thing he could say. Sakura's crestfallen expression immediately evaporated, replaced with the fiery walls of _rage._

' _I'll do this myself,'_ she stated with finality, making it transparent that she did not appreciate being belittled.

Suigetsu's own fury flared once more. He closed his eyes briefly – and then surprised Sakura by grinning. ' _Heh,'_ he shook his head, and shrugged. _'So that's your decision, huh? Fine.'_ His eyes rose again to lock onto hers and Sakura saw something perilous swirling inside those strange irises; something that almost, _almost_ , made her falter in her resolve. But she steeled herself; she would _not_ back down. She would try _her_ way, first.

' _You do it your way. And I'll carry on with mine. We'll see who actually gets anywhere first. But when you mess up big-time, and your sorry little ass comes crawling back to me for help…'_ he pointed a finger at her, mimicking a gun and its trigger. _'I might not want to listen to your crap, next time.'_

Sakura's eyes widened. She didn't know what he planned to do by himself, cooped up in his cell – but suddenly, she didn't _care._ He had insulted her enough. Guilt-tripped her enough. All deities, she was starting to unpleasantly discover, were manipulative in their own ways, played with human emotions to get what they wanted.

She'd had enough of being a pawn on the chessboard of the gods. She was going to do what she _felt_ was right – rather than blindly follow cold logic.

Without a word, she grabbed the chain and yanked the plug almost violently out of the sink. She didn't bother to wait for the water to swirl all the way down the drain before she spun away, slamming the door shut crossly behind her.

* * *

Karin cast a nervous glance back over her shoulder. She knew, from the odd look he had directed her way when she'd excused herself briefly from the riverbank, that she'd aroused Juugo's suspicions. He was more than likely wondering where it was she was sneaking off to, and really, the red-haired nymph couldn't blame him.

She just hoped that her sexy master wasn't patrolling nearby enough to notice her strolling around off-duty. Or maybe she _did_ secretly want to bump into him? That, Karin thought to herself with a wistful sigh, would certainly make a delightful change to her mundane and thoroughly drab schedule.

She had no such luck, however, and the path she took to Suigetsu's cell was uneventful. Once she reached it, she made a show of huffing loudly and folding her arms unhappily. She hated it when he summoned her. She hated it even more when she always ended up going to him.

' _What is it, you idiot?'_ she greeted rudely.

' _I'm kind of impressed,'_ Suigetsu teased, making his form visible to her. _'You didn't take forever, this time.'_

He was leaning against the back wall of his rocky cage, looking utterly bored. It wasn't surprising to Karin. After all, the little pink-haired _brat_ was sure taking her time pulling off their grand escape plan.

' _Shut up,'_ Karin snarled back. _'What the hell do you want, you freak?'_

' _Bitch,'_ the Ocean God quipped back with a sneer. _'Don't think I called you here to look at your ugly face.'_

She stiffened and flushed, reacting in precisely the manner he savoured. Her right hand flew to adjust her spectacles. _'You- you stupid asshole!'_ she snapped. _'I should've known better than to listen to you-!'_

' _Calm down, Karin,'_ he rolled his eyes. _'This is an emergency meeting.'_

She turned her nose haughtily into the air and sniffed. _'You screwed up?'_ she jibed. _'Figures. You're so stupid, you can't do anything right.'_

He blinked. Then he glared, _'Hey. Shut your ugly mouth.'_

' _It's not even open, stupid,'_ she smirked, pointing to her pursed lips.

His eyes glinted with mischief. _'Not now, but I remember it being open when we-'_

She hurtled a rock at his cell. It immediately disintegrated upon impact with the lightning-charged bars. _'Y-you stupid dick!'_ she spluttered back, all indignant. _'I don't know what you're talking about!'_

' _Yeah, sure,'_ Suigetsu grinned smugly. Then he shook his head. _'Look, let's stop arguing for a second. We need a change in strategy.'_

' _Why?'_ Karin demanded, placing her hands impatiently on her hips.

Suigetsu's eyes narrowed. It gave him no pleasure to disclose what followed. ' _Stupid little Sakura doesn't want to use the poison.'_

The nymph's eyes widened. _'WHAT?'_ she telepathically shrieked. After she had gone through such trouble and risk to acquire it from the old crone?

' _I know - she's as thick as a brick. So we need to set things off ourselves, because if we leave it to her, I'll be stuck here forever.'_

' _Wait a minute,'_ Karin tried to make sense of what she was being told. _'Why isn't that tramp using the poison?'_

Suigetsu eyed her. He anticipated that his response would cause quite the reaction – and he wasn't disappointed.

' _Because she's starting to have…'_ he wrinkled his nose, _'…_ _feelings_ _for that son-of-a-bitch.'_

There was a deadly pause. And then Karin erupted, ' _WHAT?!'_

The sea deity went on gleefully, _'Oh yeah, I saw them kissing at the waterfall. They looked_ _really_ _into each other, too. Wouldn't be surprised if they were fucking each other's brains out, right now.'_

Karin's jaw dropped. _'Don't screw around with me!'_ she mentally screeched, and began to pace agitatedly about, her heart pounding in her chest. The mere concept of _Suckura_ returning Sasuke's affections made her nauseous. How could this happen! But could she really hold the foolish girl at fault? After all, Sasuke _was_ irresistibly alluring.

' _If this is some kind of sick joke-'_ she started, grasping at her uneven tresses.

' _It's not!'_ Suigetsu abruptly lost all his humour, and glowered at her. _'I don't know how the hell it's happened, either, but we're going to put a quick end to their little love story, got it?'_

' _That ugly_ _freak_ _,'_ the nymph vented. How dare Sakura make a move on _her_ Sasuke? Karin absolutely could not accept or allow it. _'That stupid little, good-for-nothing-'_

' _She's gotta be good with her mouth,'_ Suigetsu couldn't help but antagonise her further. _'I mean, maybe that's why Sasuke keeps her around, because he_ _really_ _likes the way she-'_

' _SHUT UP!'_ Karin pointed at him furiously. She could not stand to hear anymore. _'Just tell me what I've gotta do, idiot!'_

Suigetsu blinked. He'd wound her up enough. Then he smirked, a sly, sinister, callous smirk. Oh, Sakura was going to comply and use the poison, alright. He wasn't going to give her a choice in the matter.

' _I've got the perfect solution,'_ he winked.

* * *

Sakura sat back against the wall, breathing heavily, her sword lowered by her side. She'd just discarded five ugly, green goblins in the third level of the battle simulator on her own, and was taking a breather ahead of descending to the fourth.

She had stormed out of her room following her argument with Suigetsu, tried to cool the volcano brewing inside her by going to the gardens. It hadn't helped. She'd restlessly gone to the art gallery next. The library. To Eos. She'd even gone walking aimlessly down the halls. Nothing had worked. The only small mercy was that she hadn't encountered Sasuke along the way. She knew she wouldn't have been able to keep her composure if she had. Then she had returned to her chamber and changed into a black sparring outfit, unconsciously choosing a colour that reflected her sour mood. Almost automatically, her feet had led her down to the training dome in the hopes of clearing her head. She knew she was too worked up, needed to calm down, and had reasoned that hitting something would help let out her inner frustration. She'd struck the wooden posts in the default arena until they had ended up looking a little worse for wear. But after a while, hacking and slashing at inanimate objects hadn't been enough. She'd wanted to _punch_ something, to pulverise with her fists, to vent out all the internal anger boiling inside her in the form of solid, physical aggression.

So she'd made the potentially risky decision to activate the lever that had parted the circular platform and revealed the winding staircase that led down to the combat simulator. A metal platform attached to a set of tracks spiralling down the stairs - which she had somehow completely overlooked the previous time - had offered a handy alternative to climbing down. Sakura had taken it, enjoying the smoothness and tranquillity of the gently rotating ride.

She supposed that Sasuke wouldn't be too pleased if he discovered that she was fighting monsters completely unsupervised. She didn't really care. She was sick of deities telling her what she could and couldn't do. She was sick of feeling manipulated by everyone and everything around her.

Besides, the very real danger of meeting an unexpected foe gave her precisely the kind of adrenaline kick she was currently craving. While fighting enemies, she could at least focus her mind on one purpose and one alone – survival. It was definitely helping her to chase away the red haze in her head.

She wasn't relying on her sword alone, though. She'd kicked and punched the smaller, clumsier creatures in the manner Sasuke had taught her to do in some of their previous, hand-to-hand combat sessions. It felt good, to rely on herself, to put to use the skills she had acquired.

Exhaling, she rose to her feet and moved over to the lever, pushing a wayward lock of her braided hair out of her eyes. She reached out to activate it, to cause the platform to rotate to the next level down – when a hand suddenly shot out from behind her. It clamped down on her wrist and she was spun abruptly around.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's dark eyes were like hard, smoky diamonds. He wore a dark navy tunic top that was sleeveless, showing off his smoothly muscled arms, and a teasing glimpse of his well-defined chest. His forearms were wrapped in dark blue bandages up to his elbows. His trousers were black, and so were the sandals on his feet. The circlet earring in his left ear lobe flashed as he tilted his head questioningly at her. Sapphire and diamond stone, Sakura guessed distractedly.

Her heart, of course, fluttered at the sight of him, in a thoroughly vexing manner that only infuriated her even further. She tugged her arm back, was pleased when she managed to disengage her wrist from his grasp.

"Training," she answered shortly. Wasn't it obvious enough?

"I meant," Sasuke intoned, unaffected by her sarcasm, "what are you doing here _alone?"_

"Training," she repeated, raising her eyebrows at him. "I've already finished three levels on my own. Now I'm on level four, so if you don't mind-"

Sasuke had figured that much out already. "No," he uttered.

"No?" she echoed, frowning at him. This really wasn't what she needed to hear. "I'm fine, Sasuke. I was only going to try the first five levels, anyway."

They stared at each other. She looked good in black, Sasuke thought, but something seemed different about her, which flagged up his suspicions. She seemed flustered, preoccupied, and her eyes kept shifting oddly away from him.

He wasn't sure what was going on – whether it had anything to do with the tense manner in which they had parted ways earlier – but he was going to get to the bottom of it.

"You're angry," he observed. He knew that emotion all too well, and she was doing a poor job of disguising it.

 _Great,_ Sakura chewed the inside of her cheek. Was it any surprise he could read her so well? It was in his job description, to suss out expressions.

It was just a shame that he was emotionally constipated himself.

Not meeting his gaze, she shrugged. "I want to rely on myself."

That, Sasuke knew, was probably true, but not the real reason. What was up with her? She was acting strangely reckless. She knew it was perilous to enter the simulator without supervision. What would she have done if a higher-level opponent like the Kraken had come crawling out of one of the gates? There was no escape once a level was engaged. She already _knew_ that.

"I want to train," she said again stiffly, and turned back to the lever. She reached out – only for Sasuke to intercept again. Sakura bit down on her lower lip in frustration as he knocked her arm back once more.

"Sasuke," she began, struggling with exasperation. "Could you not just-?"

He unclasped Kusanagi from the black belt at his waist and tossed its sheath aside. Lifting his bandaged hands into a ready position, he ordered, "Fight me."

Sakura blinked. Something told her this was probably a bad idea. What if her emotions got the better of her, and she ended up blurting out the things that were weighing so heavily on her mind? The things Suigetsu had told her, the ones she couldn't let him know she knew – such as the fact he had apparently tried to _kill_ one of her best friends in the long ago past?

But then, he _was_ offering her the kind of close-range combat she had wanted. She had the feeling that if she refused, he'd just end her attempts to train altogether, and she wasn't ready to stop. Besides, maybe hitting him would help her feel better.

If she _could_ score a hit; their previous, lengthy sessions had mostly consisted of him sweeping her feet - less than graciously – out from underneath her, or twisting her arms painfully behind her back while making demands for her to yield.

A bright idea then presented itself to her.

"Lend me some chakra," she said suddenly. Sasuke inclined a dark eyebrow at her suggestion.

"I want to be able to keep up with you," she explained. "I want it to be fair, this time."

He snorted. They would never be evenly matched – even if he gave her a massive stash of his resources. But he complied, reasoning that it would certainly liven up their session, and summoned a surge of freezing energy into his palm. Sakura began to reach out – but he drew his right hand beyond her reach.

She blinked in surprise when he tapped her forehead lightly with his first two fingers, instantaneously transferring a small stream of chakra to her, one corner of his lips curving to form the ghost of a smirk at her slightly bewildered expression.

She exhaled as the freezing, numbing, potent energy zigzagged through her, was reminded of its exhilarating power. She remembered how she had moulded it before, and concentrated hard. Once more she felt an almost painful tug inside her chest – as if something deep inside her was responding to the divine energy – and then the warmth that accompanied her own natural chakra network surging forth to direct Sasuke's fluidly to her arms and legs.

She looked up to find his sharingan activated. He could see her chakra merging with his own, watched with keen interest as she effortlessly redirected its flow.

 _Impressive,_ he silently conceded.

She readied herself, lifting her hands into fists in turn. Her senses heightened, she watched him closely. They circled each other slowly. He seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move, so Sakura did just that. She lunged forward, arm drawn back, and he side-stepped fluidly to avoid her. As she landed, Sakura held herself steady as her feet impacted upon the ground, sending vibrations up her calves. Sasuke didn't give her much time to adjust to the augmented speed of her movements. He closed in, dropped low with the intention of sweeping her feet out from underneath her.

Sakura had sworn the previous time that she would _not_ let him catch her with that blasted move again, and jumped lithely away, before leaping forward, foot raised to deliver a forceful kick. Sasuke's hand shot up, lightning fast, and caught her ankle. Sakura used her grounded foot to push up into the air, pirouetting in a motion that forced him to release his grip.

"Hn," he tilted his head. So she had remembered that aerial hold-breaker. With his chakra boosting the accuracy and flow of her movements, she was almost graceful.

She threw herself forward, attempting a left hook. He blocked, and she countered with an uppercut drive, her actions much more precise than usual. So this was Sakura's potential under the influence of deity chakra, Sasuke thought, as he directed a jab at her right side. She twisted out the way and hit back with a heeled stomp toward his shins.

He hopped away, and circled her unhurriedly again. He definitely approved of what he was seeing. She was getting better. But it still wasn't anywhere near enough to match him.

Sakura braced herself as he attacked again, striking this time to her left. She blocked, grasping his wrist, but failed to deflect the follow up blow that impacted with her right shoulder, knocking her backwards. The pain was slight – Sasuke wasn't even trying, she realised – and that only made her angrier. With a shout she ran at him again, her fists flying in a flurry of wild movements.

His eyes, deactivated of their sharingan, still caught them all, deflecting each attempt expertly. Left hook. Right jab. Uppercut. Elbow drive. Mid-section swipe. He watched as her expression, tense with concentrated effort, grew increasingly frustrated with every failed attempt at landing a clean blow on him. He caught both her wrists in his hands and spun her around, holding her arms behind her back with one hand, fisting her hair with the other, and pushed her head down so that she was forced to bend over in front of him.

"Calm down," he censured, staring down at the back of her head. "You're not focusing."

Something was definitely troubling her. But what?

Sakura, breathing heavily, responded by kicking back at his legs with a foot. He evaded, releasing her, and she pivoted, ramming an elbow toward his left rib. He caught it, and also halted the follow up punch she swung at his face, locking her in a position that forced her to look up at him.

"Sakura," his eyes narrowed when she tried to pull out of the hold incorrectly, further confirming to him that she was not fully concentrating.

She panted angrily, her eyes a darker shade of green than usual. "I'll get a hit on you this time!"

He sincerely doubted it, but her conviction was inspiring, nevertheless. She struggled some more, her mind racing to remind her body of the correct way to break it. Then it came to her. She lifted her right knee, aiming a jab to his gut. It forced him to release one hand, which she used to direct a punch right at his head.

He batted her fist away with an open palm. She pushed against his thigh with her foot, and the momentum of the motion succeeded in tearing her other captive wrist out of his grasp. She skirted away, catching her breath as she eyed him closely for her next opening.

Strands of jet-black hair had fallen into his eyes. He held out his hands, almost as if daring her to close in again.

The arrogant, sexy _jerk_. Sakura rued the fact that it was extremely unlikely that she could ever connect a fist straight into that smug, too-perfect face. She came at him again, and he once more diverted her attempts. He seemed to be blocking more than attacking, which only irked her even more.

"Don't hold back!" she exclaimed through tightly ground teeth, as she kicked at his ankles again.

In response he placed a hand on her right shoulder, and used her body as a leverage point to somersault gracefully over her head. Sakura blinked, and whirled around – just in time for him to aim a jarring kick right at her stomach. Her arms shot down to protect the vulnerable area, but the power of his attack made her stagger backwards. Her arm muscles protested at the strength of impact, but his cooling chakra quickly rushed up to repair the aches.

As if complying directly with her request, Sasuke prowled towards her like a slinky black panther – then suddenly darted agilely forward, his left arm drawn back, hand set flat to direct a stabbing jab to her ribs. Sakura dropped low to duck, evading, and kicked out with her right leg, trying to knock him off balance the same way he did so often to her. He easily avoided it, and answered with his own swift, round-house kick, which missed her tumbling form by inches. Then he caught her left arm as she rose, tugging so forcefully that her shoulder screamed in protest as she was hauled forward at great speed.

Before she could even register what was happening, she had been slammed, face first, against the wall. The air was knocked cleanly out of her lungs, and she blinked, her vision briefly spinning. When it cleared a moment later, she found herself being pressed against the hard bricks, both her hands twisted uncomfortably behind her back. She tried to squirm free, but Sasuke's weight crushed against her, rendering any movement difficult.

She inhaled sharply when she felt his lips stir the hair above her left ear, "If I wasn't holding back," he breathed, "you'd be _dead_."

"Ungh!" she grunted, trying to push back against him, but to no avail. It only heightened her awareness of the warmth and strong solidity of his body confining hers in position, made her racing heart hammer even faster in her chest. He was _so_ close, that she felt like her entire body was thrumming with the same, strange, tantalising electricity his proximity seemed to spark inside her.

"Get off me!" she finally managed to grind out indignantly.

"Make me," he challenged – and as if to prove a point, he pushed even harder against her. Sakura's eyes widened when she felt the tip of his nose brush against the side of her neck – as if to taunt her helplessness.

When he released a puff of air over the sensitive skin there, Sakura could barely suppress the shudder that shot down her spine.

"What's the matter? Sakura." His lips were bare inches from tasting the flesh of her throat.

She bit her lower lip. They both knew this was his winning hold. Sakura fumed to herself. He'd twist her arms until she shrieked for him to stop - until she yielded.

 _No,_ she thought irately to herself. _No, I won't give in this time!_

Her thoughts cycled frantically. There _had_ to be a way out, some way she could manipulate Sasuke's borrowed chakra to work to her advantage. Then it came to her; a decidedly underhanded shot, but one that was capable of doing real damage thanks to the divine energy streaming through her veins.

She felt the front of his sandals against her heels, estimated the rough position and angle without being able to look. Then, without warning, she lifted her right leg, and stomped down – _hard._

The growl that flew from his lips, as well as the jar of impact informed her that she had struck a successful blow at last. Sasuke's hold on her loosened – and that was enough for Sakura to shove back against him. He was swift to draw away, hastily channelling chakra to heal his aching foot, glaring at her triumphant face as he did so.

"Resorting to cheap moves, Sakura?" he sneered.

"Sorry," she smiled insincerely, feigning concern as the adrenaline rush of fulfilling her goal at last coursed through her. "Did that _hurt,_ Sasuke?" she exhaled. "As long as it does the job, it doesn't matter which move I use, right?"

His expression darkened. "Don't get too cocky."

She almost laughed at that. That was some hypocritical advice, coming from the King of Arrogance.

"I told you I'd land a hit," she informed him.

He was clearly disgruntled. "Hn. That wasn't a proper-" he started dismissively – but Sakura was already rushing at him again. She aimed a bone-snapping kick straight at his left shin – only for his snake-fast reflexes to catch her ankle again with his hand.

She prepared the same aerial twist to get her out of the foot-lock – but this time, the death deity was faster. Sakura's heart skipped a beat upon witnessing the small, conceited smirk that danced on his lips. Abruptly, he jerked her trapped leg violently upwards, sending Sakura flying off balance and forcing her floored foot out from underneath her. She flipped once in the air then landed flatly on her back with an audible " _Oof!"_ on the ground, the force of the fall once again causing the oxygen to completely abandon her lungs.

She wheezed for breath, her vision swimming with stars for a few brief seconds – and forced herself back into a sitting position, just in time to see Sasuke advancing. A frustrated sound tore from her throat and she launched herself at his mid-section, like a mini canon-ball. Sasuke, thoroughly surprised by her very _physical_ choice of attack, let her take him down without resistance. A second later, she was sitting on his stomach, her legs straddling his sides, her right hand drawn back into a threatening, ready fist.

"…" He stared up at her. Her eyes were fiery. She was breathing heavily. She looked _delicious._

She gazed down at him angrily. His hair was in tousled disarray, and he looked peculiarly resigned, almost like he wouldn't necessarily stop her if she really wanted to connect her knuckles to his jaw.

But she lowered her hand, and grabbed onto the collar of his top, instead.

"Are you going to act like you haven't lost, again?" she demanded.

Sasuke scoffed to himself. This wasn't over. Not really. He had _let_ her pin him. Mostly because he liked the view of her, on top…

But he knew she was upset. _Something_ was really distressing her. And so he did not mock her, but chose to answer quietly, "No."

Her eyes widened. The tight grip on his shirt loosened.

Was he… was he telling her that _she_ had won? She couldn't believe it-

That was when he suddenly moved. One second, Sakura had been on top of him. The next he had swiftly reversed their positions with admirable fluidity and grace. All at once, Sasuke was above her, but his hold was not oppressive. His left hand cradled the back of her head, while his right encircled her left wrist loosely.

Panting, she blinked up at him. A silence fell over them, in which they stared at each other.

Sasuke's intense features relaxed as he studied her – and then he lowered his forehead and pressed it lightly against her own.

"Sakura," he mumbled, closing his eyes briefly. It was impossible – but he suddenly seemed so _resigned._

It was funny, Sakura thought distantly. How unguarded he seemed all of a sudden. She was bewildered. Why would he look like that? So completely at odds, once again, with the description Suigetsu had painted of him? Wide-gazed, Sakura remained frozen in place, unsure of how to react. He wasn't being hostile. It seemed inappropriate to shove him back. His eyelashes then swept up, and those smoky depths were so close that they seemed to suck her in like inescapable black holes. She couldn't look away.

She caught her breath a moment later when she felt his upper lip brush fleetingly over her lower one; a tantalising, barely-there, experimental touch that left her skin tingling.

"Hhh…!" she exhaled shakily. Her mind was triggering blaring alarm sirens, and they were _deafening._ She had told herself- she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't let this happen again; that she wouldn't allow him to trap her in a situation just like this one anymore. And so soon after the last-

But it was like her body had completely forgotten. Or didn't even seem to care. What was even more riotous than the frantic warnings inside her head was the wild pounding of her own pulse in her ears, which drowned out everything else.

"Sasuke…" she whispered. His mouth still hovered dangerously over hers, and his eyes were consuming what was left of her rational thoughts. Their scorching heat seemed to evaporate all resistance. Something inside her was quivering violently. She didn't understand it. She was _afraid_ of it. "Please-"

He kissed her. Deeply. Passionately. And the startling manner in which Sakura's heart positively _lurched_ within her was nothing short of terrifying.

It was nothing like the chaste kiss they had shared at the waterfall. It was hard and demanding, fiery and unreservedly _ravenous_. A detonation that set off an immediate and unsettling chain reaction inside Sakura - put her on slow burn. She could _feel_ his hunger, the frightening depth of his need, and just like before, her entire body was instantly responding, strewn alight by the volatile catalyst that was his touch. Before she knew it, before she could even _control_ it, her lips were parting for him, as if in a subconscious – but hopeless - effort to drag much needed air into her depleted lungs.

Or as if some slumbering part of Sakura - one that was wholly alien to her - _wanted_ this.

His right hand released her wrist, trailed sensually up the side of her neck, cupped her cheek, before moving to caress her hair, his fingers lacing through the silky locks. Unbidden, Sakura's back arched reflexively, unintentionally pushing her front more firmly against his as Sasuke deepened the kiss further.

The feel of her body pressing against his set him aflame, and he was so overcome by it, that it left him spent of breath entirely. He was completely immersed in the feel and taste of her. Sasuke didn't care if he never lifted his head for air again. He didn't need it.

He needed only her.

" _Uhmph…"_ a muffled moan escaped her throat, and Sakura was so diverted, so out of her element completely, that she didn't even register that it was her own voice making that sound.

It was the most erotic, _beautiful_ thing Sasuke had ever heard. By Elysium, he wanted her to make that sinful whimper again. The exhilarated rush coursing through his veins was like pure, liquid sunshine, a blazing, unstoppable force that warmed his blood, chased away the ice and darkness, which he'd not even realised, up until then, had completely frozen him inside. The sensations flooding through him were rendered all the sweeter when he realised that once again, Sakura _was not fighting him._

Sakura's mind had disconnected itself entirely. Like it refused to acknowledge she was actually experiencing this, and worse, _allowing_ it. Her body was now its own master, and it wanted to explore and understand the unknown, trembling sensations he was eliciting, rather than flee from them. It was warring against all reason, everything she had told herself before about not allowing Sasuke to pull her any deeper into the entangled mess that he seemed hell-bent on dragging her into.

But he was pulling. And she could feel the shackles tightening around her, was all at once losing track of everything, _everything_ but the way her heart was racing.

The spell of pure insanity that had fallen over her, however, was abruptly and harshly broken when his hot tongue suddenly prodded her mouth for entry. And then it was like someone had thrown a bucket of ice-water all over her, jerking her mercilessly awake. Sakura's eyes, which she hadn't even _realised_ had fluttered shut at some point – flew open in horrified alarm, as the foreign heat and tingles that seemed to be concentrating particularly in her lower belly intensified.

What was _happening?_ Had she completely taken leave of her _senses?_ Here she was, in the exact situation she feared so greatly- only a thousand times _worse._

She thought then of Suigetsu. Of his condescending words and insults. Of his accusations.

' _I told you to string him along, not to fall in fucking love with him!'_

'… _You're playing right into his hands …'_

No. _NO!_ Pure, unbridled rage exploded through her. Fury at herself – and at _Sasuke,_ for overwhelming her body with all the things she told herself she did _not_ want – sensations she knew were _wrong_ for her to feel _with him_. Her heart beat like a ferocious drum. Panicking, she did the first thing that entered her frantic mind. The only thing she could think to do, to free herself from her terrible predicament.

She bit down on his lower lip. _Hard._

A pained hiss escaped through his teeth. Sasuke was caught completely off-guard, and the slight leeway was all Sakura needed to shove him viciously off. Kicking back, she scrambled away from him, her eyes ablaze with fury.

The death deity's own lifted and locked onto hers. His chest was heaving. He raised a hand to his bleeding lip, touched his fingertips to it as if in disbelief – before he angrily spat out the blood onto the ground. Immediately the wound began to heal.

Something flickered in his charcoal irises. Something that _scared_ Sakura; because of the way it made her heart wrench - so agitatedly.

"Stop-!" she panted, her cheeks an inferno of heat. "Stop!" she raised a hand, as if to ward him away from advancing. He remained in position, though, resting back almost _too_ casually – as if he believed that what had just occurred between them was nothing to get all flushed and upset about.

This only made Sakura's despair swell, and finally, _finally,_ she snapped. She couldn't hold it back anymore – the inevitable confrontation that she had stemmed in the tower room, and on so many other previous occasions.

Did he honestly think - just because of what had happened at the waterfall - that somehow she had opened her doors to him? That she would just _accept_ him? That somehow, she was indebted to him, just because of everything he had told her?

He was preying on her confusion! Using it to his advantage, to lure her in. Her fury flared like a tumultuous furnace, completely beyond her control – and Sakura, stricken and breathless from its devastating intensity, found herself screaming tearfully at him.

" _Why are you doing this?"_

"…" He looked completely detached. Wholly unapologetic. But there were shadows in his gaze, that hadn't been there before.

 _Why?_ Sasuke struggled with the stifling tide of his own conflicting emotions. Perhaps she would like to answer why _she_ was doing this to _him._

"You have to stop!" she cried, gripping senselessly onto her dishevelled hair with one hand. "You can't do this, Sasuke! _We_ can't do this!"

"Why." It was more a statement, a demand, than a question. His voice was clipped, deceptively cool – but something about the coiled tension she glimpsed in his posture suggested that he was holding back his own anger.

"Why?!" she gasped in astonishment. Surely he _had_ to know all the reasons that made their situation so impossible. But as she looked upon him, she realised with a sinking feeling that he genuinely did not seem to be aware of them. Or perhaps, he was simply too proud, too used to getting exactly what he wanted when he wanted it, to care about the reasons or even acknowledge them.

"Sasuke- you _kidnapped_ me!"

He blinked. Then he sneered, "Is that it?"

Was that _it?_ Sakura was so livid that she could practically _feel_ her blood pressure rocketing to dangerous levels. All the months of emotional turmoil she had suffered at his hands – was _still_ suffering – he thought them insignificant?

"You-" she was near-trembling with rage. "You think that's _nothing?"_

"What did you expect?" he snarled defensively. "That I'd go to your _mother?"_ He loaded the final word with heavy disgust.

It confirmed Sakura's earlier theory; that Sasuke hadn't had any other way of getting to her. But that still didn't make it _right,_ and she somehow had to make him understand that.

"Even if you had no other option," she exclaimed, "that doesn't excuse your actions! What were you thinking? That I'd just get over it, and adjust, and everything would just- fall into place and be _fine?_ You took me away from my home! You kept me in the dark about everything!"

He looked affronted. _He_ had kept her in the dark? What nonsense was she prattling? Had he not been the one to tell her the very truth which her precious surface companions had kept concealed from her?

"Until recently," Sakura conceded, "but you could have been honest with me from the beginning. You could have explained why you kidnapped me, and maybe, just _maybe_ I might have understood, Sasuke! Maybe I wouldn't have had to feel so afraid at the start, not knowing what this place was, or what you were, or why you'd even want me!" She exhaled shakily, suddenly becoming conscious of dampness against her cheeks. It was strange. She couldn't even recall exactly when she had started to cry.

"Do you have any idea how much I've suffered _emotionally_? What it's been like for _me,_ to be trapped here, how hard it's been for _me,_ having to adjust to a completely new world, how scary it's been _,_ thinking that any wrong move I pull will make you mad, will make you kill me! How awful it's been _,_ to find out everything I've ever known has been a lie! Have you even thought about any of those things? Or do you only think about yourself, and what you want?!"

He was completely silent. Appeared defiantly unrepentant.

"You…" Sakura despaired at the lack of a visible reaction. It was like he wasn't even listening to her. "You have no idea what I've been through! And you can't just kidnap me and expect me to- to just accept you! You can't force feelings, Sasuke! Maybe you can force anything else you want to happen in the world, but feelings… they take time, and they have to be given _freely!_ You can't just expect to get them, like you have some kind of god-given right. That's not the way it works! I-" she broke off. She didn't even really know what she wanted to say, anymore. Her mind was a jumbled mess, and she seemed to be blurting things out automatically, without much thought.

Still he did not speak a word. Simply watched her with those hawk-like eyes.

"Do you expect me to just forgive and forget?" Sakura continued to rant. "To accept everything like nothing about this entire situation is messed up and wrong? _Everything_ about it is wrong, Sasuke! Everything!"

Finally, he spoke. His voice chilled her; it was cold, hard fury. _"_ No. Everything about your life with _them_ is wrong _."_

"They're still my family! My friends!" she leapt to her feet. "I want to understand _why_ they kept everything from me! But I can't do that if I'm down here. If you-" she swallowed, heart thundering. "If you would take me back, then maybe, maybe I could forgive you-"

Forgive him? He was suddenly on his feet too, his hands closing to form tight fists.

" _Forgiveness?"_ he echoed the word sarcastically - contemptuously. "You think I want _that_?"

"You don't want it," she told him. "You need it, because I know that deep down inside you, you _know_ it was wrong to kidnap me!"

He glared daggers at her. Was she so preposterous to assume what it was he wanted and needed? He could scarcely believe his ears.

"I told you," he bit out acrimoniously. "It was the only way." He spoke it as if he did not understand _why_ she could not comprehend this and accept it as a reasonable excuse for his actions. What _else_ had she expected him to do? He had wanted her – he had tried to find other ways – but to no avail. Did she think it had brought him pleasure, to pine senselessly for something he hadn't even understood at first? To long for the daughter of an _enemy?_ She accused him of having no idea what she had been through – yet Sasuke thought that it was _she,_ who hadn't the faintest idea of what torture had endured for the two and a half years he'd spent watching her from the shadows, feeling himself burn and yearn and not know why.

But he couldn't express this to her. He didn't know _how,_ and his pride stubbornly refused to find the words.

So instead, he advanced toward her, and it took every ounce of willpower that Sakura possessed to stand her ground, to keep from backing away.

"You think I _asked_ for this, Sakura?" he seethed.

She caught her breath, aghast. For some reason, she had never really thought about how Sasuke would feel about the matter. She had just assumed that he'd seen her at the funeral, and spent the rest of the time planning her abduction.

She had never really stopped to consider how much he might have struggled inside. A god as cold and unfeeling as he was, who had lived in the shadows for so long alone - to desire something unfamiliar for the first time – and not just anything; the daughter of one of his family's sworn enemies.

"You could have just ignored me… forgotten about me…" she was all at once confused. Thrown by the line of thought.

He surprised her by exhaling a sound that only vaguely resembled a laugh. It was short. Sharp. Brittle. Like breaking glass. He tilted his head mockingly, his eyes piercing into hers as he stopped within arm's reach in front of her.

It was then that she realised, from the bitterness she could see all too clearly in his features that Sasuke _couldn't_ have. He'd kidnapped her for that exact reason. Because he had likely fought against it - but hadn't been able to shut her out of his head.

Unbidden, the memory of his eyes on her, when they'd first met at the Carousel, drifted through her mind. She felt dizzy. Smothered.

"But you…" There was a growing discomfort inside her chest, and she tried her best to ignore it. "You told me you took me on a whim…"

One corner of his lips twitched. Not quite forming a sneer. Perhaps he had passed it off as a whim, at first. Before he had discovered that his craving for Sakura was anything but a fleeting fancy.

He didn't need to say anything else, though. Sakura _understood._

"But you're selfish," Sakura whispered. "You didn't think once about my feelings! Even now, it's all about you, what _you_ want, and I-!"

Indignant fury flashed across those irises. "You didn't stop me," he snapped pointedly, referring to the kiss.

"I-!" Sakura was mortified when she could find no quick-fire response for that. What could she say? That she had obviously been distracted? That he had caught her off-guard? Neither was true. The best thing she could manage was, "I was- you confuse me! Sometimes I feel like I can't even _think_ when you…"

He stared at her.

Sakura gestured frantically at him, as if he was proving her point. "When you look at me like _that!_ "

Sasuke scowled, and bristled defensively. What was she _talking_ about? He wasn't looking at her like _anything._

Sakura could see that he did not comprehend what it was she was trying to express. She covered her face hopelessly with her hands, closed her eyes for a moment. Oh, what a mess Fate had strung them both into. What an impossible, horrible _mess._ She felt strangely exhausted following her outburst, and the discomfort in her chest was steadily growing into a heavy ache. But she still wasn't anywhere near finished.

"That isn't all," she shook her head at him. "We're completely different, Sasuke. You're a god, and I'm human!"

His eyes narrowed, and he pounced, "What if you weren't?"

"What?" She glanced up at him again with startled eyes. After a speechless moment, she managed, "That's like saying what if you were human! We are what we are, Sasuke. There's no way this – whatever _this_ is – whatever you want it to be - can ever work!"

Sasuke was silent. She didn't know what he knew. And the death deity was quite certain, that once she found out, the issue of them being different would no longer be an objection. He looked away from her. Sakura could see the tension lining his clenched jaw. The way anger seemed to coil like icy tendrils from his form. Still she continued, wincing, even as the ache inside spiked to a sharp, unexpected stab of pain.

"You're the King of the Underworld, and I belong on the surface." Her voice began to rise again, as fresh tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "We're from two completely different worlds! You knew that from the beginning, and still you-!" her breath hitched, when a sudden, pulsating stab of stronger pain throbbed inside her chest.

Sasuke's head immediately swivelled back to her.

"Ugh…" she clutched her hands above her racing heart, felt the familiar dreaded tightening of her windpipe that accompanied another oncoming attack.

"No-" she whimpered. Not now!

Sasuke could see that she had worked herself up into quite a distressed state. He was moving towards her instantly, without a second of hesitation.

"Sakura-" Concern made him reach for her.

She batted his hands away. "No," she wheezed again, as she stumbled backwards, trying to compose her breathing, to fight back the encroaching sense of panic and doom. "Don't – don't touch me! Unh!" She turned away, meaning to place distance between them – but her legs suddenly felt like dead-weights, and the room spun violently as another wave of agonising pain gripped her.

She collapsed to her knees and doubled over, squeezing her eyes shut. It would pass she tried to reassure herself, as long as she remained calm. It would hopefully be a quick, brief spell – that was all. She would be fine. She would be-

But she knew, from the high-pitched whining assaulting her ears that this was anything but a light attack. She bit down on her tongue, trying to keep her cries from leaving her mouth. She didn't- she didn't want Sasuke's help!

Despair made the tears flow anew. Suigetsu had been right about him. He had no pity. What had she realistically expected? An apology? From _Sasuke?_ She hadn't even finished saying everything she'd wanted to say; hadn't had the chance to ask him to let her go. She was certain that even if she had, he would have flatly refused. Somehow, this only made her heart hurt even more.

But the Death God was by her side regardless of her wishes, gripping onto her shoulders to pull her back up. Sakura resisted, curling tighter into a ball of agony as she sobbed on the ground, her fingernails digging into her palms.

"Ghnn…" she uttered through clenched teeth.

"Sit up," Sasuke ordered.

"It hurts," she wept. " _It hurts!_ "

Sasuke's heart pounded. Her body was so tense. And as he finally succeeded in drawing her up, he saw how pale and clammy her skin had already become - skin that had been flushed red with anger just moments earlier.

She needed ambrosia. Paying no heed to her weak, protesting struggles, he gathered her into his arms and transported them to the banqueting hall in an instant. Settling her into one of the chairs, he grabbed a glass and poured the rich golden liquid into it, nearly spilling it in his haste to get it to her. Then he took the cup to Sakura, and lifted it to her lips.

"Drink," he urged her.

But she turned her face away, groaning in agony. He grabbed her chin and forced the liquid down. She coughed and spluttered, but finally accepted it, drinking almost greedily, as if parched of thirst. Sasuke remained by her side, watching her closely, waiting, with baited breath, for the wine to kick in.

A minute passed. Two minutes. Three, and her pain was still escalating. She was doubled over in the chair, breathless and gasping, her nails clawing at her chest so hard that they left angry red scratch marks. Sasuke gripped her wrists to stop her from hurting herself any further, stared with wild-eyed alarm when he realised with a sinking feeling in his gut that the drink _was not working._

Did she need more? But a glass had always been enough in the past!

"Sakura-"

She was screaming, now, and it was the most dreadful sound he had ever heard, more chilling than anything he'd heard in his realm. It reverberated in his skull, tore him to pieces. He let go of her briefly, to fill another cup, feeling powerless to do anything else. But when he turned back to her, Sakura had dropped onto the floor, writhing and sobbing. Her eyes were glazed. Her breaths were rapid and shallow.

"H-he-elp me…" she struggled to speak. The world around her had turned into a haze of pain. She was disorientated, unable to make out anything beyond it.

He raised the glass to her mouth – but a sudden thrash of her left arm sent it flying from Sasuke's grasp and clattering to the floor. He cursed, was about to get another – when her right hand blindly grabbed his, squeezing with such force, that Sasuke, too, felt pain.

Her face turned up to his in sightless desperation as she clutched onto him. She didn't want to die. She wasn't ready. She wanted to tell him that, to ask him to break the rules just once, and not let her pass.

"H-h-h-!" But she failed to form any words this time. Her body was starting to convulse, and a horrified Sasuke felt as though his heart was being wrenched out of his body, skewered by a spiked iron rod that ruptured the organ to pieces.

Why wasn't the ambrosia _working?!_

"Sakura!" He drew her body – a body far too fragile to carry such a terrible burden - into his arms, trying to keep her still, to keep her safe. But he could sense her heartbeat – could _feel_ how unnatural its rhythm was – and he knew the second he saw her eyes start to roll back into her head, and the way her lips began to turn blue, that this was no ordinary attack.

The fragment wasn't just _trying_ to trigger spring again.

This time, it was _hell-bent_ on achieving it, and if it did not- if it did not- then this body- this innocent girl who had become such an integral part of his existence- she would…

 _No,_ Sasuke was numb with shock and denial, as the very real possibility of losing her right then slammed into him.

_No. No!_ _ Damn it! _

His Sharingan activated, he watched in wordless horror as her inner chakra network ran rampant, firing off pulse after pulse of disturbed energy. There was something different about its irregular flow and colour. The Essence was responsible, he knew, and suddenly he _hated_ it, hated the very thing that had created Sakura. He pressed a palm to her chest, over her erratic heart, trying to steady it. But each time he succeeded, it reverted back to its frantic beat.

It was just as he had been warned. He had no control, no sway over what was inside her. It was its own life-force – and one that did not answer to him.

What did he do? _What did he do?_ For the first time since the demise of his Clan, a panic-stricken Sasuke felt completely helpless, completely shaken. A complete failure. The feeling of vulnerability frightened him more than anything, knowing, as he stared down at the tortured girl in his arms, that there was nothing he _could_ do for her, nothing he could do to take this pain away.

All his great power and immortal wisdom was reduced to nothing in that moment.

"S-S-Sa-" she stuttered, her dazed eyes focusing unseeingly on his face.

He raised his right hand to her icy cheek. Cradled her close against him.

"Hold on," he whispered, willing her to, with every fibre of his being. "Sakura."

She convulsed again, her breaths laboured, fitful.

' _You must take her to the surface.'_ A voice suddenly echoed in his head.

He released a breath at the sudden, unexpected life-line he was given. _'Chiyo-?'_

The old goddess's tone was urgent. _'To the concealed woods that are on the borders of your realm. Hurry, little King!'_

Sasuke didn't need to be told again. In a heartbeat, he had flickered to the entrance of the Underworld. Passing Cerberus without a glance, he hurried through the fog-shrouded cavern, bypassing the steps that led up to the surface entirely by flash-stepping over them. He alighted in the misty forest that was concealed from human and deity gazes by a powerful illusionary technique, a vast area that formed the outer-most borders of his Kingdom, and the hidden route all had to cross in order to reach the mouth of the Underworld.

It was the one and only remaining place where his realm merged with the upper world, a hazy boundary between life and death. The dense trees here were forever without leaves, tall and slender and towering high to the sky, but devoid of all life. Splintered wooden logs, sticks and shrivelled old leaves and vines littered the earthy ground. But nothing new grew in it.

' _Set her down,'_ Chiyo's voice reached him again.

Sasuke did so, crouching down, his arms still around her as he placed her gently onto the damp ground. When nothing happened, he called out to the goddess again.

' _What now?!'_ he demanded, too diverted and apprehensive to even care that he was actually asking the old crone for help.

' _Now watch.'_

It was difficult, but Sasuke did, his pulse hurtling, as the contact with the soil seemed to have an immediate impact and helped soothed Sakura's violently trembling body. Her eyes were now closed, and her head fell back against his shoulder as she released a shaky breath. In a few seconds, she had stopped tremoring entirely.

He watched her face intently; saw how the frown lines betraying her lingering pain increased briefly – before smoothing away. That was when his eyes abruptly lowered – and he saw her left hand.

Her fingers were curled into the soil. They were moving, as if grasping at the damp particles, raking deeply through them, over and over. Her lips were moving without a sound. A heavy sigh then escaped them – as if she had found blessed relief at last.

Like the earth itself was healing her. Like she _needed_ the contact to end her suffering.

Sasuke exhaled unsteadily, his eyebrows drawing together – as if pained. He listened to her breaths slowly become steady again, sensed her pulse return to its normal, healthy rhythm. Her skin regained colour, and warmth returned to her.

And that was when he realised; when it finally struck him at last, as surely as a bolt of lightning. The last piece of evidence he did not need, of the precise nature of Sakura's tie to the surface.

He saw, with his own wide, astonished eyes, the tiny, slender shoots of green that were starting to form in the soil around her fingers. Growing in earth that could not normally sustain any form of life.

He gazed down at her, the full and true extent of his actions – and the consequences they'd had on her - hitting him at last. Like a rude, bitter, harsh awakening, he suddenly understood, with perfect clarity, what he had allowed to happen. The ticking time-bomb he had unwittingly set off, the moment he had stolen her into his Kingdom.

_Sakura. I…_

The intensity of the guilt he felt at that moment was crippling. Devastating. He did not know how to deal with it. Could do nothing but lower his head and press the tip of his nose to her hair as he inhaled silently, shakily.

She had almost _died_ because of him.

 _I…_ The words he sought would not form in his mind. It was as though a barricade kept them from him.

It wasn't the fragment that had caused her such suffering during her stay in his world. It was just trying to fulfil its purpose, like it did every year. _He_ had been the one who had let it hurt her so much. So unnecessarily. And the longer he kept her from her home – the more dangerous and unstable the Essence inside her became. It was getting worse, too. Because it was now nearly July, and the earth had only just over one more month in which to flourish and yield the fruits of summer – until the following year.

But it could not do it without Sakura. And in such a tight, unnatural space of time in which to trigger growth all over the surface, she suffered more acutely, felt pain so much more intensely. It put her life at greater risk.

 _He_ was the one responsible.

And that was when Sasuke fully realised, that desiring to keep her with him went far beyond his own wants and his needs.

It wasn't only simply the selfish case that he wanted her to stay by his side.

It was the crushing weight of knowing that he _had_ to let Sakura return to the surface before the start of autumn. Or she would not make it to the following spring.


	48. Chapter XLVII

**Chapter XLVII**

* * *

_Love is folly, blind - or so they say,_

_Still it lingers when hearts are cast away,_

_No man, nor woman - nor immortal god,_

_Can escape its sweet ruin,_

_Its tempestuous road,_

_A will of its own - it bends for none,_

_Not mind, nor spirit – all sense it shuns,_

_As the clock's hand ticks, it runs its course,_

_A most turbulent passion,_

_An unstoppable force._

* * *

_Adjusting her ornate gold face-mask more comfortably in position upon the short bridge of her nose, Kore gave herself one final, inspecting look in the brass framed mirror, twirling in a manner that caused the full skirt of her flattering, white silk chiton to swish gently outwards. Her fingers ran over the plaited gold and pearl girdle wound thrice around her flat midriff. Strands of her long hair were prettily braided at the front and sides, twisted and secured to the back of her head by decorative pins, while the remainder of her gently waving tresses cascaded free. Matching, decorative gold jewellery adorned her slender neck, wrists, and earlobes._

_She had to hand it to Aphrodite, who had excitedly dressed Kore for her first Spring Equinox Festival; the Goddess of Love had ensured that Kore looked nothing short of sensational. There was only one tiny problem, however, one anomaly in the attractive reflection that gazed back at her._

_Her hair and eye colour had been altered beyond their natural hues._

_It had been one of the several, strict conditions her mother had placed upon her when she had somehow_ _finally_ _caved into pressure from Kore (and Apollo, Aphrodite, Hera, and most influentially, Zeus), to permit her daughter to participate in an Equinox at last. But her acquiescence had come with the instructions that her hair had to be transformed into a dark shade of blonde, while her bright eyes had to be toned down to a dark shade of brown. She'd stand out far too much otherwise, Demeter had insisted, and she did_ _not_ _want Kore to draw unwanted attention to herself, especially with so many - what she called – 'lusty' gods in attendance._

_The other terms of her agreement were that the dance she was to participate in would be a masked one, so as to conceal her features (the mask was also to remain on her face all night), and Aphrodite was to remain by her side at all times. Additionally, both Zeus and Apollo were to keep a watchful eye on her throughout the evening's celebrations. Kore had been far too ecstatic with the unexpected concession on Demeter's part to protest much at not being afforded the absolute freedom she had craved for so long. Perhaps, the following year, Demeter would fully relent and allow Kore to attend in her undisguised glory._

_Kore pouted a little in distaste as she brushed back her blonde locks. They were not as bright as Apollo's, nor as lustrously fair as Aphrodite's. They did not even match her mother's beautiful colour. Instead, they were an almost dirty, dull shade. She supposed that was the point; to lessen her appeal. Her figure alone was sure to lure enough gazes._

" _Have you seen my necklace?" Aphrodite exclaimed, as Kore moved away from the mirror and crossed over the gold-stitched crimson rugs to the tent's entrance._

" _Did you not place it on the table?" she answered distractedly, parting the heavy brown fabric to peer out into the early spring night. The smell of delicious food and alluring incense mixed with the sweet scent of flowers wafted to her nose. The large, grassy circle that formed the entertainment space was currently empty, save for the wooden logs that housed the crackling fire burning heartily in the centre._

_The guests sat on wooden chairs arranged around the circle, conversing loudly and happily. There were two large, raised platforms, upon which were seated royalty from both Olympus and the Underworld. Each dais was draped with banners depicting the family crest of its house. Decorative flowers, banners and ribbons in bright colours were strung between towering wooden posts. Stern, armed centaurs patrolled on guard duty around the site and a wide variety of obliging surface nymphs served the guests silver platters laden with delicious assortments of food and ambrosia._

_Kore's heart skipped a beat as her seeking eyes found the dais occupied by the Underworld's royal family. The stoic King and demure Queen of the Underworld, clad in dark, formal finery and rich jewels - Hades's parents, Kore had immediately realised in awe - were seated on the larger of the thrones, flanked on the right by three unfamiliar deities she did not recognise._

_It was the individuals to their left, sitting in the smaller thrones, who caught Kore's rapt attention._

_He_ _was there, of course; just as she had spent the previous, sleepless night fretting and hoping he would be. And he looked every inch the prince she had always suspected him to be. Hades was clothed in seductive shades of black and midnight blue, seated petulantly between his stunningly beautiful mother, and an elegant, long-haired young man whose face was turned away from Kore's line of sight, toward another handsome, grinning deity._

_Hades looked thoroughly uninterested and bored by the entire affair. She watched in amusement, as his ivory-skinned mother noticed, and smilingly leant toward him to whisper something, placing a loving hand upon her son's arm. Hades tilted his head, and the frown on his features seemed to soften marginally as his mother laughed quietly._

_Kore felt an inexplicable stab of envy. It was ridiculous, and impossible, but she longed to be the one close to him._

_He wouldn't even recognise her, though, Kore knew. That fact didn't stop the internal butterflies from fluttering, regardless._

_Her gaze trailed over the other guests sitting in their smaller chairs around the circle. She spotted playful Poseidon, who had left his seat by the other Olympians and was somehow both flirting with and antagonising a cross-looking, crimson haired nymph who was trying to serve him wine. An animated Apollo, looking dashing in white, had left his seat too. Kore saw him approach the platform Hades was seated upon, and greet him and his family, before cracking some form of jest at his unimpressed friend._

_Behind her, a gorgeous Aphrodite professed haughtily, "Well, it looks like I shall break many hearts tonight, as always!" She stopped admiring herself and fussing over the intricately styled ringlets in her hair, blinked at the other nymphs and goddesses who were staring enviously at her – and then proceeded to anxiously screech last minute orders at them._

" _Stop gawping at my beauty, all of you! Once Lord Zeus finishes his opening speech, it shall be our turn to take to the stage! Be ready. Stop nattering, over there! You, brown-haired nymph! What in Zeus's name has happened to your_ _hair?_ _Oh, come here, hurry! Let me pin it again or else you'll make a mockery of us all!"_

_Kore swallowed down a less than ladylike snigger. Trust Aphrodite to panic over appearances at the final moment. She felt a light hand brush her shoulder, and turned, smiling when she found a bashful looking Selene, who was dressed and masked identically to her. Her straight, waist-length hair was worn free, however, and there were more pearls strung through her purple-black tresses._

" _You look beautiful," Kore reached out to squeeze her hand reassuringly._

_It was Selene's first time participating in the dance, too. She glanced embarrassedly down at her sandal clad feet._

" _Ah-" she began softly in her gentle voice, picking nervously at the girdle around her shapely waist. "You do not think this gown is- is perhaps too… revealing?"_

 _Kore giggled. "If it was, my mother would've never allowed_ _me_ _to wear one like it."_

 _Selene's luminous, lavender-tinted silver eyes widened. She ducked her head and squeaked, "But w- what if… what if they_ _look_ _at me…? I shall be so embarrassed…"_

_Kore smiled teasingly. "Oh, I shouldn't worry about that," she replied innocently. "I'm sure Apollo will burn their eyes for staring at you."_

_Selene's hands flew to her mouth to stifle a gasp. An adorable blush stained the visible parts of her face red, and she pleaded, "Please- please do not say such things, I entreat you!"_

_Kore giggled again. "Stay next to me." She winked, and turned back to part the fabric as the cluster of nymphs who had been playing musical instruments ceased and all fell respectfully silent when Zeus's clear, authoritative voice rang through the air, from across the dais on the opposite side of the circle to the one Hades and his family occupied. It was beyond Kore's line of vision from her position inside the tent, but she knew her mother sat there, also._

" _My friends and brethren. Brothers and sisters! My Queen and I warmly welcome you to the Spring Equinox. Honoured are we by the grace of your company." He paused, before continuing smoothly, "Spring is a time of new growth and blessings. New beginnings. And just as the flower that blooms in this most auspicious of seasons, long may the harmonious accord forged between Olympians and Underworld dwellers continue to flourish and prosper. We have gathered here this night to celebrate peace, to renew the alliances and good will between our honourable houses. And although he is regrettably absent this evening, praises we sing to Lord Cronus, for his role in creating order and balance in this world. Hail, Cronus!"_

" _Hail!" The audience in their seats chanted in unison._

_Hera's honeyed voice took over. "We hope that you will enjoy the opening entertainment that we have prepared for you and the feast and festivities that follow." She clapped her hands. "Please, be at ease and merry tonight. Let us begin!"_

_Immediately, the nymphs took their cue, plucking on string instruments, blowing into flutes and striking drums. Seductive music floated through the air, and Kore's sense of anticipating soared._

" _Ready, girls?" Aphrodite whispered to her troop of ten dancers._

_They all nodded eagerly, abuzz with excitement. The Goddess of Love slipped gracefully in front of Kore._

" _Stay close to me like we agreed!"_

" _I will," Kore promised._

" _Just think, your first dance, at last!"_

" _I'm terrified. What if I fall over, or set a foot wrong, or-?" Kore gulped. Her heart was ramming against her rib-cage. What she_ _really_ _feared was somehow turning, mid-motion, to find Hades's' dark, penetrating gaze on her. The prospect was enthralling and horrifying in equal measures._

" _You'll be fine," Aphrodite winked._

" _I-I feel faint," Selene confessed weakly._

" _Don't you dare pass out on me," Aphrodite whirled and pointed a perfectly manicured finger at her._

_Kore reached back and squeezed Selene's hand again in silent support. "It's my first dance too," she whispered. "We'll do this together."_

_Selene gulped, but nodded._

_Aphrodite took a deep breath – and then stepped out of the tent. Kore followed after her, trailed by Selene and the others._

_They took their positions around the fire, and when it reached the starting point in the music for them to begin, they moved in perfectly synchronised rhythm. Kore's nerves quickly evaporated as the music seeped through her ears and commanded her body. She sashayed and spun, keeping next to Aphrodite at all times. They clasped hands around the fire, dancing in a graceful circle, drawing in and out before parting again._

_Each time she spun, and managed to sneak a furtive look in Hades's general direction, her heart sank. He wasn't even watching, his chin resting in his hand, elbow propped against the arm rest as he seemed to direct his gaze anywhere_ _but_ _at the dancers. As she twirled again, she thought she glimpsed the handsome long-haired deity next to him lean slightly to his right and murmur something – likely a light reprimand about appearing ungrateful and discourteous before their hosts – which prompted a brooding, disgruntled Hades look up at last._

_Kore's heart quickened. But he wasn't looking at her, thankfully. She then realised that he was looking at the fire, rather than attentively watching any of them. Perhaps that was a blessing for her. Forcing herself to ignore him as best she could, Kore continued to perform the steps to the dance faultlessly, throwing a discreet glance at her mother as she turned in the opposite direction._

_If Demeter was tense, she certainly did not outwardly show it. But her eyes remained on her child throughout, flitting only briefly onto the others to avoid suspicion._

_At length, the dance reached its final steps. Kore fell into her resting, end position, and could not help but chance another hasty glance upwards. This time, her heart seemed to wedge itself into her throat._

_Hades's head was angled back aloofly, and his closed posture still indicated complete apathy._

_But his dark eyes were unmistakeably locked directly onto her. She could_ _feel_ _them blaze through her despite their distance, and quickly averted her own, feeling her cheeks flush against her wishes. It was merely coincidence, she thought frantically to herself, heart pounding, as the music finally ended, and the audience broke out into enthusiastic applause, tossing flowers at them._

_It seemed to be the case; for when she snuck another peek towards him, Hades had turned to his smiling mother and was no longer looking at her._

* * *

_The remainder of the evening passed in a pleasant blur. Kore remained out of sight for the banquet, eating in her tent with her friends as her mother had instructed. Demeter visited them once, complimenting her child on the dance, before slipping back out to rejoin Zeus and the other elder gods. Kore kept glancing through the tent opening, and when Aphrodite curiously asked her who she was looking for, she bluffed that she just wanted to watch, because she had never been to an Equinox before, and everything was so new and wonderful. Aphrodite seemed to believe her, for she shrugged and did not trouble her with questions again._

_When Apollo snuck into the tent, a red-faced Selene almost_ _did_ _faint. He caught Kore into a big bear hug and swung her around, which made her laugh. Then, rubbing the back of his neck in the manner he did whenever he was embarrassed, he awkwardly greeted the swooning Moon Goddess, who just managed to stammer a thank you when he told her she'd danced really well, too._

_Aphrodite had met a sly Kore's eye and winked knowingly._

_At length, the nymphs and other goddesses had left the tent to mingle. Kore kept close to Aphrodite, Selene and Apollo as they went out to socialise. Zeus and Hera had moved to converse with Hades's parents on their podium, and Kore found herself searching for the elusive god continuously – only to be disappointed. There were simply too many in attendance and her eyes could not locate him. She resorted to having a good time with her friends instead, although thoughts of Hades remained fixed in the back of her mind._

_Eventually, the celebrations drew to an end with one final dance shared by Underworld deities and surface folk. Kore, excluded from participating in the routine, returned dutifully to the tent, and peeped out to see that Hades had returned to his seat. Zeus gave his closing speech and both rulers shook hands to cement their continued alliance. The venue then slowly began to clear as deities prepared to go their separate ways._

_As Aphrodite walked back to the tent, Kore, who was now standing just outside it, suddenly caught sight of Hades's tall form again. He was clasping his black cloak around his broad shoulders, and walking away in the opposite direction, toward a larger tent. She lost sight of him as others walked between them. Internally frustrated, she entered her own shelter again, and listened distractedly as a triumphant Aphrodite claimed she had, as usual, broken many hearts that night and could make_ _anyone_ _she wanted fall in love with her – even an Underworld dweller._

_At Kore's dubious look, the Goddess of Love and Beauty had vowed she would prove her point before they left._

_Selene hugged her goodnight, and the other nymphs soon departed, leaving Kore alone with Aphrodite, who, peering through the tent's opening, gasped delightedly, as if she had spotted someone of interest. Or unsuspecting prey. Instructing Kore to stay put and watch safely from inside, she slipped out._

_Kore followed curiously, parting the fabric. She gaped in nervous dismay as she watched Aphrodite twirl a lock of golden hair flirtatiously around her slender index finger, whilst batting fluttering eyelashes at a handsome young god with unruly layered, dark brown hair and sharp eyes._

_It was the same one from earlier, Kore immediately recognised; one of the two, regal-looking deities who had been seated beside Hades on the podium. He was tall, and even more arresting on closer scrutiny. There was an almost languid grace about his posture._

_She could scarcely believe it; Aphrodite really had_ _not_ _been jesting when she'd claimed that she would make a pass at an Underworld dweller._

" _It_ _is_ _Hypnos, isn't it?" The Goddess of Love questioned._

_He cocked his head. "You know who I am," he commented. His deep voice possessed a rich, smooth, lulling tone. It seemed to match his namesake._

" _Of course," Aphrodite smiled one of her irresistible smiles, before she dramatically declared, "You and I share a fated connection, after all."_

_His dark eyebrows shot up at that. Although Kore hung back at a safe distance, she could still make out the god's expression with perfect clarity. To her great surprise, he did not appear anywhere near as smitten or flustered as all the other young deities Aphrodite usually accosted. It normally only took her several minutes to have them either eating from her palm, or eyeing her with lustful, dishonourable intentions._

_This one was doing neither. In fact, he seemed mildly amused, instead. As if he was in a benevolent mood and was choosing to indulge a small child, instead of the ravishing Goddess of Love and Beauty._

" _And how is that?" he drawled, a small smile dancing upon his lips._

" _Love and Sleep," she simpered coyly. "Is it not obvious, sir?"_

_The deity's gaze trailed unhurriedly over her voluptuous form, taking in the flattering manner in which her dress hung from her body. But he did so with marked detachment._

" _I see," Hypnos mused, making no move to alter his casual posture, leaning nonchalantly back with his elbows propped on a wooden fence._

" _What do you think?" Aphrodite flirted._

_Hypnos appeared to consider a moment. Then he stated, "I think I have a far better idea."_

_Aphrodite's crystal-clear blue eyes widened. She leant forward, resting her own elbows on the post, also._

" _And what might that be?" she purred seductively._

_Hypnos did shift then. He turned, and leaning forward toward her in turn, he smiled. Aphrodite made a show of looking enthralled - when Hypnos suddenly held up an index finger, and tapped it once against her nose._

" _I think you had better try your luck with some other, more gullible fool," he smirked, before making a little shooing motion with his hand, as if to encourage her to leave. "Run along, now, little goddess."_

 _Kore's lips parted. A deity who was_ _refusing_ _Aphrodite? And_ _mocking_ _her attempts at seduction? It was impossible! What uncommon strength of iron will did this 'Hypnos' possess?_

_Aphrodite bristled at the rejection. "Little goddess?!" she exclaimed indignantly, her back straightening as a scowl formed on her features. Even frowning, she was dazzlingly beautiful. "Why, how dare you-!"_

" _Well, that's certainly changed your countenance, hasn't it?" Hypnos remarked, feigning surprise._

" _Now you listen here, you impertinent, pompous-"_

" _Pompous? Me?" Hypnos chuckled. "You haven't met my cousins."_

_Kore had seen quite enough; she didn't want to witness the aftermath. Now was her chance. She knew she wouldn't get another one. While Aphrodite was preoccupied with Hypnos, and there was nobody else around to chaperone her, she had the perfect opportunity to sneak toward the tent she had spied Hades heading towards earlier._

_Her heart pounded as she slipped out of the entrance and walked hurriedly in the direction she had seen Hades head. He wouldn't recognise her, she told herself again. Not with her changed eye and hair colour and the mask that still concealed half of her face. He would just think her one of the dancing nymphs he had watched perform earlier._

_She knew the desire to see him was reckless and probably unwise. But she strangely longed to, even if only for a moment, and the craving was far too great for her to dismiss._

_She kept her head down as she passed numerous other tents, hoping she would not see anyone she knew along the way. Fortune seemed to favour her, for she did not._

_Kore wondered why the butterflies in her stomach seemed to flap more agitatedly the closer she ventured to her intended destination. When she finally reached it, her heart was racing so fast that she was almost tempted to flee back to the sanctuary of her own shelter._

_She parted the heavy black fabric – only for her eagerly seeking eyes to find the rich rug covered interior empty. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. Had she come to the wrong place? But she had been certain that he had entered this one. Or perhaps he had already left?_

_Her eyes then widened when she suddenly spotted a figure she'd initially overlooked in her haste, stationed almost beyond sight behind a decorative plume of large peacock feathers. The person was tall and cloaked entirely in black – in a hooded cloak identical to the one she had seen Hades pull on as he'd headed into the tent._

_Her heart leapt. He was here!_

_Without thinking, she stepped forward into the tent, her lips automatically parting to call to him, just as he lifted his hands to push back his hood._

" _Ha-!" her breath hitched in alarm and she swallowed back the rest of his name, when the hood slipped away and the back of the head she found herself looking at did_ _not_ _match that of Hades. The silky hair was black, yes – but a different shade, and much longer, drawn up into a high, elegant tail atop the individual's head. She realised her mistake far too late, however, for the figure immediately noticed her presence and turned to regard her._

 _Kore had to fight to suppress a startled gasp. It was the other immortal she had seen earlier, the quiet, indifferent one who had been seated directly to Hades's left. While Hypnos's grace seemed a care-free, relaxed kind, this god carried a far more imposing and reserved air of grandeur about him. His dignified, authoritative bearing radiated a majestic aura of effortless grace and daunting brilliance. Yet as compelling as his form was, there was something else about him that unnerved her. Something almost_ _dangerous_ _,_ _a potent, overpowering presence that froze Kore in place as his piercing, crimson eyes locked onto her. They seemed to stab through her soul with their searing intensity, and were rendered all the more striking by the long, heavy black lashes bordering them. Strands of dark hair framed his face, and a garnet and gold droplet adorned his left ear lobe._

 _He was beautiful._ _So beautiful_ _, that_ _Kore felt like she was marvelling over a statuesque masterpiece, as her eyes darted over his face in dazzled confusion. The chiselled perfection of his aristocratic features reminded her greatly of Hades; all sharp planes and sculpted angles. But he appeared older. Even more silently intimidating and magnificent, and she could not comprehend how that was even possible, how anyone could possibly match, much less surpass, the perfection that was Hades._

_While he was not as smoulderingly intense or brooding in demeanour, and seemed not to possess the same degree of unabashed arrogance, his beauty, instead, was decidedly more unearthly. Kore was entranced and afraid all at once._

_He blinked at her. While there was no expression on his face, the suffocating weight of his heavy gaze suggested a depth of wisdom and knowing that went far beyond Kore's young existence._

" _I-" she finally stammered. "I am sorry! Please forgive me. I must have taken a wrong turn!"_

_The god spoke then, and his deep, quiet voice was akin to the richest, most luxurious of silks, a smooth, dark, sensual caress that sent a violent shudder rattling down Kore's spine. His voice… it was irresistible and soothing, glided seductively over the senses and rendered thinking a laborious task, indeed. It was the kind of voice to command immediate submission, and melt away all resistance, without the need to alter its tone or lift its pitch in the slightest degree._

" _You called for Hades."_

_It was not a question._

_Kore gulped. So his ears had caught the name before she could take it back in time! There was no use in denying it. Her mind raced._ _Think!_ _She urged herself, but the way he was watching her, so unnervingly, caused guilty heat to flood to her cheeks._

_Somehow, she could not look him in the eye and lie. Averting her gaze, she fumbled, fidgeting awkwardly with her hands, "Ah- y-yes. I was sent by the Sun God to fetch him." In an attempt to sound even more convincing, she ventured, "A-are you him, my lord?"_

"…" _There was a weighty pause, in which she could_ _feel_ _his eyes continuing to watch her intently. And then, "I am not."_

" _Then please forgiv-" she began to bow courteously – for it seemed the correct and appropriate thing to do before this grand_ _prince_ _of a god – when another, more familiar, and equally as alluring voice rang clearly through the tent as an identically cloaked Hades suddenly entered through the opening opposite the one Kore had used._

" _Thanatos. Hypnos is waiting for us by the-" he broke off abruptly, blinking as he noticed her standing there._

 _Kore's heart was beating so thunderously, she could feel it shaking her entire body, shifting her internally like trembling quakes in the earth. The sight of him made her breathless, and for an awful moment, she feared that he would somehow recognise her, and_ _know_ _._

_He glanced at the god Kore now knew was named Thanatos – and then inclined his head briefly toward her._

" _Who is she?" he questioned flatly._

" _A messenger for you," Thanatos answered, and turned dismissively away to retrieve the sword behind him._

_Hades regarded her standoffishly. When she simply stared at him, his eyebrows drew together in distaste._

" _Well, nymph?"_

_Kore swallowed, horrified that her voice might have abandoned her entirely. She had really landed herself in a fix, now! She had to repeat the lie, since Thanatos was still present. Her cheeks burned. Oh, what a mess she had gotten herself into. What if Hades went in search of Apollo, only to discover that he had not called for him at all? And what had she been thinking? Since when did Apollo send others on errands, especially when it came to Hades?_

_It didn't matter; she frantically tried to reassure herself. Hades had no idea of her true identity and no way of holding her accountable._

_Thankfully, she managed to get out, ashamed of how nervous she sounded, doing her best to keep her voice as throaty and unrecognisable as possible, "Apollo the Sun God sent me. He wishes to see you."_

_Hades's smoky eyes narrowed at her. She tried to hold his gaze as steadily as she could, though it made her pulse hurtle faster still._

" _Hn," he then scornfully dismissed, closing his eyes briefly. "I have no interest in conversing with that moron."_

"…" _Thanatos, who had finished gathering his supplies, cast him a silent glance._

" _Let's go. Brother." Hades nodded at him._

 _Brother?_ _Kore's eyes widened. So that explained the uncanny resemblance in good-looks; they were relatives!_

_As Thanatos exited the tent, Hades began to follow after him. She was just about to exhale a sigh of relief that everything had worked out fine, after all – when Hades abruptly swivelled back around, and tossed a smouldering look over his shoulder back at her._

_Kore's was powerless to look away. His gaze made her feel as though her very blood was being set alight and birthed an agonising, throbbing ache deep inside her._

_Her heart then jumped violently into her throat, as he murmured with great derision, quietly for her ears alone, "That colour. It's awful."_

_The air caught in her lungs and she gaped at him in open astonishment. He was referring to her chakra-altered, dirty blonde tresses. But how could he_ _possibly_ _have detected it? He had even called her 'nymph'! There was no conceivable way he ought to have recognised who she really was-! The disguise had been fool-proof!_

 _But there was no room for doubt - when the tiny, smug, condescending smirk curved one corner of those haughty lips just before Hades turned away and left - that he unmistakeably_ _did_ _know._

* * *

Long after she had settled into comfortable slumber and the murky clouds in the night sky began to drizzle lightly with rain, Sasuke remained in position, cradling Sakura protectively in his arms. He was not sure what strange force, exactly, was responsible for freezing his limbs in place. Perhaps he was still reeling from the numbing shock of observing the small patches of green moss that had started to surface ever so sparsely on the bare, lifeless trees surrounding them, or the delicate, thread-thin shoots in the soil, unfurling the tiniest of leaf buds so tentatively.

He'd believed it impossible for anything to grow in the barren, mist-cloaked forest. Somehow it was happening anyway; a testament of the powerful, undeniable force that was sealed within Sakura.

Or perhaps it was that Sasuke did not _dare_ to move, for fear of what would happen if he took Sakura back below ground.

Had the Essence triggered spring already? How long did the process take, exactly? Was it immediate, evidenced by what he could see starting to sprout with painstaking slowness around him? Did it take a day? A week? The entire three months that the season typically spanned for, or did its growing influence last up until the end of summer? If he did return Sakura to his realm – would the Essence react even more unstably?

His eyes trailed over her features again. In sleep, she appeared even more vulnerable.

The words she had hurtled at him like rocks during their earlier confrontation returned to haunt him, replaying over and over in his mind, despite his best efforts to shun and ignore them. He'd long been expecting her to bring up the subject of her abduction, and had always thought he'd be fully prepared to deal with it.

But he hadn't really been, at all.

' _Sasuke- you_ _kidnapped_ _me!'_

' _Even if you had no other option, that doesn't excuse your actions! What were you thinking? That I'd just get over it, and adjust, and everything would just- fall into place and be_ _fine?'_

His jaw clenched tightly.

' _You took me away from my home!'_

' _You could have explained why you kidnapped me, and maybe, just_ _maybe_ _I might have understood!'_

 _No._ She _wouldn't_ have understood, Sasuke knew - because he hadn't even fully realised, back when he'd first taken her, _why_ he had done it, himself. He'd foolishly called it a whim, then. He'd desired only to unravel the mystery of her. To understand the purity of her soul, and why she lured him in so much, the way no other ever had. He'd initially intended to do just that – and then discard her after he discovered that she wasn't so special, after all.

Except things hadn't quite ended up so straightforward.

The death deity swallowed back the bitterness in his throat. He hadn't known at first. How could he have possibly comprehended or foreseen the consequences of his actions at the time? But now he did. Now he knew all too well. And it unnerved him more than anything; that he was so completely out of his depth, how everything had spiralled completely beyond his control.

For one as meticulous in planning and strategizing as Sasuke had always been, it was as if a calamity had struck. And he supposed it had; for he did not know how to process the crushing, alien emotions that were gnawing away inside his chest. He was at a loss over how to deal with the way the very thought of releasing Sakura made him feel. He could not come to terms with the dreadful ache inside.

And with every word he recalled, that ache intensified, and he felt as if pieces of him were splintering, bit by bit. He wanted to claw out the sensation, to tear open his chest and find its source and rid himself of it, once and for all.

But he couldn't. He _couldn't._

He tensed when a sudden, soft whimper escaped her lips, and her eyebrows drew together, as if she was unexpectedly coming around. When her eyelids lifted to reveal disorientated, dazed green eyes, he felt his pulse quicken.

"Ugh…" she groaned, as her gaze drifted from the sky, to settle briefly onto his face. She looked momentarily confused, like she was finding it difficult to recognise him.

"Sa-" she finally did, and struggled to speak just like before, to croak out his name. "Sa-suke…?"

"Here," he uttered, much more harshly than intended.

Tears pooled along her waterlines, rolled down her cheeks. She seemed to want to say something else, but suddenly gasped and stiffened, as if pained once more. Her head rolled back, and her eyes fluttered shut again, her return to consciousness all too short-lived.

It was as if a merciless, icy fist was gripping his heart. Sasuke could do nothing but stare helplessly as she grew still once more. He knew it would be hopeless to try to call out to her.

What had become of him? What had she _done_ to him? He felt like he was losing his mind, his senses, _everything,_ and _she_ was the one responsible, and there was _nothing_ he could do to prevent it, to stop it, to save himself from the catastrophe that was threatening to drag him under its riptide.

Where was the composed, proud, unwavering King he had once been? What pitiful fool had he been reduced to, now? He didn't know whether he was angrier at her, or himself. Things had been so much simpler, before he had ever laid his eyes on her. How he now _hated_ that cursed day for the turmoil it had wreaked upon him, how he rued the chance meeting that had turned out to be sadistic Fate's precise design.

Before he had seen her… he hadn't been burdened by such maddening thoughts. Such horrible, _weak_ emotions. He had lived for his purpose, his function, and that alone. It would have remained that way, too, had _he_ not faltered, and given into the enticement of taking her away.

And yet, as much as he told himself that he loathed it… he could not imagine it any other way. He couldn't picture his realm without Sakura. Without her curiosity, her smiles, the light and warmth she radiated.

But she didn't see it the same way. She had made that all too clear while confronting him.

' _Do you have any idea how much I've suffered_ _emotionally_ _? What it's been like for_ _me,_ _to be trapped here, how hard it's been for_ _me,_ _having to adjust to a completely new world, how scary it's been_ _,_ _thinking that any wrong move I pull will make you mad, will make you kill me!'_

' _Have you even thought about any of those things? Or do you only think about yourself, and what you want?!"_

He hadn't thought about any of that, or even _cared_ at the start. It had been, as she had all too accurately pointed out, only about his selfish wants. She had just been an object of curiosity to be studied, not an individual with her own feelings and opinions. That was before he had gotten to know how much more there was to Sakura on the inside. Before he had acknowledged her courage and bravery. The strength of her spirit, how she always picked herself up, again and again despite everything.

But now, every word he recalled stabbed viciously into him like jagged glass shards.

' _You can't just kidnap me and expect me to- to just accept you!'_

His eyebrows drew together in frustration. The fingers curled just beneath her left shoulder tightened. He had always been so accustomed to taking whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, giving no thought to repercussions. It had always been _his_ law that had been absolute - that had steered everything.

But now… now he was learning that his law wasn't the only thing that mattered. And when it came to Sakura, it seemed to be completely ineffectual.

' _Do you expect me to just forgive and forget? To accept everything like nothing about this entire situation is messed up and wrong?_ _Everything_ _about it is wrong, Sasuke! Everything!'_

Perhaps _she_ saw it that way, Sasuke thought sourly. And maybe now, as difficult as it was and as much as it scalded him to admit to himself, he could see with unwanted clarity the errors he had made, which had resulted in the emotional and physical harm that had afflicted the unconscious girl in his arms.

What else could he have done? What other choices had he had?

Could he have tried harder to ignore her for all those years he'd spent watching her from the shadows? Could he have tried harder to purge her from his system?

No. _No._ And if he _hadn't,_ she'd still be living a lie. Oblivious to the source of her internal suffering. A part of him was enraged, that she still wished to return to _them_ so desperately, to the very people who wrapped her in cotton wool and treated her like a child, who readily indulged her weaknesses instead of cultivating her strengths.

Sasuke _hated_ them.

But he also hated the way something felt like it was fracturing inexplicably deep within him, when he acknowledged the harsh, underlying truth behind everything she had said.

Sakura didn't _want_ to remain in the Underworld. And it wasn't only because she wanted to understand why her mother and friends had withheld information from her, or even because she believed they were too different.

She didn't want to remain with _him._

He inhaled sharply, his chest burning. It was a difficult blow to digest. His pride struggled to accept it, to swallow it down. To take it not as the King who was used to enforcing his will upon his subjects with an iron fist, or a mighty god who took anything and everything he desired – but as a _man_ who was being handed open rejection by a woman _._

The death deity ground his teeth, glaring down at her with a sudden stab of intense envy that was disconcerting. Another foreign emotion that he could not recall feeling since the days before the demise of his family. It had to be easy for her, he thought resentfully, to be free from the shackles of everything that he was experiencing, all the unwanted, crippling feelings. To be blissfully oblivious and insensitive to the agonising sea of torment that swirled such deep, inner longing, the senseless _yearning,_ for something she had made plain she could not and _would not_ give to him.

And he had not even known it, until she had returned his kiss, had not understood what it really was he'd truly been craving from her, until then. He had perhaps grown too eager. Too hopeful, when she hadn't pushed him away again initially, that Sakura was maybe finally, _finally_ starting to accept him.

Because that was all he had been waiting for, the very thing he hadn't even _realised_ he'd been truly seeking all along.

Her _acceptance._

 _Why?_ The question resounded deafeningly in his skull, frustrating him to no end. _Why_ had obtaining that become so crucial to him? And _when? When_ had he started caring so damned much about her? Had it been there all along, suppressed beneath the layers of his pride? And if it had, why could he no longer subdue it now?

She had not accepted him. And as Sasuke's head lowered, and the tremors of anger, frustration and something else entirely unfamiliar - something that disturbed him and shook him to his very core – coursed through his body, he realised at last, with an alarming, sinking, _sickening_ feeling, that _nothing_ he did could ever _force_ her to.

' _You can't force feelings, Sasuke! Maybe you can force anything else you want to happen in the world, but feelings… they take time, and they have to be given_ _freely!'_

He closed his eyes, exhaled disjointedly as he rested his forehead against hers. Defeat and guilt were two things he did not concede easily, yet it was astonishing, that Sakura was the one who stirred both into being simultaneously. Or perhaps, it was not so surprising. After all, she'd held that strange power over him all along. Hadn't she?

She yearned to return home – and yet he had already tied her irreversibly to his realm. He had still yet to tell her – and while he might have relished doing so before, now the prospect filled him with an inexplicable sense of dread.

If she stayed any longer, she risked dying; fleeing to a place he could not reach or follow. How could he compromise all _that_? Why did merely thinking about it make his ordinarily sharp mind throb, when a solution should have come to him so easily already?

It was because of _her._ _She_ was causing everything to blur out of focus, confusing the priorities he'd always prided himself on knowing, jumbling his thoughts and throwing them to the gnashing jaws of turmoil, leaving him unable to do what he was best at, and think.

He wanted her to stay by his side forever. But he had to let her go. _No._ How could he? He never wanted to release her. But she could not remain. He wanted his eyes to drink of her light until he was blinded. But if he did not surrender her to the surface, there would be no light left in her.

The rain was now pouring, soaking them both, but Sasuke scarcely registered the freezing, surrounding fog or the touch of icy water droplets upon his skin. Suddenly, he was so _tired_. Exhausted by his incessant need for her closeness and warmth. He wanted nothing more than to tear out his treacherous heart, even as his arms tightened around her. How he detested the beating organ. How feeble and pitiful it had turned out to be! How helpless to the tumultuous tides of internal conflict, waging war within its chambers. Tied to Sakura by a red string of fate that felt more like a choking iron manacle, a barbed wire noose around his neck, drawing blood, constricting his breathing.

How he wished he could return to a time when he had believed it to be as still and stone-cold as the lifeless bodies of the spirits that inhabited his world. Unchained to any wearisome bonds. He wanted to feel no more, to return to the emptiness and coldness and numbness of his former, bleak existence. As he had functioned, with nothing but the shades of the dead for company, nothing but the darkness as his companion, before the day of the funeral.

Before the torment of Sakura.

* * *

 _Apollo grinned gleefully as he tore through the undergrowth, the sphere of light floating above his palm. There was absolutely no_ _way_ _he was going to lose this race to that grumpy bastard Hades. Really, he congratulated himself on the ingenious idea of challenging his rival to a contest to see who could make it from one end of Kore's forest to the other without getting the glowing orb stolen out of their hands._

_Hades, always up for the opportunity to better him, had immediately agreed. Kore, who had been curiously watching them bicker from up in a tree, had then surprised them both by demanding that she participated in the fun, too._

_Hades had stared at her for a moment before turning his face dismissively away. Apollo had admonished him for being his usual insufferable self, and then, feeling kind, had enthusiastically agreed to let her join in, although he'd been a little nervous about the prospect of her getting hurt. The more, the merrier, he'd smiled at her – even if poor Kore really stood no chance at all of keeping up with them._

_The only rules were that they could not use their abilities to gain an unfair advantage. Speed was allowed and so was resorting to basic physical force to jostle the ball out of possession – but no special chakra fuelled, elemental attacks._

_They'd started by tossing the sphere into the air. Hades – blast him – had been the one to flicker to it first and had rushed ahead. Apollo had finally caught up to him, scuffling and shoving and finally managing to yank the orb away. That had been a while ago. He'd surely succeeded in losing both of them through the dense trees by now-_

_Something small suddenly darted out from his right. Apollo blinked, astonished to find Kore drawing up beside him._

_The Spring Goddess smiled sweetly as she tossed him a mischievous look._

" _Heh, I've gotta admit, you're faster than I thought," he complimented._

" _This is my forest," she answered pointedly. "I know its paths better than you. Now are you going to be a gentleman and hand over that orb?"_

_He flashed a regretful smile. 'I'm sorry Kore! You know I'd totally give it up to you, but you see, that blasted Hades-'_

" _Is right behind you," the dark-haired young god's voice uttered ominously to his left, as he lunged directly at the Sun God._

" _Damn it-! You bastard! No way am I going to lose to you!" Apollo dodged, retreating closer to Kore, who watched them both closely from the corner of her vision as they leapt simultaneously over tangled green vines and upturned tree roots._

" _That's what you say all the time, moron." Hades retorted. "Before you lose."_

" _Oh yeah? You watch me wipe your ass all over this forest floor here-"_

" _Try it." Hades closed in again, grabbing at the long end of the gold sash tied across Apollo's white tunic._

_Apollo punched his arm aside._

" _Yeah, you just wait, you dumb bastard!"_

_Kore's eyes narrowed and a spark of indignant irritation filled her. They were acting like she wasn't there, as usual, engaging in one of their childish arguments where they ignored everything else around them._

_Well, they were making a grave mistake by underestimating her and treating her like she wasn't even a credible threat or contender._

" _Keep babbling, loser," Hades snapped back._

" _Who's the loser, sour pants?" Apollo demanded as their shoulders collided with one another._

_Hades shoved him. "Say that again-"_

" _Sour pants! Grumpy grandpa!"_

_By the gods! Could his insults be any more embarrassingly immature? Kore almost giggled at the incredulous, affronted look on Hades's face. Almost but not quite - for she had spied the opportune moment – and seized it by throwing herself gracefully to her left and snatching the orb out of a distracted Apollo's hands._

" _You idiot," she heard Hades snarl, as she immediately took to the nearest tree, running fluidly along the branches. The feel of wood beneath her bare feet was wonderful, and she delighted in the adrenaline and excitement of the chase._

_Things were always much more interesting when Apollo and Hades were around._

_Especially_ _Hades._

" _Keep arguing, boys," she sang. '"While I steal victory from right under your noses!"_

" _Awww!" Apollo whined in despair, his blue eyes flying up to track her movements as she leapt lithely from branch to branch. "Come on, Kore! Come back down here! Uwaah!" He suddenly wailed as Hades used his lack of attention to roughly elbow him in the gut. He doubled over, winded, and Hades used the moment of weakness to shove him down into the leafy forest floor, with enough violent force to leave him dazed, costing him precious seconds._

_A different kind of exhilarated thrill rippled through Kore when Hades's dark eyes lifted to lock onto her as he shadowed her movements on the ground, keeping pace._

' _You should keep your eyes ahead,' Kore called down to him as she swung swiftly from a vine. 'There's a ditch right in front of you!'_

" _Like that will work on me-" he sneered – only for his feet to almost stumble as he reached the exact location she had warned him about. He stopped at the very last moment, reaching out to steady himself and keep his body from toppling into the dip in the earth. When he looked back up towards the trees, Kore had already vanished._

_She smiled as she heard Apollo's furious shouts far behind her._

" _When I get my hands on you, you bastard, you're gonna regret the day you were born!"_

_How like Apollo, to say such overly dramatic things. She giggled, keeping the orb cradled carefully against her chest as she darted between the trees with more agility and elegance than the most sprightly of nymphs. This was her terrain. She knew these routes as surely as she knew the back of her hand. Now that she was in flow and concealed behind the sheltering canopy of dense leaves and vines, there was surely no way they could catch up to her._

_She only realised, once she was forced to drop down to a lower branch to continue along her way, how premature and misguided her sense of triumph had been._

_Hades flickered into being ahead of her, as silently as a shadow, alighting at the end of the thick, sturdy branch. She caught her breath, jerking to an abrupt halt at the sudden sight of him. He was like a shock to her senses, instantly making her hyper conscious and aware of his smothering, all-encompassing presence._

_The Underworld prince slunk towards her, looking as seductively dangerous as he always did in a smoky grey, sleeveless tunic and a darker grey cloak. His eyes seemed to burn holes right through her as he prowled unhurriedly forward, and Kore could feel her heart pounding wildly in response to his nearing proximity, completely unrelated to the exertion of her exercise._

_By Olympus. Did he have to look at her like that? In a manner so positively_ _fiery_ _that it made her feel like she was oil-doused wood, ready to ignite?_

' _The orb,' he stated simply, flatly, lifting an expectant hand that was wound with black bandages up to his elbow._

_She swallowed and slowly shook her head – which prompted Hades to narrow his eyes, as if unused to having his demands refused. Kore glimpsed her salvation in the corner of her eye – a hanging vine to her lower right. All she needed to do was shift and jump off before Hades could realise her intended route and escape point-_

_But she had not even finished the thought, when Hades blurred into movement, so fast that a stunned Kore only realised that she was moving in the wrong direction when she felt a brief, sharp tug in her hair. The crimson ribbon Aphrodite had gifted to her on her last birthday was snagged by a low, overhanging branch that ripped into the silk material and tore it out of her tresses, sending her locks flying into her face. A heartbeat later, her back slammed against the tree trunk, knocking the air cleanly from her lungs._

_Hades pinned her in position, his right arm pressed just above her heaving chest. Kore blinked rapidly, her eyes watering as his charcoal gaze sucked her in like an inescapable vortex of darkness. She gasped for breath. He had closed the distance between them entirely in a mere split-second._

_Before she could react, or do anything else, his lips crashed angrily into hers. She stiffened, eyes widening as surprise and shock rendered her frozen to the spot._

_His kiss was wild. Bruising. Branding. Burning. And Kore's body was responding immediately a second later, the inferno inside her roaring to life all too readily at the detonating spark of his touch._

_It was terrifying, his physical power over her, how instantly he set her blood alight. She moaned weakly against his mouth as her lips fully parted for his, and for a brief, blissful moment, the kiss deepened, became more ruthless and frantic, more frighteningly ravenous; seemed to steal the very bones from her body-_

_And then, just like that, and far, far too soon, he broke it. She blinked, her mind spinning, caught in a panting daze. When she came to her senses again, Hades had already flickered back to the end of the branch._

_He raised his left hand, smirking that cold, devious, smug smirk that did such terrible things to her heart._

_The last of the lust-filled haze was chased completely out of her head and replaced with insulted indignation when she saw the orb floating above his palm. He tilted his head, silently mocking her, his eyes ablaze with victory._

" _You-!" she spluttered, aghast and mortified that she had been so_ _foolish_ _as to fail to recognise his cheap, underhanded choice of distraction technique. Of course he had done it with an ulterior motive in mind. How very like the unashamedly arrogant Hades! She did not know whether she was more incensed with herself or_ _him_ _for toying with her. But how could she have possibly defended against such a devastatingly intense kiss?_

_He had already blurred out of sight._

_Rage filled her, turning her pink cheeks a deeper shade of red. He wasn't going to win so easily! Her eyes stopped on the delicate ribbon on the branch – tattered beyond repair, she thought sadly for a moment. Then she leapt to the vine she had originally intended to use and gave chase, returning to lower ground, where she found Apollo jumping over bushy undergrowth, his gaze fixed on Hades, manoeuvring gracefully ahead of them._

" _Give it up, bastard! There's no way I'll accept defeat this time!"_

" _You should be used to it, idiot!" Hades's voice echoed back._

" _I'm gonna kick your ass so hard,_ _Cronus_ _will feel it!"_

_Kore continued to race forward, face set with grim determination. They were rapidly approaching the edge of the forest, and the finishing point of the contest. She would not lose! Not like this, in her territory! She would teach that cocky Hades a lesson, thinking he could defeat her so easily._

_Apollo managed to catch up and threw himself at the raven-haired deity, tackling him around the midriff, toppling him off balance. Hades cursed and punched at him with his free hand, and they rolled onto the earthy floor, scuffling and kicking and insulting each other. Apollo made a wild lunge for the light sphere, and managed to get his fingers on it – only for Hades to kick it beyond his reach. They fought and jostled some more, snatching the sphere from each other multiple times. Just when it seemed Apollo had finally gotten the upper hand, a watching and waiting Kore made her move._

_Grabbing onto the vine beside her, she swung down, directly into their path, reaching out with her right hand to pluck the orb out from beneath where Apollo had just been forced to drop it again. The vine propelled her body at a blinding pace toward the nearest tree. As Kore landed on it, she wasted no time in gloating, pushing onwards, ignoring the protests from Apollo on the ground below her._

_When the two gods finally reached the edge of the forest, still bickering sourly with one another, Kore lowered herself from the branch she had been waiting upon, twirling down gracefully as she lifted the orb in her hand and met Hades's sullen glare victoriously._

" _I win," she declared emphatically, her eyes shining fiercely with triumph._

_Apollo blinked - then burst into loud laughter. He slapped his best friend good-naturedly on the back, proclaiming that they had both lost to a girl and gushed how incredible and amazing Kore was._

_Hades's gaze lowered, and he snorted, turning his head dismissively away._

_But his voice reached Kore's mind telepathically as he feigned visible disinterest to a still chuckling Apollo. And what he communicated to the goddess caught her by surprise for the second time. Made her heart quiver despite her best attempts at appearing cool and collected._

_A rare, reluctant concession of grudging respect._

' _Hn. Well played, Kore.'_

* * *

_Kore hummed a tune to herself as she expertly wove her flower garland, turning her face upwards to enjoy the bright sunlight that filtered through the forest canopy. The young doe keeping her company nudged her shoulder affectionately as she worked. Smiling, the young goddess reached out to stroke the deer's head, before returning to her design._

_At length, she tilted her head and held it up for inspection, asking of her animal companion, "Well, what do you think? Do you approve of it?"_

_The doe nuzzled her hair in response. Kore giggled. "Of course you do," she said fondly. "You like everything I create, don't you?"_

_The deer's ears twitched and she raised her head, large eyes alert as she detected a sudden rustle in the trees around them._

" _Hmm?" Kore watched her. "What is it?" Then she turned her face up again as she became aware of movement from one of the branches above. "Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise, as a splendid, dark-feathered hawk swooped down straight towards them. It circled around Kore gracefully, before coming to a smooth landing on the small, flat tree stump beside her._

_Kore blinked at it in awe. It was a beautifully majestic creature, with piercing golden eyes. She had not seen a bird like it in any of her forests. Curiosity filled her._

" _Hello, there, handsome fellow," she greeted it. "What brings you to these parts?"_

_The hawk hopped forward and cocked its head at her, watching her with its sharp gaze. That was when Kore, on closer inspection, saw that it was carrying something, a compact, black-leather pouch attached to corded string, secured around the bird's neck._

_A messenger hawk? For her? Intrigued, Kore reached out to it, gently running an index finger over the animal's regal head. It ruffled its feathers in response, and allowed her to carefully detach the string._

" _I wonder. Could it be a message from Artemis?" Kore mused aloud. Delight filled her. She didn't usually receive messages in such a dramatic, exciting manner. In fact, she barely received messages from anyone. Her interactions with other deities were extremely limited, after all._

_The hawk screeched, as if affronted. Kore then thought to herself that she couldn't remember Artemis keeping such a bird._

" _Oh? If not Artemis, then who…?" She unbuttoned the silk pouch, and the first thing she found was a folded piece of parchment. Her sense of bewilderment growing, Kore smoothed open the paper, to discover writing scrawled by a neat, elegant hand._

_Her eyebrows drew together in genuine befuddlement as she read the short, curt message._

' _ **A replacement. For the one that tore.'**_

" _What's this?" Kore's eyes darted back to the hawk. It was watching her intently. Shaking her head, she peered into the pouch, sticking her fingers inside – only for her skin to brush against something soft and smooth. She pulled the object out – to find a neatly bound piece of deep, crimson material. She stared at it in astonishment. Her heart began to quicken as she then unwound it, and once she had, she gasped._

_In her hands was a long, thin, silk ribbon - one suspiciously similar to the delicate strip she had lost during the orb race, three nights prior._

_Kore released a quiet, unsteady breath as she caressed the smooth, rich material. It was deeper in hue than the one Aphrodite had gifted to her. Somehow, that only made it all the more alluring._

_She swallowed thickly, feeling her cheeks flush pink. She could scarcely believe it, and yet there was no doubting it; only one person had been with her when her ribbon had caught on the rough branch and been yanked out of her hair. She was surprised that he had even noticed. But in many ways, she supposed he had been the one responsible for it happening. Was that why he had chosen to recompense her?_

_Her gaze returned to the bird in a combination of incredulity and amazement._

_Hades! Arrogant, insensitive_ _Hades_ _had taken the pains of directing this hawk to find her? She was overrun with uncertainty. Just what did he mean by it? What was she to think and do? It seemed so unlike him – but perhaps she had misread him? Perhaps there really was more to him than the cold façade he wore before the world?_

_Was this bird his personal messenger hawk? Would it return directly to him? Was it the correct thing for her to do, to accept what he had sent? Kore felt anxious. Her mother had always warned her against allowing deities to spoil her with gifts. But how could she possibly refuse such a lovely item? It was surely the most beautiful ribbon she had ever seen. She already loved it, and knew that she would wear it in her hair every day from then on._

_Her heart was singing with joy. Biting her lower lip, she folded his note, slipped it snugly down the neckline of her chiton for fear of it being discovered if she hid it anywhere else, and whispered shyly, "Would you take something for me too, little prince?"_

_The hawk released a distinctive screech, which she took to mean its consent. After all, it had yet to fly away, which she assumed meant that its master had ordered it to wait for some manner of response before it departed. Gripping the small pouch, Kore turned back to her garland, and selected the most beautiful flower she could find._

_Its petals were a deep, rich hue of blue. A shade that reminded her of the midnight sky – of_ _him_ _. She called upon her power to infuse it with renewed life, so that it glowed with ethereal light. Then she tied the string carefully around the stem of the flower and slipped it around the hawk's neck._

_With another screech, the bird spread its graceful wings and took to the air, and Kore's heart seemed to soar up with it as she watched it fly away, back to its master._

* * *

_He came to her four nights later. Swathed in a hooded black cloak from head to feet, he melted noiselessly out of the shadows, as she sat on the bottom steps of her temple, plucking distractedly at a golden harp while staring longingly out into the night. Kore blushed furiously at the sight of him, her pulse immediately finding a more erratic rhythm. She'd spent all of four days agitatedly wondering whether he had received her flower, and had foolishly looked to the skies with the romantic hope that his hawk would return to her. It hadn't, of course, and she had started to despair that perhaps he'd thought nothing of it._

_She tossed a frantic glance back toward her temple entrance. If her nymphs were to come outside and see them-_

_Hade, however, looked as unconcerned as ever. Folding his arms across his chest, his onyx eyes narrowed at her, as he intoned disdainfully, "What use have I for a flower?"_

_Kore unconsciously lifted a hand to her hair. She had wrapped the ribbon around a headband and adorned it with a cluster of little pink flowers. Its long, silky ends trailed prettily._

" _It is an ever bloom," she answered defensively, her voice hushed. "I infused it with eternal life. You could have planted it in the garden you showed me-"_

_He snorted flippantly, and she felt the sting of insult. As if to make a point, she pulled the hairband off her head and - with much regret - tossed it at his feet._

" _Well, I have no use for your gift, either!" she exclaimed huffily._

"…" _His gaze lowered to it. Then he reached down and scooped it up. "Don't flatter yourself," he said stonily. "It was no gift. I merely replaced the item I was responsible for damaging."_

" _I did not ask you to," she averted her burning face away, to make a point of showing him that she was upset. But inside, she could feel herself starting to come undone as she felt his eyes observing her._

_Despair overwhelmed her. She just could not help the way her body reacted whenever she saw him. She did not know what madness had come over her._

" _Tch." Hades sighed at length. "You are an annoyance."_

 _She blinked, hurt even more by the words. Then she turned her head back - to find he had stepped forward and was holding the band out to her. Biting her lower lip uncertainly, she hesitated – for she really_ _did_ _want to keep it, and yet did not want him to see her eagerness._

" _If I am an annoyance," she said in a small voice, "then you have no business coming to see me."_

" _Hn. Who said I was here to see_ _you_ _?" he demanded._

_Her mouth opened in bafflement. She gestured vaguely behind her. "This is my temple, and there is nobody else here…"_

" _Just take it," he ordered icily, eager to change the subject._

" _But I do not want-" she started to protest._

" _Take it," he snapped impatiently. "Or I'll burn the stupid flower."_

 _Her eyes widened. He had_ _kept_ _it, after all? Slowly, she stood up, throwing another cautious look up the steps behind her. Her nymphs hadn't heard them yet. She then moved to join him on level ground, and reached out to accept it again._

" _You kept it," she said, a small smile curving her lips as she replaced the hairband, smoothing the ribbon ends with her fingers._

_He looked away contemptuously. "I dislike flowers," he clipped._

_Kore's smile widened. "But you kept it," she teased playfully. He looked so sulky and displeased that she struggled to muffle her laughter._

_She thought that maybe she was starting to understand him a little better, at last. Hades clearly found it difficult to express any feelings other than derision, boredom and irritation._

" _Why did you kiss me again?" she could not keep from blurting out, pulse skipping a beat._

_Without looking at her, he retorted emotionlessly, "To take the orb."_

" _Oh." It was just as she thought. After a moment, she added, "But you did not end up winning." Instead of being disappointed, she felt only amusement as she watched him. "Was that not a waste, then?"_

" _Yes._ _" He ground out bitingly._

_Kore couldn't keep herself from giggling this time. Well, it seemed she had won in more ways than one._

_He stiffened, head whipping back around to glare at her. Clearly he did not respond favourably to being laughed at. But Kore simply smiled graciously at him, a strange twinkle in her bright gaze, and twirled away, skipping back up the steps to retrieve her harp._

" _Where are you going?" he found himself hissing, unused to being left behind first. He hadn't told her she could go._

_She whirled back, and directed another sweet smile at him. "Back inside. You didn't come for me."_

_And with that, she disappeared, leaving Hades staring after her in frustration, thoroughly perturbed by the way his throat seemed to constrict as her musical laughter reverberated in his ears._

* * *

_They had been gossiping in well-obscured safety high up in one of the trees that bordered the outskirts of the dense forest surrounding Hestia's temple, when all of a sudden, Aphrodite gasped, and pointed toward the rocky, earthy terrain beneath them._

" _Look! Isn't that-? Why, it_ _is!_ _"_

_Kore peered through the branches. Sure enough, she spotted a familiar sunshine blond head, and behind him was… her heart jumped. None other than Hades, the very god who kept her from sleeping so often at night, who tormented her waking thoughts – even as she tried her best to cast him out, to forget about him._

_Unable to do so, she had settled on harbouring her guilty secret until the end of all existence – because even though he had kissed her twice, she knew neither instance had really meant anything; he'd only done it to gain an advantage over her. Otherwise, he treated her with nothing but the same contempt and detachment he carried for everyone else._

_She wasn't naïve enough to believe that anything could ever happen between them. After all, he was an Underworld dweller. She was the Goddess of Spring. It had been a doomed concept from the start._

_Yet still her heart and body pined foolishly for him. She desperately hoped that Aphrodite hadn't noticed the way she had been so distracted lately. Love, after all, was her forte._

" _Hush!" Kore panicked, despising how nervous she immediately felt, the way her heart cantered. "They'll see us!"_

 _Aphrodite didn't know of her occasional meetings with Hades, in Apollo's company. For some reason, Kore thought it was a bad idea to tell her best friend – although she felt deceitful for concealing the truth. She_ _definitely_ _wasn't going to admit to the interactions they'd had alone. Her cheeks coloured in mortification simply thinking about it._

" _If only your mother wasn't so strict," Aphrodite sighed heavily. "Then we wouldn't have to stay hidden up here and could've engaged in a little harmless flirting with those_ _delicious_ _specimens of young gods." Then she scowled. "Wait a minute, what is_ _that_ _down there, with them?"_

_Kore, who had also spotted the crimson-haired young woman who was latched onto a very displeased looking Hades's arm, tried hard not to frown._

" _It must be a nymph," she said, straining to get a better look. She felt something unpleasant stir inside her at the sight of the unfamiliar girl, draped all over Hades, cooing and simpering into his ear. Something that caused a bitter taste to form in her throat. She was horrified to grasp what the unmistakeable emotion was._

_Jealousy._

_Oh, of_ _course_ _he was popular with females, she thought resentfully. With his damned_ _perfect_ _face and his_ _perfect_ _body and his_ _perfect_ _voice. Everything about him was tempting. Was it any wonder the nymph was throwing herself at him?_

_Aphrodite smiled mischievously. "What a jest it would be," she murmured deviously to Kore, "if I made that swaggering peacock of a god fall in love with a lowly, common nymph."_

_Kore stiffened, dismayed by the very idea. Aphrodite could not gift Hades's heart to another! Her mask of apathy completely slipped away, and she could not keep herself from whispering vehemently, "_ _No!_ _"_

_As Aphrodite blinked at her in surprise, she added in flustered embarrassment, "He- he is dangerous. You told me he was."_

_Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "My dear Kore. A mighty god he may be in battle, but he is still a male, and his heart is but a plaything in my hands. Hmm." She narrowed her pastel blue eyes, and a cruel smile twisted her lips. "Maybe this would be the perfect retribution for all the times he has slighted_ _me_ _."_

_A horrified Kore, realising that she was seriously toying with the idea, pleaded, "Please do not, Aphrodite! Leave him be."_

_Her best friend's eyes formed suspicious slits. "Why do you care so much?" she demanded. "You have never opposed my matchmaking games, before."_

" _I always oppose them," Kore argued back._

" _Only when they concern_ _you-_ _" she suddenly released a gasp, and something wrenched unpleasantly inside Kore's belly as Aphrodite jabbed a condemning finger at her. "Do not tell me that you fancy yourself to be in love with_ _Hades_ _!"_

_Kore shook her head. Her heart was thundering faster than ever. "No!" she hissed furiously. "That is not it, at all!"_

" _Do not lie to me, Kore. I know the look of love, and it's written all over your blushing face! You do not want me to do it because you are jealous!"_

" _I am_ _not_ _!" Kore struggled to keep her voice as low as possible. Luckily Apollo was being as loud as he always was which she hoped helped to disguise the commotion they were making in the trees._

" _I pointed him out to you as a game," Aphrodite wore a look of horror. "Not a worthy suitor for your serious consideration. He is nothing but trouble, Kore! All the Underworld dwellers are." She gestured wildly with her hands. "How can you even entertain it? Why, your mother would have my head on a pitch-fork!"_

" _That isn't- I do not-" Kore fumbled for words. In desperation, her mind supplied her with the only possible escape route – one that was shamefully untrue, but her only available option for throwing the Goddess of Love off her trail. "It isn't_ _him._ _I…" she gulped, before venturing, "I do not want Apollo to be hurt!"_

" _Apollo?" Aphrodite appeared even more perplexed._

_Kore looked away. She made a show of fidgeting restlessly with her garland. "Apollo is important to me," she mumbled. "And Hades is his closest friend…"_

_Aphrodite's eyebrows flew up and her jaw dropped in shock. Her stunning features contorted comically in disbelief. "You-" she inhaled sharply. "You like_ _Apollo?_ _" she squeaked incredulously._

 _Kore bit her lower lip. Her friend grabbed her shoulders. "Is_ _that_ _why you've been so dreamy-eyed lately? Because of_ _Apollo?_ _" She shook Kore. "Are you serious?! Have you lost your senses? He's practically a brother to you!"_

" _Be quiet!" Kore whispered agitatedly. "You must not breathe a word to anyone about this._ _Especially_ _not Apollo. Or my mother!"_

_Aphrodite slapped a despairing palm to her forehead. "By the throne of Olympus, Kore! You must be jesting with me! This is a joke, isn't it? I cannot believe you!"_

" _Please, be quiet." Kore looked away miserably, feeling awful for resorting to such deception, but what other choice did she really have? She couldn't let Aphrodite know the appalling truth. And she didn't want her to cast an enchantment over Hades, to toss his heart away to the irritating nymph who was resisting his attempts to peel her off him._

" _Well, how long have you felt this way?" Aphrodite demanded next._

" _I do not know," Kore covered her red face. "I cannot say when."_

_Aphrodite sighed exasperatedly and turned her gaze skyward for patience. "But you know how Selene feels for him…"_

" _That is why nobody will know!" Kore hissed, gripping her wrist tightly. Scarlet-faced, she reassured her friend, "This is probably just a misplaced infatuation. Apollo has always been so kind to me. And you are right – I must be out of my mind, for he is practically my brother. This will pass. He is not to know. Promise me you will not tell him! Promise!"_

" _Fine, fine," Aphrodite conceded frowningly. "But I do not know why you would let yourself suffer such a thing. I can undo your attachment right now-" she lifted her hand._

_If she reached out and touched her heart, Aphrodite would discover where Kore's true feelings lay. Kore could not allow that._

" _No! It will pass!" Kore insisted. "So please," she implored. "Do not make Hades suffer for a game. It will hurt Apollo's feelings, too, and I do not want…" her voice drifted off._

 _Aphrodite searched her face intently for a moment – and then rolled her eyes again. "Oh, the things I do for you, silly girl," she clucked her tongue. "Apollo is a clueless idiot. Who would have thought that_ _he_ _would be the first one to catch your fancy? But then, he_ _is_ _the only deity your mother suffers to be around you…" Her eyes returned to the nymph. Apollo was now desperately trying to help Hades prise her from his arm._

" _Well, she's rather persistent," she remarked. "I suppose I had better step in." She pointed a stern finger at Kore. "You stay right here!"_

_Kore nodded as Aphrodite gracefully moved to a vine, and used it to lower herself from the tree, onto the ground below. Slipping out from behind the thick trunk, she stepped out onto the plains and approached the three._

_She watched as her best friend swiftly shooed the nymph away, probably threatening that she would make her fall in love with a horrendous beast if she did not make herself scarce. Kore exhaled in relief as the indignant nymph flushed a shade that matched her garish, uneven tresses, before she slunk reluctantly away from Hades and departed at last. Aphrodite then latched herself onto Hades's side, smiling seductively at him._

_Irritation spiked inside Kore, but Hades sneered in refined distaste at the Goddess of Love. Apollo laughed loudly and grabbed her away from his friend, trapping her in a playful headlock, while she shrieked at him to stop ruining her hair._

_Hades watched stoically, as Apollo dragged a screeching Aphrodite around so that their backs were both facing towards the forest and Kore._

_On her branch, Kore leaned forward longingly, able to gaze fully and openly at Hades without reservation at last. Happiness - and relief that he had been saved - gave her the courage to try to communicate telepathically with him, although she was unsure that he would let her call in, much less answer._

' _That nymph was annoying, wasn't she?'_

_She saw his shoulders tense marginally – a sure indication that he had registered her message. As Apollo howled theatrically in response to a distracted Aphrodite's attempts at smacking him senseless once she finally succeeded in wriggling out of his grasp, Hades's head shifted barely perceptibly, chin angling back slightly as his eyes swept upwards toward the trees._

_They found her almost immediately. Kore was arrested by the searing weight of that heavy-lashed, smoky stare, felt oddly breathless as his sardonic answer echoed in her mind._

' _Hn. Not as annoying as_ _you_ _.'_

* * *

_She was sulking unhappily by a small stream in another of her forests, when Hades came across her by chance one night._

" _Where is Apollo?" he demanded the moment he saw her, skipping all manner of polite greeting, as usual. The Sun God had agreed this location to meet, but after prowling through the forest, his irritation peaking with every step, Hades had discovered that his moronic rival was nowhere to be found._

_Kore remained motionless on the flat-topped rock she sat upon, one slender leg dangled to allow her toes to dip into the crystal clear water. She was dressed in a pretty, knee-length cream chiton. Its shoulder straps were formed from straps of red ribbon tied to form butterfly knots that draped over the ruffle-detail neckline. Additional gold strips decorated with hanging beads hung off her shoulders. In her hair was the flower-adorned hairband wrapped with the long crimson ribbon he had given to her._

_She did not look up at him, which struck Hades as odd as he lingered in place on the opposite side of the shallow stream. It wasn't usually her custom to outright ignore him._

" _I do not know," she answered at last quietly. Her chin rested on the knee cap of her left leg, which was drawn up and inwards towards her chest. She continued to gaze distractedly at the water._

_Hades considered leaving – but she looked so uncharacteristically dejected that he found himself leaning back against the larger boulder behind him. He reasoned that he could wait for Apollo to find them both here._

_His dark eyes narrowed as he regarded her aloofly. Everything about her hunched posture openly expressed unhappiness._

" _I wish to be left alone," she said at last, when she could no longer stand the dragging silence._

"…" _Instead of honouring her request, he continued to stare at her._

_Kore finally lifted her head to glance up at him, disconcerted by his unwavering study of her._

_As always, he appeared to be forged of seductive night, clad in a black tunic and breeches that reached just below his knees. His lower legs were strapped into black sandals. The tunic's high collar was lined with silver stitching, and so were the edges of the sleeveless shoulders. Elaborately etched, burnt-silver forearm guards were secured from his wrists to just beneath his elbows. A flowing black cloak fell to his ankles, rippling like a wave of darkness behind his back._

_The onyx jewelled, silver droplet earring in his left earlobe swung as he tilted his head slightly at her._

" _Why are you staring at me?" she questioned, her smooth forehead creasing to form a slight frown._

" _You look pathetic." He deadpanned unkindly. That was only one of the reasons, in truth. He derived a strange sense of satisfaction from observing the ribbon in her hair and how it matched her dress, but there wasn't a chance in Tartarus that he was going to admit that aloud._

_Kore stiffened. But instead of answering back with the fiery retort he had hoped to hear, her shoulders slumped further._

" _I suppose everyone thinks I am, then," she murmured softly. When he saw her eyes water as if she was on the verge of crying, an uncomfortable Hades scoffed to himself._

 _She really_ _was_ _a child, wasn't she? What in the world was the matter with her?_

 _Kore had had another argument with her mother. Demeter hadn't allowed her to go up to Olympus to visit Zeus and Hera that day. She'd said the same thing she always did about Zeus having 'important' visitors. Kore had hoped after her mother had allowed her to attend the Equinox Festival that she would grow more lenient in other respects, too. But nothing had changed, and Kore was once more left to despair that she was the_ _only_ _young goddess who was denied the freedoms all the others enjoyed._

_The only places she could roam unaccompanied were in her mother's lands, Hestia's, and her own forests and temple. Everywhere else was strictly off limits without a trusted chaperone, and Kore's frustrations were growing. She wanted to see the rest of the world. To interact with all the deities she'd never met._

_She'd been in a depressed mood all day. Not even Aphrodite had been able to cheer her up, and had eventually left her to wallow in her misery, forced back to her own temple by the prayers that were being made by mortals there._

" _It must be true," Kore went on, as she looked back to the water. "Everyone treats me like a child. And here I am, crying like one. I really am pathetic."_

_Hades folded his arms disapprovingly. "Then stop acting like one," he stated._

_She sighed tiredly, in no mood for his taunts. He had judged her, the same way everyone else did. And yet… she found herself wanting to talk to him anyway. Perhaps it was because she so desperately needed to confide in someone who_ _did_ _understand what it was like to feel so isolated. To share the burden that was devastating her. Aphrodite was always sympathetic – but what did she truly know of being_ _trapped?_ _Of having one's every move and decision questioned and monitored?_

 _She knew she would receive no empathy from the indifferent Hades. She also knew that she was breaking all the rules by sharing her troubles with_ _him_ _, of all deities. That didn't stop her from speaking, regardless._

" _It doesn't matter what I do," she confessed, expecting him to cut her short and leave at any moment. But he remained still, so she went on, "No matter how grown up and responsible I try to prove myself to be, it is no use. My mother keeps me sheltered."_

_Hades pointed out, "You attended the Equinox."_

" _Yes," she agreed. "But under disguise. I could not be myself, even then." She was ashamed to feel the tears prickle more insistently. "I-" she released a shaky breath. "I do not know why I am the only goddess who is kept from Olympus. I have only been a handful of times, and when I do go, it is as though I am to be smuggled into Lord Zeus's palace."_

"…" _Hades's gaze lowered to the water in turn as he listened with great interest to her disclosure, internally curious over why she was denied freedom, too. He assumed it had to relate to the important nature of her abilities._

 _She swallowed. "It is like I have no opinion. No identity of my own. Like my powers are weak, a secondary function that nobody values or recognises. Many deities do not even know of my existence." She laughed a little. "They think me a fanciful creation. I am isolated, and I am never told_ _why_ _."_

_She threw a pebble into the stream. Watched the ripples it stirred as it struck the water's surface._

" _I cannot roam where I please. I am confined to my forests, or my mother's lands. Or to our temples." She lowered her head dismally and rested her forehead on her knee to hide the first, falling tears. "I have not seen the oceans," she whispered, body trembling slightly as she tried to keep her composure before him. "Nor the fiery volcanoes of the world. I do not know the feeling of sand beneath my feet." Sniffling, she went on, "Why, I have not even seen the fireflies that dwell in the forests to the eastern ranges, far beyond my mother's borders."_

"…" _Hades's eyes returned to her pitiful, despondent form._

_Kore then seemed to catch herself, for she wiped hastily at her tears and rose. "I'm sorry," she said. "I have made quite the scene, haven't I? How bored you must be, to listen to my inconsequential woes. I know you have no care for the troubles of others." Shaking her head, she muttered, "How weak of me, to cry." She bowed her head in respectful parting, and mumbled, "Please, excuse me."_

_Hades straightened as she turned from him. His voice made her halt before she had even taken four steps away._

" _The gift of life is no weakness."_

_She was surprised at the unexpected comfort she found in his words. There was trace of sarcasm or insincerity. For once, Hades meant what he said._

" _Then why…?" she whispered, without turning to look at him. "If it is not, then why does my mother not trust me? Why does she keep me hidden away? Why does she keep me to her side and not let me wander where I please, or make my own choices?"_

_When he next spoke, he was right behind her. She hadn't even heard him move._

" _Make one now," he challenged._

_She did turn to him then, curious. He held out a hand, eye defying her to refuse. Kore hesitated for only a moment – before sliding her palm into his. She blinked, and a great gust of wind encircled them. She felt the ground fall away beneath her feet – and when she regained her footing and sense of surroundings, she found that Hades had transported them to another location entirely._

_It was also a densely clustered, leafy forest – but the humid air, smell of the soil and the thrum of energy here were different, foreign to Kore's seeking senses. She realised with a start that this was not one of her usual woodland roaming places, or that of her mother's. It was of the unattended clusters that grew beyond their borders. Kore's power spanned the entire earth – but the forests she was permitted to stroll through were limited._

" _Hades?" she asked uncertainly. "Where are we?"_

_He stepped out from behind her, gesturing for her to follow after him. They walked in silence through the undergrowth. At length, Hades drew to a stop by a small clearing between the trees, from which she could glimpse unexpected sparkles of light._

_Looking back at her, he inclined his head, wordlessly enticing her to join him. Kore stepped hesitantly forward and drew to a stop beside him. Only to gasp aloud at the wonderful sight that met her widened eyes._

_Fireflies – pure gold and orange, floated delicately through the air, dancing in trailing patterns that captivated Kore. She took another small step, so that Hades was directly behind her. His dark eyes slipped away from the impressive natural spectacle ahead of them, to examine the profile of her face. She was visibly enchanted, her expressive eyes shining with joy and wonder._

_Hades didn't understand why it suddenly seemed more laborious than usual to swallow. He hadn't even really thought about it; bringing her to see the very things she had spoken of so longingly had occurred on a spontaneous, uncharacteristic impulse. It meant nothing; he fiercely tried to reassure himself. A mere act borne out of pity for her plight. But the unsettling sensation of unfamiliar warmth as it bloomed into being within his chest when she spoke suggested otherwise._

" _Oh, Hades…" she whispered, lifting her hands to clasp them before her in contented awe. "They are so beautiful."_

_He was silent. He couldn't seem to trust his treacherous tongue to say anything right then. All at once, his body was all too alarmingly aware of hers. He was standing close enough behind her to smell the floral scent of her hair. His eyes followed the trailing ends of his ribbon, entwined in her loose tresses. He had the sudden, senseless desire to reach out and run his fingers over the silky material._

_A part of him wondered whether her hair felt even softer._

_They remained standing there for a time, watching the glowing little orbs of light together. When the fireflies began to gravitate towards them, as if drawn to their divine energies, Kore laughed with delight, twirling as she followed their hovering paths of flight. Surrounded by their mesmerising circle, seeing the way their light illuminated her features and emphasised the golden sparks in her eyes, Hades found that he could not tear his gaze from her._

_Some fireflies then drifted far too close to his face, and he ducked his head instinctively to avoid them – only to freeze at the soft feel of Kore's lips brushing lightly against his left cheek. He blinked, startled into stupor, not all prepared for the way something unidentifiable seemed to lurch almost painfully inside his chest. His confused gaze darted to her face, to find a charming blush on her cheeks as she shyly thanked him, with eyes coyly averted, for making one of her wishes come true._

_Kore's heart thundered. Afraid she had offended him or overstepped personal boundaries – for she had never been bold enough before to close the physical gap between them – she opened her mouth to automatically apologise._

_But he did not look angry. Instead he was staring at her intently, as if she was a most intricate puzzle that he urgently needed to solve – and yet he was at a loss, not at all certain of how to proceed. Somehow, that unknown made his pulse race faster, and caused something to shift within him. Suddenly the forest around them faded away. There were only the fireflies and the two of them, and his body seemed to move by its own design._

_When his lips met hers this time, it was real, part of no game or ruse. The kiss was soft and hesitant. Fleeting. Tender. It made Kore's heart swell and soar, and all her woes seem to melt away at his touch._

_So taken were they by one another and absorbed by the discovery of dawning, new emotions, that they could not have possibly seen or detected the two masked individuals concealed in the treetops high above them._

_Watching, in silent sentry from the shadows, with luminous, piercing, crimson eyes._

* * *

_Over time, Kore discovered that she started to yearn for the night to fall. She'd always frolicked under the sun, basked in its warmth and golden light; favoured the life it cultivated over the quietness and stillness that followed dusk._

_But the darkness she began to anticipate because she associated it with_ _him_ _. The one she could no longer deny had completely stolen her heart captive, so that her every waking moment, and even her dreams, were filled with wistful thoughts and fantasies of him._

_Whenever her mother left her in the company of her chaperone nymphs, she would sit at the bottom steps of her temple, and gaze yearningly out into the horizon, hoping to catch a glimpse of his familiar outline. He had no reason or obligation to visit, she knew – but always she watched for him, anyway._

_And so many times, he had never come, and her heart would always sink with a disappointment that became increasingly difficult to stomach._

_Following their encounter with the fireflies, however, it was as though something had shifted and began changing between them. All at once, Hades was materialising out of the shadows more often, and she was encountering him more frequently in the safe, concealed sanctuary of her forests – without Apollo in tow._

_Sometimes they would simply just walk. Often Kore would talk far too much, but Hades did not seem to mind it, or if he did, then he certainly did not make it apparent. Other times, they would observe the stars through the canopy of the trees, and take turns at pointing out constellations or sit in comfortable silence and enjoy the tranquillity of rippling water by a rock-littered stream. Hades would never speak much, but as time went on, and they grew more accustomed to one another's company, he would surprise her, saying a little here and there, telling her more of the unexpected wonders of the Underworld. Kore would always listen in awe, to his far too brief and short tales, that painted such a starkly different picture of the dreadful image she had been raised to fear so greatly._

_Mostly, however, Hades was just content to listen to her speak of herself and her day._

_Sometimes they would race each other. Sometimes Hades would win. Other times, Kore would. Once he challenged her to a rematch of the orb contest, and tackled her down a gentle incline in the forest floor. She'd landed, giggling girlishly, under him, and her heart had thundered as he'd hovered above her, his arms caging her beneath him._

_She'd wondered scandalously right then as she'd lain under him, what it would be like to be taken by him completely. She thought that maybe a similar thought had entered his mind, too, as he'd gazed down at her dishevelled locks and flushed cheeks. Perhaps it had, for he had suddenly seemed tense, and quickly gotten off her, muttering that the race was "stupid" and the result was a tie._

_On the scattered occasions when they_ _did_ _meet with Apollo, Hades would maintain a careful distance from her, scarcely acknowledging her verbally – something that always infuriated the Sun God. But whenever Apollo turned away, they would steal little stealthy glances at one another._

_Somehow, the fact that they met in secret made it all the more thrilling. Kore knew what she was doing was forbidden. That it would break her mother's heart, if she were to ever find out. But she was addicted to Hades; to the way he made her feel so alive. She couldn't stop herself from seeing him._

_Then, one night, he did something unexpected and different. He offered her the adventure she craved, delighting her as he suggested an impromptu journey through the forest on his dark chariot. They'd rode like the wind, so breathtakingly fast that she had been left giddy, laughing and squealing all the way. She was far too preoccupied by her excitement to see the way Hades had, once again, been completely unable to take his eyes off her for the entire duration of the trip._

* * *

_Kore cast a cautious, surveying look back over her shoulder, her racing heart fluttering. The night was quiet. As always, she had ensured that nobody was following her._

_Quietly she slipped into the forest, and into the circle of Hades's waiting arms. And when his lips found hers, and the blistering heat of his fingertips singed into her skin, she forgot everything else._

* * *

__Kore's heart hammered inside her as she turned back to Hades. He looked enticing in midnight blue, and she fleetingly thought how fitting it was that he was clad in such a shade._ _   
  
_She had never imagined that she would ever come to consider the darkness so alluring – to welcome it so readily with every fibre of her being. Such was the effect her clandestine, nightly meetings with Hades had left on her; he made her head spin, made her senses sing. She desired him and all that he embodied._   
  
_In the privacy of her temple's bathing room, she knew they would not be interrupted. Nobody else was permitted to enter without Kore's explicit permission – not even her own mother disturbed her here. The crystal clear water in the northern, white-marble basin before her prayer-altar was sacred, a purifying pool that cleansed the soul and healed the body._   
  
_Kore knew she would need it before the night was through, to wash away the evidence of what she was about to do. She had made her decision – and nothing would divert her._   
  
_All thoughts of her mother seemed far away. She could feel her body trembling with excitement and anticipation as Hades stopped before her._   
  
_"Nobody will find us here," Kore whispered. She'd successfully managed to usher him inside without any of her nymphs noticing. It certainly helped that he blended so well into the shadows._   
  
_Hades looked around, inspecting the large, candle-lit chamber with interest. Two rows of mighty, fluted stone pillars flanked the central walking space, towering up to a ceiling so high, it vanished into shadow. Each column was adorned with winding vines, upon which grew a variety of flowers. Their fragrant scent filled the air, adding further ambience to Kore's chosen setting. Then his dark eyes fell back to her._   
  
_She felt like her body was being kindled into slow burn as his eyes roved down her form, taking in the thin fabric of her full-length, cream chiton, wound at the waist with a golden girdle that held the light gown snugly against her skin. She could see his hunger - a hunger that had been steadily growing over the whirlwind months of their forbidden romance - felt it stir her own inner craving for him._   
  
_"Then why are you whispering?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at her hushed tones._   
  
_Kore bit her lower lip as the handsome deity unbuckled the belt at his waist to remove the sheathed blade he always carried. Setting it against the nearest pillar, he unclasped his cloak in turn, and after placing that aside too, began to circle her with unhurried deliberation._   
  
_"It is just a precaution," she tried to dismiss casually._   
  
_He halted behind her and leaned in, trailing his fingertips lightly, teasingly along her bare shoulders._   
  
_Kore could feel the static crackles seeping into her skin._   
  
_"Forget it," he said._   
  
_"What?" Kore closed her eyes, the awareness of him, of his heat and pulsating masculinity behind her, causing her entire body to tingle. She was having a difficult time paying attention to his words, when he was standing so close to her._   
  
_"You won't stay this quiet," he elaborated dismissively. The butterfly wings inside Kore's belly fluttered more intensely at the unspoken implications of his words. He meant, of course, that what he intended to do to her would impel her to be more vocal. A delighted blush bloomed in her cheeks. Far from being shy or nervous as she had expected, she found that she could not wait… she'd spent far too long pining for him from a distance. He had not even started and her body was already crying out for his._   
  
_She shuddered as he pressed the tip of his nose into her unbound hair and inhaled deeply, enjoying the floral scent of her._   
  
_"Hades…" her voice wobbled. This made him pause._   
  
_"Are you certain?" Now it was his turn to speak quietly._   
  
_Kore's heart raced. This was it – her final chance to back down, to change the course they had both willingly taken. But how could she? And why would she? She was in love. Hades made her feel more alert and alive than she had ever been. He had birthed such joy in her heart – a sense of completion that she hadn't even realised she'd been missing._   
  
_She wanted to feel the full force of his passion. She wanted him to lose himself in her, to belong to her and only her. She wanted him to make her his fully, to have her for all eternity. And she knew, from the way he had been holding back – even though he had never said it with words - that he surely felt the same for her, too._   
_He hadn't been like the other gods Aphrodite had told her about – the lustful, hasty deities who chased after goddesses with only one goal in mind. Hades had been patient, and had waited for her to be absolutely ready._   
  
_He had waited for her to give him the signal._   
  
_He was different. Kore had always known it. She had known it in her soul, the second she had first set eyes on him, that Hades would change her life forever._   
  
_Trembling, she nodded. "Yes," she answered breathlessly, and felt the warmth of his lips press against her left shoulder, trailing sweet little kisses there. "Yes," she repeated, as Hades's hands slid along her abdomen sensuously, giving wake to a tantalising ache in her lower belly._   
  
_"I want to be yours, Hades," she whispered, leaning back into him as his steely arms enclosed her, holding her tightly to him, feeling the dark power he commanded surging through the flimsy material that kept her skin concealed from him. It stirred her blood. Excited her. "Take me," she murmured._   
  
_She felt his lips curve against her shoulder. In one swift motion, he had spun her around, crushing her against the solid wall of his chest._   
  
_His mouth hovering inches from hers, Hades flashed her that same, wicked smirk, the devouring, predatory one that turned her legs to jelly and made her feel like she was falling endlessly, with no end in sight._   
  
_"Say please, goddess," he taunted deviously._   
  
_Losing her patience, and determined not to allow him all the fun, Kore reached up, looping her arms around his neck to yank his head down and close the lingering distance between their ravenous lips. He matched her eagerness immediately, plunging his hot, wet tongue into her mouth, where it proceeded to clash and spar with her own. Kore moaned softly into the kiss, combing her fingers through his silky, raven locks. His hands traced the contours of her sides slowly, as if seeking to commit them to memory, before coming to a snug rest on the gentle curve of her hips._   
  
_He pulled back a little, placed a palm to the back of her neck as he studied her features._   
  
_"Take me," she whispered once more, eyes still closed as she savoured the feel of her lips lingering against his._   
  
_He then caught her quite off guard, making her giggle with surprise when he hoisted her up into his arms. Kore felt weightless in them, and wrapped her legs automatically around his waist to keep herself balanced, drawing back to admire his face with smitten eyes._   
  
_She found that his own were heavy-lidded and smoky with passion. She lifted a hand to cup his left cheek tenderly. Keeping his gaze on her, Hades then moved, carried her to the nearest pillar and pushed her up against it._   
  
_The sensation of being trapped between the warmth of his strong body and cold stone sent an exhilarated thrill quivering through her. When his lips found the sensitive skin of her slender neck and began to trail impassioned kisses along her throat, she exhaled shakily, stroking his hair encouragingly. The raindrop kisses turned into nibbles and bites, altering to sensuously long sucks that were hard enough to leave possessive marks and bruises. Kore moaned again, louder this time, her back arching against the column behind her to press her front more firmly against his. Almost unconsciously, her legs tightened around him._   
  
_Hades figured he was pleasing her from the way her breaths were quickening, from the pleading little mewls that were escaping her parted lips. He lifted his head and kissed her mouth again. Kore boldly sunk her teeth into his lower lip as he drew back. She saw him react favourably, saw how the lust in his charcoal irises seemed to blaze all the brighter._   
  
_Determined to satisfy him too - although lack of experience and knowledge made her uncertain and a little nervous as to how, exactly, to give him pleasure - she wriggled, signalling that she wished him to set her down. Hades allowed her to slide herself sensually down his front, rubbing their clothed bodies in a way that caused the mutual ache within them to throb even more torturously. Once her feet set back onto the stone floor, she pulled his head down to her height so that she could trail sweet kisses along his jawline, his cheeks and his right ear. He exhaled quietly into her shoulder, his deft fingers working to untie the girdle around her waist._   
  
_Her hands lifted to his sleeveless tunic. It was already open at the chest, which made it easy to part and push off his shoulders, exposing his delectably sculpted bare chest to her for the first time. Kore gulped, taking in the delicious sight of his well-defined pectorals and the steely ridges of his rock-hard abdomen._   
  
_She caught her breath. By Olympus, he was beautiful! In the flattering glow of candlelight, the god standing before her was all golden smooth skin and rippling, taught muscles._   
  
_Kore's mouth watered. She wanted to feel them clench and tense beneath her touch. The ache in her belly intensified, seemed to radiate downwards and settle between her thighs. Biting her lower lip, the young goddess was struck with shyness for the first time. She was at that moment hesitant to touch him._   
  
_"I…" she began, hating the way her voice wavered. "I have never-" she fumbled as he drew back slightly to observe at her. "I have never done this before," she confessed in a barely audible whisper._   
  
_"…" Hades blinked. Then he responded by kissing her again, alleviating her doubts as he encircled her wrists and lifted her hands to his chest, placing her palms against his skin. The contact was like a volatile detonation that caused Kore's blood to sizzle. Suddenly there seemed to be far too many clothes between them. She wanted to feel every part of his body pressing against hers. She lost track of time then, as he pulled down the twisted straps of her chiton to expose her breasts to his seeking touch. When he touched them gently and squeezed experimentally for the first time, Kore gulped back a gasp of surprise._   
  
_Never had she imagined it would feel so good. Or perhaps it was simply that Hades was so very proficient with his fingers, that he made her body thrum with such intoxicating pleasure._   
  
_Swirling his index fingers erotically around her pert pink nipples, he trailed his lips over her collarbone, as her hands tugged demandingly at his loose trousers. They stumbled sightlessly, aimlessly, arms locked around each other in a passionate embrace._   
  
_The next time she took the moment to catch air, Hades had lowered her gently onto the mosaic-tiled floor by her washing basin and altar. He hovered over her, taking in the sight of her bare upper torso, a look of silent appreciation in his gaze. Embarrassed by the intensity of his silent scrutiny, she made to automatically cover herself – but he caught her wrists and prised her arms apart, shaking his head as he exhaled. Then he lowered his lips hungrily to her right nipple and gave it an experimental lick._   
  
_"Ah…" Kore stiffened. The touch caused divine tingles of pleasure to jolt through her. When he took the bud entirely into his hot mouth and flicked his tongue over it, she released a throaty, needy whimper, and closed her eyes, losing herself entirely to his touch. Hades's hands trailed all over her exposed skin, paying worship to her body as if it was a temple in its own right – his temple. Then he reached down and hauled her back upright, pulling her onto his lap. Her legs straddled him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Bunching the skirt of her chiton up, he stroked lazy patterns over the silky skin of her legs as he kissed her deeply once again._   
  
_When his wandering hands reached her thighs and stroked inwards, Kore pressed herself against him more tightly, and the throb between her legs intensified at the feel of his strong, masculine chest crushing against her bare breasts. She wanted him so much. Needed him with every essence of her being. And the sudden bulge she felt digging up against her from beneath his lower garment betrayed his own unmistakeable need for her._   
  
_"Hades…" she gasped, when he pulled back to trace wandering fingertips down the curve of her spine, while his other hand fondled her left breast. Every touch stimulated her further, summoned delightful little shocks that coursed through her entire body._   
  
_Her head fell back, and he ran his rough tongue over her throat again, kissing and biting into her skin. Instinct seemed to guide her then as she rubbed herself tentatively against his hardness. She was rewarded by a soft hiss of breath, and exhilarated by the audible reaction she had finally elicited from him, she ground down with greater force, gyrating with her hips until she found a steady rhythm._   
  
_"Kore-" his breath snagged as the tense coil within him tightened. She felt the sinewy muscles of his arms clench against her as he sucked her breasts._   
  
_"Mmm," she hummed approvingly, continuing to rub her crotch against his. Such sweet, torturous tension! It felt so good. The wetness and heat she could sense developing between her legs only urged her to quicken her movements._   
  
_Hades grunted and lifted his head. He could feel his concealed erection, pulsating painfully for her. As her eyes met his, she knew that he couldn't hold back for much longer. When he lowered her slowly back onto the ground, she did not resist, and parted her legs willingly for him. He kissed her again, slowly and deeply, and then rested his forehead against hers. The only sound they heard then was the rushing of blood in their ears, the mingling of their unsteady breaths, punctuated by the crackling of candlelight and the soothing flow of water in the basin beside them._   
  
_"Kore," he muttered, as he lifted a hand to run his fingers through her tousled locks._   
_"I'm ready," she whispered back, heart hammering with anticipation._   
  
_He exhaled against her lips, drawing back slightly to look into her face. The wonder in his eyes was undisguised this time, and Kore felt tears prickle her own at the unexpected sight of him looking so thoroughly unguarded. So honest in his emotions._   
  
_Nobody had ever gazed at her like that – like she was the most beautiful creature in the entire world. It was almost as though he was entranced by her, in utter awe of the rosy cheeked goddess lying beneath him. Kore's heart swelled with love. He looked so taken aback, almost overwhelmed. So at odds with the confident arrogance she was accustomed to glimpsing on his features. She felt the sudden need to reassure him._   
  
_"Please, Hades," she entreated, reaching out to stroke his cheeks in turn. "Make me yours."_   
  
_His eyelids drooped heavily, and he nodded. He then drew back slightly and quickly discarded the remainder of his clothes. Kore propped herself up onto her elbows, to look upon the fully naked form of a god for the first time._   
  
_Her breath caught in her throat as she drank up the erotic sight of him. And what a divine form it was! She was stunned by the sheer length and thickness of him, stared at his fully engorged member in flustered, open-mouthed fascination. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip as the desire within her flared, like a wild, inextinguishable flame. The burning ache within was now positively painful, but she frantically worried whether or not she could accommodate his impressive size inside her._   
  
_He leant in again and dragged her chiton down her hips, his own need heightening as he gazed upon the triangle of soft curls that rested between her legs. She heard his breath hitch in turn and he reached out with a hesitant hand to touch her virgin folds for the first time. The stabbing pleasure she felt this time was even more intense._   
  
_"Oh…" she sighed, laying back again, lifting her hands to cup her breasts as she closed her eyes, at his complete mercy. Hades watched her closely, studied the way her lovely features contorted as if in agony when he repeated the motion, stroking her slit sensually with an index finger._   
  
_When his thumb found the bundle of nerves that formed her sweetest pleasure spot, her back arched and she gasped, letting him know that she thoroughly approved of the way he was stimulating her. Leaning forward, he captured her lips once more. She grabbed him, locking her arms around his neck ad dragged his head down further. He released a low groan against her lips, and finally lost the last of his restraint._   
  
_Kore felt his length prod her entrance, and squeezed her eyes shut more tightly. He reached up to disengage her arms and intertwine their fingers. Gripping tightly onto her, he rested his forehead against hers once more – and then with one swift, forceful thrust, broke through her hymen and plunged deeply into her molten cavern._   
  
_Kore released a cry at the stinging pain but Hades was quick to muffle it with another bruising kiss. Tears leaked from her eyes at the feel of him buried deep inside her. Like a burning blade, embedded to its hilt, he filled her completely, stretching her walls to their limits._   
  
_But the pain was already fading as her body's healing chakra worked to repair the internal damage instantly, leaving only a mild, slight discomfort in its wake. Hades broke the suffocating kiss and looked into her face with eyes that shone with such concern for her that fresh tears welled in her eyes._   
  
_He tensed. Had he been too rough?_   
  
_"Kore-" he began uncertainly, holding deadly still within her. "Are you hurt-?"_   
  
_"I'm fine," she reassured him, smiling through her tears. "I just-" she choked back a sob. "I am so happy," she whispered._   
  
_He sighed quietly with relief, kissed the tears from her cheeks. She gasped as he dared to stir inside her again._   
  
_"Ah! Hades… you fill me so deeply!"_   
  
_He kissed her jaw, and with painstaking carefulness, began to draw out of her again. Encouraged by her pleading, approving whimpers, he began to thrust in and out of her, his movements slow, disjointed, awkward and inexperienced at first._   
  
_But he was a god, and had always been an exceptionally fast learner. When Hades was absolutely certain that she was in no more discomfort, he began to quicken his thrusts, his rhythm growing steady, stronger._   
  
_"Ohhh…" she moaned more vocally, lifting her legs to hook her ankles above the tensed, hard muscles of his backside, increasing the tightness of her walls around him. A low curse tumbled from Hades's lips, as the heightened friction quickened his climb to the peak of pleasure._   
  
_The unfamiliar tension that was clenching within her grew in intensity and warmth with his increased pace, but Hades still made sure he did not go too fast or hard. Their lovemaking was raw, slow, the tender kind that accompanied a first time union between lovers._   
  
_His eyebrows furrowed together with the concentrated effort of restraining himself from slamming viciously into her. By Elysium! He had never known such pleasure, and felt that he was drowning in the ecstasy Kore was so sweetly gifting to him. He kissed her face, her breasts, anywhere and everywhere his lips could reach, drunk on the wine of her love, her throaty moans echoing in his ears, synchronising with his thundering heart as he felt himself drowning in her golden-emerald eyes._   
  
_She watched him in fascination, unable to look away from his flushed cheeks, the way he looked so vulnerable in that moment. To think, that she was the one giving a deity as dangerous and aloof as Hades ordinarily was, this depth of gratification… making him lose his iron-like control… the staggering weight of realisation made her soul soar, increased her own bliss._   
  
_"Kore," he rasped. Ploughing as deeply into her as he could, Hades shoved a hand between her legs, seeking her sensitive nub. She cried out as he rubbed at her almost frantically, eager to give her the same release he could feel himself hurtling towards. The tingles clenched tighter and tighter, and Kore was overwhelmed, gasping, not knowing what to expect next._   
  
_"Ahn!" Her fingernails dug into his back, hard enough to make him growl, hard enough to leave angry crescent marks on his sweat-glistened skin. "Ahhh! Hades!" Her choked cries came out disjointed, broken by the motion of his pounding thrusts. "Y-es! Ye-s! Oh! Pl-ease! Yes! Ah!"_   
  
_This was it, Kore knew, near sobbing, her racing heart-beat shaking her to her very core. This was what she had been waiting for her entire life. The sweetest, sweetest release…_   
  
_"Haah," he exhaled raggedly in exertion. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled her ears, made the flames of lust rage beyond control, and Kore was thoroughly unprepared when she finally reached her first climax, and her back arched as the waves of her orgasm flooded through her, propelling her into the most heavenly rupture she had ever known. Hades found his relief shortly after, the feel of her rhythmically contracting walls squeezing around him driving him over the edge, sending his mind and body reeling with intoxicating pleasure as he spilled his hot seed into her._   
  
_A guttural groan tore from his throat as he buried his face into the nook of her neck and rode out the ecstasy of his release, his thrusts becoming wilder, more disjointed as his hips bucked uncontrollably against hers._   
  
_When the final spikes of euphoria began to fade away, and they gently descended from their shared heaven, Hades remained on top of her, buried inside her warmth. They panted against each other, stunned into silence, the awe of new discovery in their pleasure-clouded eyes._   
  
_His weight crushed down upon her, but Kore found that she savoured the sensual feeling of their slick, flushed bodies tangled together. So this was what true intimacy was like, what her mother had wanted to keep from her. Kore could not believe it, did not understand why. And now that she had felt the searing heat of a god's passion once, she knew that she would never be the same again._   
  
_At length, Hades rolled off her, and lay by her side. They stared up at the high ceiling, catching their breaths, using the silence to collect their scattered thoughts and composures._   
  
_Finally, Kore snuck a timid glance at him. His hair was adorably ruffled, and his heavy-lashed eyes were shut. Her heart fluttered at the tiny, contented smirk she glimpsed curved on the left corner of his lips._   
  
_Shyly, she pressed herself close to his side, resting a hand against his flat stomach. He did not move._   
  
_"That was…" her mind was too blown to supply the correct adjective, and all she could manage was, "…good."_   
  
_Hades's eyes opened to stare upwards again. He snorted aloud._   
  
_"Hn. Good?" he echoed. Surely he'd been better than that?_   
  
_Kore nuzzled her face into his chest and grinned._   
  
_"I mean," she confided secretively. "I really enjoyed it."_   
  
_He stirred and brought his left arm around her shoulders, pulling her more snugly against him. Kore's happiness was like a giddy, floating bubble inside her. She never wanted it to burst._   
  
_"Hn," he grunted lethargically. And then, he gave a rare concession that delighted her ears. "Yes."_   
  
_He meant he had, too._   
  
_She bit her lower lip worriedly as she suddenly remembered something bothersome._   
  
_"What if my mother were to find out?" she asked in a hushed voice. She couldn't imagine how devastated and furious she would be, and shuddered at the prospect._   
  
_There was a pause. Then Hades said curtly, "She won't."_   
  
_"But…" Kore began anxiously._   
  
_"It's nobody else's business to know," he finished with finality._   
  
_She decided he was right. She couldn't really worry about it then, not while they were lying so intimately together. Another comfortable silence settled between them._   
  
_It was only broken when Hades suddenly exhaled scornfully again._   
  
_"Good," he muttered disapprovingly, her underrated score of his performance clearly bothering him. "Tch. You won't say that, next time."_   
  
_Kore's heart leapt._   
  
_"You…" she licked her lips, daring to hope, his words easing her inner fears that he'd taken his fill and would leave her. "You think we shall have to do this again?"_   
  
_He closed his eyes and snorted, as if it should have been obvious that he planned to take her again, and turned his head to press his lips to her temple._   
  
_"Kore," he drawled smoothly, mockingly. And he had thought her so innocent. Well, she had been, he smirked smugly to himself… before he had started touching her so sinfully, so wickedly._   
  
_She peeked up at him as he tucked her head comfortably under his chin and stroked random swirls upon her left shoulder._   
  
_"Persephone," she corrected, tracing patterns on his chest in turn._   
  
_He cracked a dark eye open. "What?"_   
  
_"Persephone," she repeated softly. "Kore was my childhood name, the girl. I am no longer a maiden." Intertwining the fingers of her left hand with his right, she added, "I am a woman, now." Blushing anew, she smiled against his skin, "Your woman."_   
  
_His other eye opened and he stared at the ceiling – before he shifted his head to glance down at her. He seemed to consider this, almost as though he was repeating the name in his mind, testing the way it sounded._   
  
_Then he nodded, and brushed a light kiss against her forehead._   
  
_"Persephone," he murmured obligingly, his lips lingering._


	49. Chapter XLVIII

**Chapter XLVIII**

* * *

_She gave herself to him,_

_He stole away her heart,_

_Claimed her as his,_

_They were never to part,_

_He consumed her light,_

_Took his fill,_

_She sighed and adored,_

_And lost herself to the thrill,_

_Her gravest mistake,_

_A great error in measure,_

_To fall into the honeyed trap_

_Of love and pleasure._

* * *

It was strange, how after so long he could still effortlessly set butterflies flittering in her stomach. Simply walking to his apartment made her heart gallop. Persistent worry for his well-being, however, had given her the courage to visit him again.

She had kept his secret, as he'd requested. But she wondered how much longer she had to stay silent for. Had he discovered anything else about Sai's visions?

The apartment wasn't showy or expensive; nowhere up to the standards of what anyone would expect the son of the _king_ of the gods to reside in. But that had always been one of the things Hinata had greatly admired - and loved - about grounded nature.

Neji lingered back by the car, watchful eyes alert. He stood with his arms folded, scanning their surroundings like a sentinel on guard duty. That was precisely what he was, of course. Hinata's personal protector.

She inhaled deeply as she drew to a stop by his front door. The curtains to the humbly sized lounge were drawn and a light was on inside, indicating that he was home. Her heart did that funny little thing whenever she was in close proximity to him, flip-flopped inside her chest. She raised her hand to the doorbell – only to freeze when she heard Naruto's voice exclaim angrily, his words slightly muffled – but still discernible to her ears.

"Are you even _listening_ to me? You really think it's a good idea to just go down there and confront him? You know what he gets like when you push him into a corner-"

"Lower your voice, Naruto," a deep voice admonished. "We already agreed that Kakashi and I were going to handle this."

"We're going to negotiate," another voice supplied more quietly. Hinata had to strain to hear it.

Her winter-grey eyes widened in bewilderment.

 _Jiraiya and Kakashi-sensei_ were inside with him? Who were they talking about? Where did they want to go?

She brushed aside her curiosity. It wasn't polite to listen in on their private exchange. It wasn't a good time, she told herself, to call on him. Biting her lower lip regretfully, she stepped back with the honest intention of turning away and leaving, not wishing to infringe or eavesdrop any longer.

But the next thing her ears inadvertently caught made her halt in place.

"We need to find out how many seeds she consumed first." Kakashi was saying.

"I see no reason why he would keep that from us," Jiraiya commented.

 _Seeds?_ Hinata raised an alarmed hand to her open mouth. What were they talking about?

' _Hinata-sama,'_ Neji's voice spoke telepathically to her, as he sensed her discomfort and hesitation. _'Is everything alright?'_

' _Ah!'_ she answered. _'Y-yes. I just- Naruto-kun isn't alone right now, so we should-'_

And then she heard it. Something that made her heart thud to a much more unpleasant rhythm. The words would have been lost to ordinary humans. But she was not an ordinary being, and her ears picked up everything.

"Still, we must be cautious." Jiraiya went on. "There's no predicting how someone like Sasuke will react, so we must be alert at all times."

Hinata gasped softly into her palm in disbelief. A sudden tremor overcame her.

_Sasuke?_

"And choose our words wisely," Kakashi added.

"You have to let me go with you!" Naruto ranted. "There's no way I can just sit this out-!"

"No," Kakashi instantly rejected, his tone leaving no room for argument on the matter. "Not this time, Naruto! Jiraiya, Sai and I will be sufficient enough. You stay up here and keep an eye on Tsunade and the others."

"Wha-?!" Naruto whined. " _Sai?_ Are you kidding me? Why does _he_ get to go?!"

"I am the Messenger," another voice supplied helpfully. Sai, Hinata registered.

"Don't be such a smartass!" Naruto yelled at him. "And anyway, didn't Sasuke say he'd kill you if you went back there?!"

"He said the same to you," Kakashi reminded him dryly.

"That doesn't count, I've heard it a million times before and I'm still alive!"

Hinata zoned out of the rest of the bickering, frantically trying to process her chaotic thoughts. Sakura had consumed _seeds…_ from the _Underworld?_

Was that where she was, now? Was that where she had been _all along?_ With _Sasuke?_

Her mind spun. Staggered by shock, she could only remain numbly in place, staring at the ground in horror, hoping against hope that she had somehow misheard, that it was all some terrible misunderstanding.

By the car, Neji stiffened, his acute vision immediately discerning her discomfort.

"Hinata-sama-" he began with quiet concern, moving forward automatically – at the precise moment the front door swung open to reveal a masked Kakashi.

His single visible eye drooped as he discovered Hinata, her hands clutched to her chest, a half-ashamed, half-frightened expression on her face. She'd done a poor job of disguising her presence, but then, it had never been her way to be anything but honest.

"Maaa…" he sighed, turning his gaze exasperatedly upwards. This was the last thing they needed – someone else from their group finding out. "You'd better come inside, Hinata."

"I-" she stammered, flushing deeply. "I am so sorry, I-!" she gasped, when Naruto suddenly appeared behind Kakashi, his blue eyes wide with dismay as they rested on her face. Without a word, he stepped out and grasped her wrist, yanking her into the apartment.

"Stay there, 'ttebayo!" he pointed at Neji, before abruptly slamming the door shut.

Neji frowned and reluctantly drew back again. What in the world was going on? Why was Hinata so distressed?

Beyond the door, Hinata felt like she was on the verge of fainting. Naruto bypassed the lounge, telling the two elders that he would handle this. She put up no resistance as Naruto pulled her along behind him, until they reached the kitchen, where he closed the door, sat her down on one of only two wooden stools by the single, central aisle, and kept his hands firmly on her shoulders as he peered down into her crimson face.

"Hinata," he said worriedly. "How long were you standing outside?"

"I," she stuttered in shame. "Naruto-kun, I only came to- to see if you were alright, and I was about to leave but then I overheard-" she bowed her head low, shoulders hunching upwards. "I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun! I didn't mean to- I was only outside for a few minutes!"

Naruto's expression softened as she squeezed her eyes shut, on the verge of tears.

"Hinata…" he began, his fingers on her shoulders relaxing, becoming gentler in their hold.

"I didn't mean to!" she repeated in an anxious rush. "Please forgive me, Naruto-kun! But when I heard about Sasuke-kun-"

Naruto's right hand shot out, and he slid his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up. Her eyes flew open and she gasped as his cerulean gaze locked with hers.

"Hinata," he spoke in a hushed voice. "You have to promise me that you won't say a thing!"

She bit her trembling lower lip. She didn't think she was brave enough to keep such a weighty truth from Tsunade.

"But- but why?" she shook her head in confusion, visibly shaken and upset. "Naruto-kun, if you've known where she's been all this time, then why… why haven't you told us?"

Naruto drew away, raked a hand stressfully through his sunshine spikes as he paced restlessly before her. "Damn it," he muttered in frustration. "You know what they think about Sasuke. I don't know why he took Sakura-chan, but believe me, Hinata!" he pivoted back to her. "Believe it when I tell you, he hasn't hurt her!"

She stared mutely back at him, wide-eyed, her lips parted in astonishment.

"You know that Sasuke and I were like brothers," he said quietly, stepping closer to where she sat, her hands fisted into palms in her lap. "And it's stupid, I know, but I can't let go of that bond. I feel like… I feel like he's lost, Hinata! I feel like I'm responsible for him, somehow. Even after everything- but they won't listen to me. They think he betrayed us, but I've never believed it. I just _know_ there had to be a reason for him marching against us. I need to find out what happened, somehow!"

Hinata began to shake her head. Her heart constricted. She loved Naruto with every fibre of her being, wanted to support him in any and every way she could, but keeping something like _this_ a secret? She wasn't so sure she could.

As if he could read the indecision on her features, Naruto got to his knees, reached out and took her hands in his. Her pulse rocketed at the contact.

"Please," he whispered, looking earnestly up into her face. "Hinata, I'm _begging_ you. I know you don't understand everything that's going on, and I'm asking so much of you already, but I promise you. I _promise_ you, I absolutely will tell you everything once we figure out why he took her."

"She-" Hinata struggled to speak when his fingers slipped under hers, uncurling her fists. Gulping, she went on fearfully, "She's eaten some seeds, Naruto-kun…?"

His eyes flashed with pain and lowered briefly. "Yeah." Shaking his head, he muttered, "I don't know why he'd do that. It doesn't make sense. I want to kick his ass, but the most important thing right now is that we try to get him to give her back. Otherwise…" he didn't need to finish. Hinata was more than aware of what would happen if Sakura did not return to the surface before the start of autumn.

She exhaled unsteadily. She couldn't even begin to imagine the terror Sakura was going through. To be trapped in such a place, with such a dangerous deity…

"Naruto-kun…" her voice trailed hesitantly. "I… I don't know if I-"

" _Promise me_ ," he insisted, looking up at her again. "Hinata, you can't tell Tsunade or Ino or anyone else. Not yet. I know they'll find out eventually, but if you could just hold out for a little longer. I-" It was his turn to close his eyes. "I know I've got no right to ask this of you, but a person like you… who I like and trust so much…! I _know_ I can count on you! So _please!_ " He bent his head forward, to rest his forehead beseechingly against the top of her hands. "Please trust me, too!"

The heat in her cheeks intensified. Inside her chest, her melting heart was skipping and soaring.

A person he _liked_ and _trusted so much._

Slowly she withdrew one of her finely tremoring hands, and placed it affectionately upon his golden head. Love swelled within her at the feel of the soft, unruly strands under her skin. How long had she yearned to touch him like this? To give him direct, physical comfort, instead of support from a distance?

How could she ever refuse him anything?

"I trust you, Naruto-kun," she whispered reassuringly, causing him to release a shuddering breath of relief and another, untold emotion, as he remained bowed in position before her, taking a selfish moment to enjoy the soothing gentleness of her touch as she caressed his hair with her slender, ivory fingers.

* * *

 _Kore huffed impatiently, feeling irritable. Apollo had told her that he would be on time, tonight. But once again, he was tardy, and she really was in no mood to indulge him. Especially when she would have much rather preferred to be somewhere else,_ _with_ _someone else,_ _doing_ _something else…_

_Folding her arms crossly, she leant back against the tree trunk, lifting her eyes up to the starry sky, twinkling beyond the treetops high above her. Her thoughts automatically began to unwind, recalling the second night of passion she'd shared with Hades, once again in the sanctuary of her temple. Her heart skipped a beat and the insatiable ache inside kindled once again into existence as she recalled the way their sweat-slickened bodies had writhed together._

_Their love-making had been harder, faster, more urgent than their first union. Kore closed her eyes at the sensual memory of his lips clamping down over her skin, sucking over her pulse point, biting and branding, fingers scraping possessively along the contours of her hips as he'd claimed her again as his. She'd struggled to deaden her whimpers as he'd pounded savagely into her, as if to prove a point to them both that he could perform much,_ _much_ _better._

' _Tell me,' he'd ground out between laboured breaths, taunting her as she'd moaned pleadingly for release under him. 'Is this,' he'd slammed even harder into her cavern, driving her wild with need, ''good', Persephone?'_

_It had been more than 'good'. It had been incredible, mind blowing, and she would have screamed had it not been for his lips devouring hers to keep her vocal cries from being heard beyond the thick, towering double doors of her private chamber._

_Kore's eyes opened and she exhaled softly into the warm night's air. Hades was an intense and fiery lover, and she relished the merciless force of his passion, his confident masculinity, his scorching heat. He was all iron and flame, set her blood alight._

_It had been five nights since she had seen him last and her body craved the new sensations he'd opened up to her like flowers craved the kiss of sunlight. Where was he? Was he well? Perhaps he had just become preoccupied by his Underworld duties. She was consumed by thoughts of him all the time, and it was difficult, punishing, even, to maintain the façade of 'Kore', the innocent, naïve maiden, around everyone else._

_Particularly her mother. Kore was shredded by guilt and felt nauseous every time she met Demeter's eyes. It was a battle to try to act as normally as possible, while bearing such an awful secret. But she knew she couldn't possibly leave Hades, now. Not when they had become one._

_She pushed herself away from the tree and began to stroll distractedly through the undergrowth. If Apollo didn't show himself soon, she would just have to-_

_Her mind never completed the thought, for when she arbitrarily glanced up her eyes fell upon a figure, clothed entirely from head to toe in black, save for the deep purple sash tied across his chest. A matching amethyst droplet dangled from his left earlobe._

_Her heart fluttered violently at the sight of him and immediately quickened._

_Hades slowly stepped out from the bushes he'd been concealed behind, and slunk unhurriedly towards her. There was something almost predatory about his graceful movements._

_"Hades!" she glanced nervously around them. She could not sense Apollo's divine energy in the forest, but the Sun God had an unpleasant knack of appearing out of nowhere. "Apollo asked me to meet him here," she said unthinkingly. "He could arrive at any moment, so…"_

_Her voice trailed off as he drew to a stop at a carefully measured distance from her. Instead of wearing the haughty look of arrogance, smugness or indifference she was accustomed to seeing on his features, Kore glimpsed the hint of a scowl on the corners of his lips._

_He seemed tense. Displeased. Irked, even._

_"What is it?" she blinked, bewildered._

_His eyes glittered hard, like black diamonds. They narrowed at her._

_"Don't play stupid with me," he snapped icily._

_She stiffened, offended. Frowning, she shook her head, at a loss over what it might be that was bothering him. "Hades, what are you talking about?" she questioned, feeling strangely nervous. What had she done wrong? The last time they had seen each other, everything had seemed perfect. What had changed?_

_"Apollo told me," he bit out._

_Kore's confusion grew. "What?"_

_"I said," he stepped forward, the dark aura encompassing his form pulsating around him like thick wisps of smothering, deadly smoke. "Don't play stupid."_

_"But I do not know what you are talking about," Kore exclaimed, wringing her hands in dismay. "Truly, Hades, I do not."_

_"I did not take you as the kind to share yourself so_ _generously._ _**"** _ _His eyes blazed accusingly at her._

_Growing frustrated, Kore gestured, "What are you talking about? Will you not tell me what crime I have committed?"_

_"Your…" he spat out the next word hatefully, as if it was a slander that insulted him in every possible way. "_ _**'** _ _Feelings_ _'_ _for Apollo."_

 _"My feelings for…?" Kore echoed blankly. What was he saying? "_ _Apollo_ _?_ _**"** _ _she repeated, perplexed. Why would Hades be questioning that, out of the blue? "But…" she shook her head, again. "He is like a brother to me. I do not-"_

 _"That is not," Hades glared, "what_ _he_ _thinks."_

_Anger spiked inside Kore at the unfounded accusations – just what was he trying to suggest?_

_Then, with a sinking feeling, sudden realisation crashed into her._

_What she had said to Aphrodite, more than several months prior. The lie she had told to hide the nature of her true feelings for Hades. But Aphrodite had promised her she would not speak a word! Had she opened her mouth and gossiped again?_

_She slapped a despairing hand to her forehead. "What did that fool tell you?" she closed her eyes briefly, seeking patience._

_Hades's scowl intensified. Apollo had come to him two days earlier, half-panicking, half-bragging about Aphrodite letting it slip that Kore harboured deep, secretive feelings for the Sun God. In truth, Hades hadn't listened to the rest of the particulars. He'd been far too incensed, and immediately challenged Apollo to a duel, battling him until they'd both been left battered and bruised. He'd spent the following two days seething to himself, until unable to stand the consuming bitterness any longer, had sought Kore out to confront her directly._

_"You know what I speak of," Hades hissed._

_Kore's eyes opened again. "Yes," she sighed heavily, but he had gotten her intentions wrong entirely._

_Hades bristled, inhaled sharply. "Then you do not deny it."_

_"I said those words," Kore admitted, "but it was only because-" she broke off at the indignant look on Hades's face. Something hostile flashed across his penetrating gaze._

_He was positively furious, his hands balled into fists by his sides. Her jaw hung open as something flattering and thrilling suddenly occurred to her._

_He was_ _jealous._ _Jealous – of_ _Apollo!_ _Of the prospect of her paying attention to another! The unexpected but thoroughly pleasant discovery made her light-headed with happiness._

_She could not help it, looking at that adorable frown – she burst into laughter – which she would soon discover was the wrong course of action entirely, for it only further fuelled the perilous wrath brewing within Hades's chest._

_"You!" she gaped. Who would have thought a god so sure of himself, so pompous and dismissive of everything and everyone, would harbour such common insecurities? "You are jealous," she chuckled. "Of Apollo! Oh, Hades!"_

_"Shut up." He snarled at her. Of the many things he loathed in the world, being laughed at was high up on the hierarchy of his most despised things._

_"I am sorry," she gasped. "It is just- that_ _you_ _are- jealous! Of that clumsy, clueless-"_

 _"I," he fumed acidly, positively glaring daggers at her, "am_ _not._ _"_

_But he was. Everything about his defensive posture and expression screamed so. Kore doubled over, wheezing to catch breath. She then straightened, but continued to snigger uncontrollably into her palm. "You are," she giggled. "You think that Apollo and I are-"_

_She never got to finish. Hades blurred rapidly into movement, and a second later, a gasping Kore felt herself being knocked bodily back into the trunk of a tree. Hades spun her around roughly so that the front of her torso was pressed uncomfortably against the abrasive bark. His hands encircled her wrists to pin her in position, trapping her in the cage of his arms as he pushed the front of his body weightily against her back._

_"Hades!" She was immediately alarmed, her foolish mirth wearing quickly thin. "I-I did not mean it! I said that to Aphrodite because she suspected that I- unh?" she gulped, when his mouth drew directly beside her left ear._

_"Do you think," he exhaled hotly, making her skin tingle. "He can match_ _me_ _?"_

_Her eyes widened as he released her right wrist to drag an angry hand down the front of her chiton, over the soft rise of her breasts, over her belly, and then between her legs, bunching up the fabric of her skirt slightly to cup a warm palm underneath her most intimate of places._   
  
_"Oh…" she exhaled shakily. Her heart was starting to beat frantically against her ribcage. She could tell that she had gotten herself into trouble._   
  
_"Do you think," he hissed, as his palm began stimulating her – a motion that made Kore's insides quiver with desire, "he can make you feel like this?"_   
  
_She whimpered and wriggled, which inadvertently lifted her toned backside, caused it to press against his crotch. She felt the bulging hardness of his erection as it dug into her from beneath his tunic and swallowed, feeling giddy with want at the stark evidence of just how eager he was for her, too. She started rubbing her rear against him, and Hades hissed, pushing more firmly against her as he released her left wrist to squeeze her left mound._   
  
_Heat pooled between her legs, and she could feel herself becoming damp as he pushed his palm up more forcefully against her. Kore struggled to explain herself to him. It suddenly seemed difficult to form any words at all._   
  
_"Hades…" her voice wobbled precariously. "She- she suspected that I… that I had feelings for you… ohhh…" she moaned huskily as he sucked angrily at the juncture between her neck and shoulders, determined to leave fresh marks upon her skin. "I had to say something to divert her… I couldn't let her know… s-so I told her…" she gasped when she felt his hands lower to tug impatiently at her skirt, lifting the material hastily above her hips. "A-about Apollo," she stammered, when he hastily fumbled to unclasp his belt with one hand, to release his aching member._   
  
_He bit at her earlobe, which prompted another mewl to escape her lips. Kore leaned back against him, savouring his strength, his dominating presence, the way a steely-muscled arm coiled around her._   
  
_"Oh…" she protested weakly, somehow still managing to retain coherent thinking, even though she wanted him madly, with every inch of her being. "Not here…! Hades, please… he is coming…"_   
  
_But Hades was not listening, or did not seem to care. "To him, you will only ever be Kore," he snarled. "The girl. A child."_   
  
_Her breath hitched when his thick hardness slid into her wet slit from behind. He ran his rough tongue over the side of her throat, licking hungrily. Kore was near delirious with desire for him. How could he affect her so strongly? How could he make her body throb for his so devastatingly?_   
  
_"I do not," he whispered harshly, and thrust up hard against her once. " Share, Persephone."_   
  
_She gasped, gripping onto the trunk to keep her legs from caving out beneath her._   
  
_"Not with Apollo," he sneered, driving into her again with greater force. "Or any other."_   
  
_"Ah! Hades…" she pleaded. Now that he was sheathed tightly within her walls, she was desperate for release._   
  
_"You…" he growled possessively, thrusting roughly again. "Are mine." He drew back then impaled himself deeply once more, his movements torturously unhurried as he buried himself to his hilt inside her. "Only," he breathed seductively into her ear, pulling out – before slamming into her once again, making her whimper. "Always."_   
  
_"Y-yes!" Kore's head fell back in submission and she began to grind herself eagerly against him. "Yours!" She was rewarded with three, brutal thrusts. "Always y-ours! Ah!"_   
  
_"Say," he slid out, "it," another deep thrust, "again."_   
  
_"Yours…" she moaned. "Oh Hades, only yours… ohhh… yes… please…mmph!" she turned her head as far as she could, and he bent around her to capture her lips in a hot, wet, passionate kiss, tongues clashing fervently together. He pinned her wrists against the tree once more as he continued to slide in and out of her with excruciating slowness._   
  
_A sudden, echoing shout made them stiffen and cut the kiss short, snapped them rudely from their lust-filled haze._   
  
_"Kore!" Apollo's cheerful voice reverberated around them. He was quickly drawing closer. Kore could sense him._   
  
_"He's here!" she whispered, panicked, trying to squirm free, to draw away from him. But the dark god merely pressed her against the tree more forcefully, his hands lowering to dig onto her hips as he began to quicken his rhythm, pounding into her with an intensity that made her breath snag._   
  
_"Ahn…!" she choked back a supressed cry. Hades fisted a hand into her hair, jerked her head back as he continued to ram into her viciously from behind, jarring her entire body with the feral force of his ruthless thrusts._   
  
_Kore bit down hard on her tongue, tasting the distinctive, metallic tang of copper as her teeth drew blood. She loved it, craved it, the way her walls tingled deliciously with every pound, every impaling stroke._   
  
_"Yes!" she panted breathlessly. "Yes, yes, hard-er, unh!"_   
  
_"Kore! I'm here! Sorry to keep you waiting!"_   
  
_She closed her eyes. No. No! He could not find them yet! Not when she was so, so close! She willed the plants around them to be silent, to swallow up the squelching, slapping sounds of Hades pumping relentlessly into her._   
  
_"Come on! Come out! Where are you?" The Sun God's voice whined. He had almost reached their spot. Somehow the danger of discovery made their forbidden romp all the more exciting, all the riskier and more thrilling, spurned a grunting Hades to speed up further with renewed urgency, determined to give them both release before they were found._   
  
_"H-Hades-!" She stifled down a gasp, control slipping like quicksand between her fingers._   
  
_Hades cursed quietly into her ear. She gulped, feeling the spark within her gut clenching tighter, tighter, tighter - until it finally exploded, white-hot and intense, making her see stars as her exhilarating climax tore through her trembling body. Her mouth fell open, unable to keep back a scream as euphoric pleasure ripped through her – but was swiftly muffled by a raggedly breathing Hades, who clamped a silencing palm tightly over her mouth._

* * *

" _You seem distracted lately, daughter," Demeter observed, as they sat together, weaving baskets from straw._

_Kore's heart drummed. Of course her ever-perceptive mother had noticed, and this was the very confrontation she had spent the last three months dreading. She was surprised, really, that Demeter had kept quiet for so long._

_Summoning a smile to her face, she attempted to dismiss lightly, "Oh, it is nothing."_

" _Kore," her mother said sternly. "I know that false smile."_

 _Her daughter swallowed, mind racing. What could she say? Horrified to feel a blush stain her cheeks, she dipped her head, wrenching the straw through the weave she had been working a little_ _too_ _forcefully as a wave of anxiety gripped her._

_How she wished, at that moment, to possess Hades's enviable talent of masking emotions!_

" _It is nothing. Truly, mother."_

" _Then why do you blush?"_

" _I-"_

_Demeter pursed her lips and set her basked down. She had been suspicious for a while; she knew Kore better than anyone, and her strange behaviour confirmed that something was weighing heavily upon her conscience. Reaching out, she gently placed a palm on Kore's left arm, signalling for her child to stop, also._

_Kore gulped. Her pulse was racing so fast, she was certain her mother could somehow detect its frantic rhythm._

" _Tell me," Demeter commanded._

_How had this happened? She had taken such pains to act as normally as possible. But clearly it hadn't been enough to throw her eagle-eyed mother off her scent. Now she was trapped, forced into a corner, and to her mortification, her tongue seemed to have relinquished the ability to form speech._

" _Kore?" Demeter reached out to cup her daughter's chin, turning Kore's head to meet her concerned honey gaze._

" _I'm sorry," Kore blurted out, biting her lower lip nervously. "I did not want to trouble you, or worry you- I- I was afraid you would be angry with me-!"_

" _What is it?" Demeter frowned._

" _I-" Kore felt wretched. Then a sudden, unexpected ray of hope came to her, as she recalled a tragic love story Aphrodite had reported to her not a week prior._

 _Surely she would be damned to Tartarus for telling her own flesh and blood such horrible fibs, to keep her secret hidden in such a deplorable way, and Hades would be powerless to do anything to prevent it! But she told herself fiercely that she had no choice. Alluring dark eyes flashed across her mind, and the desperate need to protect him – to protect_ _them_ _, took precedence over everything else._

" _I saw a hunter in the forest recently, mother. I do not know who he was, but… he had the sweetest face!"_

_Demeter scowled. "Do not tell me-" she began over-protectively._

_Kore's hands flew up defensively. "Wait, mother! There is a nymph, who is so terribly in love with him. You have heard of Echo?"_

" _Echo," her mother repeated. "The nymph who sings sweetly?"_

" _Yes," Kore nodded. "She is so in love with this hunter boy, but he will not have her. He is terribly proud, you see, and it pains me to see her suffer so greatly. She has come to my forests for comfort often, and talks very much of him. I have felt so sorry for her. I am trying to find a way to help her, but Aphrodite tells me her love is doomed."_

 _It was not a complete fabrication. Echo_ _had_ _come to her a few times. Just not as often as Kore was making it sound. And she had always talked for so long, that even a goddess as patient and considerate as Kore was had found herself growing weary of her endless chatter. Aphrodite had arrived both times to shoo the poor love-sick girl away._

_Demeter shook her head, satisfied with the explanation. How very like her sweet-natured child to carry the afflictions of others upon her shoulders._

" _Love," she muttered. "A fool's pastime, indeed."_

_Kore hesitated. "You have been in love before, have you not, mother?"_

_Her mother tensed. But instead of being angry, or displeased, as Kore feared and anticipated, Demeter replied softly, "Yes, child. I have known love. And there are times when I wish I had not."_

_Kore was relieved to divert the focus off her. "But not often?" she questioned._

" _Not as often as I would like," Demeter admitted ruefully. Then she smiled a small smile. "Had I not experienced it, what is most precious to me in this world would not have come to exist."_

_Kore tilted her head curiously. "What is that, mother?"_

_Demeter met her gaze directly. Reached out to caress the side of her daughter's head._

" _Why, you, of course, daughter." She answered, a rare display of open fondness shining across her beautiful features. The severe guilt inside Kore became a burden so gnawing, she felt tears sting her eyes._

_Swallowing thickly, she managed a genuine smile in return._

* * *

__Kore's hands and knees quivered with the effort to keep her upright. She was exhausted, her sore body deliciously replete, but it seemed that Hades was far from finished, for he leant over her from behind, his strong chest pressing firmly against her back as his lips hovered over her right ear._ _   
  
_"Can't keep up?" he whispered tauntingly._   
  
_"Please…" she closed her eyes, wheezing for breath. "N-no more. I can't-"_   
  
_"Tch," he scoffed, smirking smugly as he wound a hard arm around her midriff, drawing her back more snugly against him. A thrill rippled through Kore at the feel of his taut, steely muscles clenching against her abdomen. "I'm not done with you, yet," he growled hotly, possessively._   
  
_Kore bit her lower lip as she felt his hard, throbbing length prod her opening again, moaned loudly as he sunk into her once more. Her walls were still tender and pulsating from the previous climax he had given her, and the feel of his fullness stretching her to her limits again made her ache sweetly._   
  
_She thought that surely her body had to be satisfied, but as he began to move slowly in and out of her again, she felt the inextinguishable flames of need begin to blaze once again in the pits of her gut, was overcome by the raging fever of lust he infected her with, each and every time he touched her. And Hades was just as gluttonous for her, his fingers kneading her backside, digging into her hips as he increased the force and speed of his thrusts._   
  
_Kore's whimpers grew louder and louder and she moaned his name over and over as she slammed herself desperately back against him, intensifying the heated friction rapidly building between them. Her little toes curled as the electrical sparks in her belly strengthened in voltage. She shivered when Hades lowered his head to trail his lips tantalisingly down the curve of her spine, then his tongue, lapping sensually at her sweat-glistened skin before he proceeded to bend over her, sucking hungrily at the nook between her neck and right shoulder, his hands slipping under her to cup and squeeze her breasts._   
  
_She gasped when he then abruptly altered her position, reaching out to yank her down into his lap. He gripped her upper arms in his hands and twisted them uncomfortably behind her back, locking them in an unbreakable hold as he thrust up into her at an increased depth and tighter angle. Kore's head fell back and forth and her breathy moans grew shriller. Hades continued to drive roughly into her, until she reached her summit at last and her mind and body were sent careening into pure ecstasy. As she contracted rhythmically around him, he released a pleasure-pained hiss and groaned against her shoulder, plummeting and drowning in the paradise of her. He rasped out her name, gripping onto her with a level of desperation that overwhelmed him, as though she was the only anchor to which he could cling to stay grounded to the world._

_When it was over, they lay together for a while, relishing the lazy haze of the afterglow. Hades cocooned her in his arms, knotted their fingers together, and a smiling Kore rested her head contentedly against his chest. Eventually they rose to dress and took the stone path that wound around the back of her temple, leading to the carefully tended, vast garden there. Kore giggled girlishly as they snuck through the shadows, feeling like a devious felon in the night as she walked ahead of Hades, who allowed her to pull him along after her without resistance – when the unexpected appearance of one of her chaperone nymphs caused them to halt abruptly._

_Kore released a startled gasp. Her grip on Hades instinctively tightened as dread knotted unpleasantly in her gut._

_The dumbfounded nymph's eyes bulged and darted to their joined hands. She looked from Kore, to Hades, and back to Kore again, shock and horror painting itself on her pretty features._

" _My Lady!" she gasped, visibly appalled._

" _Despina," Kore whispered frantically, "I can explain-"_

_The trembling nymph began to back slowly away, shaking her head in disbelief, muttering that Lady Demeter was going to be very displeased, which made Kore feel like a serrated blade was being plunged and twisted around in the centre of her chest, turned her icy with fear._

" _No!" she began, stepping thoughtlessly towards her, pulse thunderous. "Despina, I command you not to-"_

_A tug prevented her from going any further. She glanced wildly back over her shoulder to find Hades, looking remarkably unconcerned by the entire affair._

" _Don't bother," he stated evenly, before he relinquished her hand and stepped in front of her. "Nymph," he addressed the terrified girl stonily, and Kore saw his eyes glint crimson. "Stop."_

_Despina became as still as a statue, as though his command had chained iron shackles to her limbs. Hades slunk towards her with the grace of a predatory feline. When he reached her, he grasped her chin roughly, angling her head back to look at him._

" _Do not hurt her!" Kore exclaimed in alarm._

_But Hades simply hissed at the girl caught in his ruthless grip, "You saw nothing. You will speak nothing. You will remember nothing."_

_Despina's breath hitched, and Kore saw the way her eyes glazed over. A second later, her body grew limp. Hades released her and she crumpled to the grass._

_Kore darted forward, horrified. "What did you do to her?" she demanded. "Hades-!"_

_He reached out and grabbed her left arm, to stop her from tending to the nymph. "She sleeps."_

" _Is she hurt?" Kore worried._

" _No." He informed her curtly, pulling her back to his side. "She will remember nothing when she wakes." At her reluctance to move, he scowled impatiently, "Stop fussing, Persephone."_

 _Kore chewed her lower lip anxiously and directed one final, guilty glance back over her shoulder at the slumbering nymph, before she relented and allowed Hades to guide her through the darkness. She kept asking him for reassurances that Despina would wake up unharmed, and an exasperated Hades kept answering she would, so Kore believed him and told herself not to fret. It had been necessary for him to intervene, she justified to herself, as awful as it was for him to meddle with the nymph's mind. However, she was certain there would have been no way that their secret would've been kept by Despina had Hades not acted. They absolutely could_ _not_ _risk Demeter finding out about them._

_When they reached the outskirts of the garden, Hades turned back to her. Kore tilted her face up automatically in anticipation of his parting kiss – only to blink in surprise, her eyes flying open when she felt a light tap against the centre of her forehead, instead._

_Blushing, she peeked up in bewilderment to find a mocking half-smile playing on one corner of Hades's proud lips. Lips that did such unspeakably wicked things to her. He chuckled at her comical expression - a short, abrupt sound that made Kore's heart melt. It was not often that he laughed, and it warmed her to know that_ _she_ _was the source that inspired his amusement._

" _I'll see you soon," he promised._

* * *

_They had taken shelter up in a tree from the pouring rain, and Hades, sitting against the robust trunk with Kore's back pressed to his chest, had been absentmindedly stroking circles along the smooth skin of her right forearm, when Kore, uncharacteristically tense, suddenly squirmed and pulled away from him. She then shifted on the branch, and when he angled a questioning look at her, she made a point of avoiding his gaze._

_He waited, knowing her well enough by then to trust that she would speak when she was ready. Her bright irises were rendered a darker shade than usual, which made apparent that something was troubling her._

_Sure enough, it did not take the young goddess long to start talking._

" _How long have we been meeting like this, Hades?" she asked softly._

" _Hn." Hades shrugged. He hadn't really bothered to keep count. Besides, what did she mean? How long they'd physically been together, or how long they had started to get to know each other generally, after he'd taken her to see the fireflies? The durations of time were not the same, but then, time always seemed to slip away whenever they were together. There didn't ever seem to be enough of it, and Hades had started to grow a little perturbed by just how_ _often_ _he found himself thinking of the Spring Goddess in his private musings._

" _It has been just over five months, now, has it not?" she prompted._

_His eyes traced over the lovely profile of her face. "What does it matter?"_

" _I…" she began awkwardly, the apples of her cheeks flustered. "I do not want this to be…" she fumbled, struggling to phrase what she wanted to express delicately. Her nerves got the better of her, then, and she blurted candidly, "When I am with you, Hades, you make my body feel like it is burning. But…" she chewed into her lower lip and shook her head. "I do not wish for this to be only that."_

_She did not want their bond to be centred around physical intimacy alone. They'd had each other as often as time and circumstance allowed, and it suddenly struck him that it did, indeed, seem like their relationship had become centred on lust. Their frequent romps outnumbered the occasions on which they had simply sat like this, revelling in each other's company – but that was mainly because the sizzling chemistry they shared made it difficult for them to keep their hands off one another. Hades understood, at that moment, that her fears were not entirely without foundation. He'd merely been too consumed by the pleasure she gave him to think anything of it, himself._

_In response, he reached out and tugged her backwards, so that her back was pressed to his front once again. He felt her tremble, as if she was cold or dreaded his response, and wordlessly unclasped his black cloak to drape it around her shoulders. Kore swallowed when he then intertwined their fingers together, and held them up for inspection before her._

"…" _He twisted his wrist to admire the flawless skin on the back of her left hand as he mulled over her words._

_Her heart constricted at his silence. She wasn't yet ready to confess aloud that she loved him, even when she had already fallen for him so quickly, so deeply. She'd been halfway there even before they had gotten romantically involved. The love she bore for Hades was like a persistent physical ache that could only be soothed by the solidarity and comfort of his presence. But she had started to worry, that the overwhelming passion they enjoyed would soon fizzle out. That Hades would tire of her, the way Aphrodite had told her so many gods did, once they greedily took their fill of women._

_Hades was young, and there was certainly no rush for him to settle for a single goddess, Kore knew. She also knew that she had to be foolish, entertaining such frivolous romantic notions of spending eternity by his side, and his alone. What if he did not feel that way for her? What if he was simply passing time with her? She had been fretting about the true nature of his feelings toward her so frequently, and now that she had intruded upon the subject, her heart could not cease its erratic pounding. What if he did not give her the response she yearned to hear?_

_Hades, who was wondering why she would even think such a thing, murmured, "Why say this, all of a sudden?"_

_Kore swallowed. "Sometimes," she confided, "I would just like to talk with you. Or simply sit by your side in silence. But I feel…" her voice tremored. "I feel that this has moved so fast. Sometimes it makes me breathless. I cannot think, and it is like I am being consumed." Her voice dropped to a whisper and she closed her eyes, exhaling shakily. "I ache for you, Hades, all the time. I should not- I should not feel so intensely. I know it is foolish and yet I… I cannot stop it. Sometimes, I am afraid."_

_He lowered his lips to her hand, brushed them lightly over her knuckles._

" _I…" she hesitated. "I am afraid, because we are so different, and yet when I am with you… nothing else seems to matter. There is just you and me. I have never felt this way about anything before, and that frightens me."_

_He wanted to tell her that he hadn't felt such a magnetising attraction toward any woman before, either. He wanted to tell her that the sparks between them unsettled him, too, and yet he had grown addicted to them, to the rush and euphoria she gave him. But that was certainly not the only reason why he was with her._

_He wanted to tell her not to be afraid._

" _Persephone," he sighed lightly, closing his eyes as he buried his face into her hair. He could not reciprocate her words. Discussing sentiments – and talking in general - had never come easily to him. But he let her feel his reassurances, in the way he inhaled the floral scent of her water-drizzled, damp locks, the way he brought up his right arm to hold her more tightly back against him._

_She bit her lower lip. "Could you just… hold me, tonight?"_

_He blinked - then obligingly wrapped his other arm around her in response, felt her relief as she relaxed back against him, exhaling as if she had cast a heavy burden off her chest. And from that night onwards, Hades, respecting her feelings, allowed_ _her_ _to choose and initiate when they made love._

* * *

_He stared at the item she held out to him. It was concealed beneath heavy black fabric._

_Lifting his eyes curiously to her, he demanded, "What is this?"_

" _A gift," she smiled coyly at him, her cheeks tinged that charming shade of pink they always seemed to adopt whenever she saw him._

" _What for?" he scoffed. It was not his birthday, and he had not gotten her anything. The ribbon she wore, which he had replaced, did not count._

_She exclaimed, "By the gods, Hades, it is impolite, you know, to refuse a gift!"_

_He rolled his eyes and reluctantly accepted the offering, if only to indulge her. Kore clasped her hands behind her back, rocking impatiently on the balls of her feet as she watched him weigh the mysterious object in his palms, before he proceeded to unwind the material she'd wrapped around the object._

_Her heart drummed with anticipation and excitement when he let the fabric drop to reveal a slender, beautifully crafted hunting bow, forged of the highest quality wood._

_Hades blinked, surprise visibly etched upon his routinely unreadable features. The weapon felt pleasantly light in his hands, but its expert craftsmanship was obvious. He ran his fingers over the smoothly polished wood. The insignia of his Clan had been engraved and painted on the elegantly curved tips of the bow. Engraved along the slender sides of the weapon's upper and lower limbs were decorative filigree swirls._

_Kore's eyes were anxious. "Do you like it?" she questioned hopefully._

_Hades's dark eyes returned to her. "Where did you get this?"_

" _Hephaestus forged it for Artemis, who gifted it to me. I do not hunt, but I know you like to compete with Apollo, so I wish for you to have it."_

_He hesitated. What if Artemis asked about the weapon? Kore seemed to read his mind, for she waved away his concerns._

" _Do not worry. I will tell Artemis that I simply misplaced it, and you can tell anyone who asks you that some hunter dropped it, and you took it as you liked."_

_That sounded a good enough story to Hades. His eyes lowered to admire the bow once more._

_Hephaestus. No wonder the work was of such great construction and durability. Artemis was known to possess the finest hunting bows on the surface. And Hades had always had a soft spot for archery…_

" _Do you like it?" she prompted again._

" _This is high quality craft," he replied, sending a flutter of delight through Kore at the openly impressed tones in which he spoke._

_She grinned. "I added my own touches to the wood. Like your family emblem. And…" she added eagerly, "a little secret, if you study the grip carefully…"_

"…" _Hades gave her a measured look, and tilted the bow so that he could examine the comfortable grip more closely. He missed it initially, because it was so small – but upon second inspection, he found a tiny carving of a blossom flower, with five petals. His gaze lifted questioningly to Kore._

" _So you do not forget me," she said, looking away as she pushed a long lock of hair behind her right ear – before turning back to peek a bashful glance at him._

_Hades snorted. So he wouldn't forget? He didn't think he could ever dismiss the annoying little goddess from his mind, even if he tried. How sentimental she was. But he did like the gift, very much, and could not wait to go hunting with it._

_He did not need to express it, for Kore had already seen his approval._

_He held it up, drawing back the tightly wound string, as if to fire an experimental shot – directly at her._

" _This will be perfect," he said smugly, "to shoot down a certain goddess, from the treetops where she likes to hide."_

_Kore bit back a giggle, and held up her hands in surrender._

" _But you should not aim at her head, Hades," she chided teasingly._

_He lifted a dark eyebrow almost warily. "Then where?" he intoned._

_She smiled shyly and reached out to reposition the centre of the arrow rest over her chest. Slightly to the left._

" _Her heart," she whispered dramatically, meeting his gaze as she huskily added. "Where you have already pierced her."_

"…" _Hades blinked, pressed the bow more firmly against her chest, and smirked._

* * *

_She gasped when he showed up unexpectedly in her temple's bathing chamber one night. His raven hair was even more dishevelled than usual, and there were shallow grazes and grass stains all over his face and arms. The front of his grey tunic was torn, revealing a glimpse of the dirt-stains on his chest. There was a small black quiver strapped to his back._

" _What happened?" Kore exclaimed, as he drew to a stop by the altar she had been arranging fresh flowers upon._

_In response, he lifted the bow she had given to him, and declared triumphantly, "We hunted down a gigantic wild boar."_

_Kore rolled her eyes. Another of Apollo and Hades's reckless contests. But she was inwardly thrilled to see that he had made use of her gift._

" _You two…" she sighed in resignation. Then, observing him, she fretted, "None of the nymphs saw you, did they?"_

" _I told you," he replied flatly. "The shadows are-"_

" _Yours," she finished. "I know." After a pause, she questioned curiously, "So… did he beat you?"_

_Hades looked offended and released a condescending snort. "Of course I won," he informed her. "That moron is still wailing in defeat, in the field where I left him. Idiot."_

_Kore giggled, imagining Apollo throwing a hissy fit. When Hades continued to stare at her with those piercing eyes of his, she bit her lower lip. He looked untameable, wild. Proud and fiery and utterly desirable._

_The sudden tingling throb between her legs told her that it had been too long since they'd last made love. The episodes seemed much fewer and farther apart. They had been spending more time together simply talking, walking or engaging in other activities. She had enjoyed it, the increased sense of closeness and emotional fulfilment. But she would be lying to herself if she denied just how much she had missed the feeling of him embedded inside her._

_She stepped forward and reached up to unclasp the leather quiver strap across his chest. He remained stationary, watching her silently, taking in the sight of her in the dusky pink, full-length chiton she wore. It had slits up to the thighs on both sides, was much more revealing than anything she wore when she ventured out of her temple. Hades liked it on her, very much._

" _I can imagine," she said softly, setting the quiver aside as she turned to the belt at his waist, and removed that in turn, before undoing his cloak. She let it fall to the floor. "But look at you," she clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "All this dirt on you. Let me clean you up."_

_She slipped her right hand into his left and with seductive, come-hither eyes reeled him forward, led him to her circular, white-marble bathing pool just before the raised altar. It was enclosed within four towering, slender columns. Curtains of flowered vines were draped between the columns, and some of the crimson petals had fallen onto the luminous turquoise water's surface. The small waterfall behind her altar flowed down into deep grooves set in the mosaic floor, which refilled the pool continuously._

_Descending the three steps that led down into it, she tugged at Hades to join her. The crystal clear waters reached mid-way up his thighs, and just above Kore's belly button. He allowed her to remove his shirt, and stared wordlessly, transfixed, as she reached for the bathing sponge that rested upon one of the shells placed beside the pool._

_Dipping it into the water and squeezing lightly, Kore lifted it to his chest, began to wipe away the dirt there. Then she cupped some water and glided a palm over his pectorals, washing him clean, nails scraping lightly against his skin. Her heart quickened as she watched the wet rivulets trail down his toned muscles. How she longed to follow their course with her tongue!_

_Infernal heat stirred in the pits of Hades's belly as he watched her. It was a most erotic and intimate experience – her water-drenched hands roaming over his upper torso, the way the luminous surface of the pool reflected in her eyes, rendered them a golden turquoise. She was a vision to behold._

_Humming sweetly as she worked, Kore took her time to wipe his arms. She scrubbed the slope of his back, his neck. She used a larger, deeper shell to pour water over his head. It dripped off his flattened hair, sprinkling over the top of her chiton in the process. His eyes did not leave hers as she brought the sponge to his face and dabbed gently, tenderly. His fingers itched to touch her, but he practised restraint, keeping his arms by his sides._

_When she was done with his skin, Kore palmed citrus oil and massaged it into his hair. Hades exhaled quietly in contentment at the feel of her fingertips massaging his scalp, when she poured water over his bowed head to rinse his hair clean. When she was done, she set the shell aside and applied oil to his bare upper torso. Hades's throat felt oddly parched as her adept palms slid over and rubbed oil into his skin, in dangerously sensual motions._

" _All clean," she murmured once she had finished, smiling up at him. Their bodies were now but mere inches apart._

_Hades lifted his left hand to trace his fingertips unhurriedly along her delectable jawline. His heart was pounding, blood blistering. Her chiton was now entirely soaked, clinging to her skin and leaving very little of what he had already seen, so many times, to the imagination. He wanted her. So much, so very badly, that it was akin to physical torture to deny his body the life-giving elixir of her touch._

_Lowering his face, hair still dripping wet, he nuzzled his forehead into the juncture between her neck and right shoulder, and slipped his arms around her slender midriff, savouring the familiarity of her._

_She slid her hands from his oil-slickened shoulders, down his chest, and when they drifted lower, to run over the steely ridges of his abdomen and came perilously close to his lower garments, Hades inhaled sharply, withdrew his arms to grab at her wrists._

" _Persephone," he got out hoarsely. He did not think he could hold back this time if she continued to entice him in the water like this, like a seductive siren. "Stop."_

_But she shook her head and he then realised how foolish he had been to worry, for when her eyes lifted to his, he saw the same, raw hunger in them, saw that her desire raged as ravenously and uncontrollably as his own._

" _Don't you want me, Hades?" she pouted, sensually sliding her palms back up to his pectorals again, as she leant heavily into him, tilting her chin up in alluring invitation, in submission. His breath hitched, and his eyebrows drew together - as if pained and crippled by how much he needed her - before he slipped a hand to the back of her neck and bent his head to capture her parted lips in a famished, frenzied kiss._

* * *

_Kore's breath caught when she felt strong arms suddenly grab her, hoisting her off her feet completely. She was spun around dizzily, and a cheerful voice shouted far too loudly in her ear, "There's my favourite! Kore!"_

_She squealed and squirmed to get out of his grasp. When Apollo did not relinquish his hold and continued to whirl her, an irritated voice cut in._

" _Put her down, idiot."_

_Apollo laughed, finally relenting in swinging a nauseous Kore about in circles. But he kept his arms around her as he rested his cheek atop her head. "You're just jealous, bastard, because I get to hug her whenever I want, and you don't." To make a point, he embraced Kore more tightly, making her protest at the force of his grip._

" _As if," Hades scoffed, closing his eyes and folding his arms dismissively. Kore almost laughed inappropriately out loud. Poor Apollo had no idea that Hades did much more than simply_ _hug_ _her…_

_The Sun God finally let go of Kore, who smacked him on his arm angrily. "I have told you before not to sneak up on me!" she admonished, jabbing a finger at his chest._

" _I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Apollo waved his hands dramatically. "I can't help it, believe it! You're just so little and light…" he cooed, reaching out to pat her head like she was a child. Kore shoved him indignantly, and he howled, falling immediately to the floor like a comical fool._

_Hades cracked one eye open when he knew it was safe to do so, while Apollo remained on the grass, rolling theatrically._

_Kore's heart jumped to her throat when Hades then communicated with her telepathically._

' _Hn. You never complain when I do…' His words were sly. Infuriatingly smug._

_She flushed in the darkness, and turned her face away before either of them could catch her blush._

* * *

_After he had told her a little more about the Underworld and answered her questions about Elysium, Hades had settled back to lie down on the grass, arms folded behind his head, eyes closed as he enjoyed the stillness and silence of the night._

_Of course the peace did not last. It never did, when the Goddess of Spring was with him._

_He grunted slightly when he felt her suddenly plop herself atop his stomach, legs straddling his sides._

" _You're heavy," he stated flatly, without bothering to open his eyes. He didn't mean it of course; the reality was that he liked it when she sat on him this way. He'd grown to enjoy the view from below, very much – whether she was fully clothed or otherwise._

_Kore moped. "Apollo doesn't think so." She fiddled with the crimson sash he wore across his chest, draped over the black tunic beneath. "Apollo thinks I weigh little more than a feather."_

" _Tch," Hades scoffed scornfully. "Apollo is a blundering idiot."_

" _But you are still his friend," Kore grinned._

" _No." Hades deadpanned._

_Kore smiled at his false denial. She found his grumpiness so endearing. Then she frowned. "Am I truly heavy?" she worried aloud. Aphrodite was always teasing her about her weight…_

" _Heavier than the Kraken," Hades answered sarcastically, and had to fight back a genuine half smile of amusement when Kore released a displeased, childish whine._

" _Hades!" she protested. "You have never had any trouble lifting me!"_

_He snorted in response, chewing absently on the long blade of grass between his teeth._

" _Well," she exclaimed casually. "You must be weaker than Apollo, then."_

_She knew she had immediately struck a nerve, for Hades's eyes snapped open, and he cast a withering, indignant glare at her._

" _Take that back," he rumbled menacingly._

_Kore folded her arms and sighed, looking away regretfully. "I cannot, for you told me that I am as heavy as the- ah!" she screeched, when Hades abruptly reversed their positions and pinned her beneath him, his movements as swift and fluid as a striking rattle-snake._

_She blinked, enthralled by the smouldering sight of him above her._

" _Take it back," he snapped, his lips hovering inches from hers._

" _You should say please," Kore dared to antagonise him further._

" _And_ _you_ _should obey, Persephone," he breathed, dragging the tip of his aristocratic nose down the bridge of her short, pert one. "If you know what is good for you."_

" _Maybe you should teach me how to be obedient," she whispered, pulse aflutter with anticipation._

" _Hn," Hades grunted, lowering his head to run his tongue sensually along her bottom lip. "Maybe I will."_

* * *

_Hades leant back against the tree trunk, observing Kore as she wove a basket that was to be used for gathering crops at the start of autumn. Every so often she would cast a look up at the stars and sigh wistfully, as if she wished she could live up there, amongst the celestial bodies._

_She chatted animatedly about the upcoming harvest, how she always felt so sad once the summer was over. Hades listened in silence, occasionally passing her straws from the pile she had brought to the forest with her. She told him about her mother's golden fields of wheat, regretted that they could not roam through them freely together._

_As she conversed on, Hades found his gaze fixing on the crimson ribbon she wore in her hair. The one he had given to her, which she wore almost every day, faithfully. She insisted it was because she loved the silk strip so, but he had long begun to suspect that_ _he_ _had something to do with her obsession with it._

" _You are quiet, today," she remarked, as she took another straw from him. "I mean," she amended, "more so than usual." Glancing at him sitting beside her, she angled her head questioningly. Hades was rapid to divert his eyes from her. "Is all well with you?"_

" _Fine," he said. And then, to throw her off his trail, he added, "Anyway. You talk enough for us both."_

_She giggled apologetically. "Sorry. I do not mean to bore you. I could stop, if it would please you?"_

_Hades shook his head. He didn't tell her that he secretly liked the sound of her melodious voice. He had grown to associate its euphonic tones with pleasure, with contentment, with peace._

_So Kore talked blithely on, and Hades listened intently, even though his mind was burdened with much more troubling thoughts. At length, Kore finished her basket, and after admiring her handiwork, rubbed sleepily at her eyes._

_She felt a little guilty. Usually she liked to stay out much later with Hades, but in between assisting her mother all morning with harvest preparations and playing running games with Aphrodite and some wood nymphs all afternoon, Kore supposed that the day's exertions had finally caught up to her._

_She stifled a yawn, feeling thoroughly impolite, hoping he would not notice. But he had. His hawk-like eyes were immediately scrutinising her._

" _I am sorry," she apologised again. "I feel quite worn out. It must be all this harvest preparation."_

" _It is late," he agreed, and rose. Kore did too, carrying her completed basket, and they began to walk through the forest together. But she kept rubbing at her heavy-eyelids, and when she practically started dragging her feet, and muttering that her temple seemed too far away, Hades stepped to her, took her basket, and knelt down before her._

" _Get on," he instructed. Smiling delightedly, she slipped her arms around his broad shoulders. Hades looped the basket through his right hand, wound his arms under her legs and hoisted her effortlessly up onto his back._

" _Mmm…" she rested her chin on his left shoulder, deeply inhaled the warm spice and wood-smoke scent of him as he began to carry her unhurriedly home. "I thought you said I was too heavy?"_

" _You are," he assured her, without breaking stride._

" _Hmm…" she hummed, and buried her face into the side of his neck. "Should… stop eatin… s'much," she mumbled drowsily. Then she sighed, "Thank you," and grew quiet soon after that, assuring him that slumber had taken her._

_Hades's eyes lowered, and he swallowed thickly._

* * *

_Their love-making that night had been surprisingly tender – almost bittersweet - nothing like the explosive sessions Kore had become so accustomed to, but it had been no less passionate, had affected her no less profoundly. If anything, the reduction in pace had rendered it more intense, somehow, gripped her swelling heart with such terrible sweetness that she was certain it had been ready to burst and bleed out her love for him. Hades had kissed her slowly, deeply, paid unhurried worship to her body as if he wished to savour every last inch of skin his lips and fingers touched, to commit and ingrain every part of her to memory. Affection had flowed between them, they'd filled one another to the brim with it, and she had kissed him just as gently, with tremoring hands and quivering lips, as if it had been their very first time all over again._

_Afterwards, she slumbered serenely, nestled snugly by his side, all warmth and feminine softness and the things forged of light that Hades had never thought he would ever want, much less have. She slumbered, and so she did not hear his quiet exhalation of breath, did not witness how his head angled towards her, how he watched her sleep for a very long time. How his crimson eyes trailed slowly over her naked form, taking in the love bites his teeth had left on her delicate neck, her shoulders, her breasts, her hips and thighs. The beauty of her features, the radiance and goodness that glowed blindingly from her divine soul, which he had consumed and devoured so greedily, so eagerly._

_He gazed at her intently, stern features softened and almost pained, as if he could not look away, or as if he wished to memorise, forever, how peaceful and beautiful she was in sleep._

_Or as if it was the very last time he would ever look at her sleeping by his side - because it was the very last time they would ever love one another._

* * *

_They were sitting, watching the stars, and Kore was telling him about the story of Echo and Narcissus, and what had become of the poor, arrogant fellow. Her hand was intertwined with his, and she leant against his side, far too caught up in the tale she was weaving to notice that his fingers were limp, did not grip hers the way they usually did._

_She was far too diverted by her animated retelling of the tragedy of Echo's love to glimpse the flash of guilt in Hades's dark eyes, the tense, almost bitter look he snuck surreptitiously her way, when she lamented that not everyone could be as fortunate in love as they had been._

" _It has been almost a year for us," she then declared, leaning her head against his shoulder as she brought her free arm up to cling affectionately onto him. "Perhaps," she sighed dreamily, "we should elope? Can you imagine, Hades," she bit her lower lip, "the fuss that would cause?" Squeezing her eyes shut with delighted contentment, she giggled into his shoulder._

_She took his dragging silence to be a normal occurrence, for Hades seldom spoke unless he had something he felt it was absolutely necessary to say, and she knew he did not care much to discuss sentimental matters. Love-struck and blinded by her own happiness, Kore did not heed the warning signs in the way he swallowed thickly, the way he stared so mutely, so blankly at the grass - did not pick up on the palpable tightness in his jaw. She was in ignorant bliss of the internal tension and turmoil that Hades was battling, so valiantly, to keep so carefully concealed from her._

* * *

_It had been twelve days since he had last visited, and Kore was beside herself with worry. The most he had ever gone without seeing her was a week, when he'd had a perfectly justified reason in being preoccupied with his duties below the surface._

_Nearly a fortnight without seeing him had made her irritable and distracted. Where was he? Was everything alright? Kore's eyebrows furrowed together. It had not escaped her notice that lately he had been coming to her much less. She had thought nothing of it, at first, but now that she contemplated it, she realised that they had only met twice in the last three weeks._

_That wasn't anywhere near enough for her. Her heart hurt and her arms ached to hold him. She missed his reassuring presence, the feel of him against her side, the dark thrill he sent thrumming through her veins. Without him, she felt stricken, bereft, like she was missing the other half that made her feel complete._

_Agitated, she leant back against the tree, fiddling with the garland she'd started to weave in the hopes of distracting herself. It was hopeless. Her creation was anything but inspiring, reflecting her internal distress._

_The sudden crunching of footsteps on dried leaves made her whirl around. Her heart skipped a beat. There Hades stood, between the trees. A long black himation mantle concealed his entire body, secured at his left shoulder by a silver and onyx brooch. It made him look more formal, more regal - more distant, somehow._

_His midnight eyes met hers and he gave no greeting. Kore's concern escalated. There seemed to be something different about him – but she could not quite pinpoint what. And so she ran towards him, flung her arms around him, and pressed herself closely against his body, hoping that her touch would thaw the frosty air that swirled like a blizzard about him._

" _Hades!" Her voice was muffled as she buried her face into his chest. "Where have you been? I have worried so much about you!"_

_He was silent. It did not escape her that his arms did not return her embrace._

_She drew back to look into his face. His handsome, beloved features were stony. There seemed to be shadows in his gaze, that she had not glimpsed before. Kore reached out, and cupped his cheek._

_It felt strangely cold, and so were the eyes that stared bleakly down at her._

" _What is the matter, my love?" she whispered, thumb caressing his skin. "Are you well?"_

_When he finally responded, his answer was terse. "Fine."_

_She searched his face anxiously. "Why have you not come to see me?"_

_He blinked. Features unchanging, he firmly disengaged her arms from around him. Without a word he stepped around her._

" _I have been busy," he answered evasively, and continued to walk on._

_She followed him, feeling oddly nervous and intimidated by the heavy silence between them. It lingered on, even as she attempted to draw him into conversation. When they reached the edge of the forest and he did not turn back to her, Kore felt as though heavy rocks had been stitched inside her stomach, were weighing her down. He ignored her calls, stepping out onto the plains where she could not follow, and she watched him leave without a word, her mind spinning with confusion, eyes stinging, throat burning._

* * *

_The next time she caught him, it was at the outskirts of one of Demeter's woods. She knew it was risky for her to intercept him there, but she did not care. Despair and worry for him was making her lose her glow. Her mother had started to notice how she ate less. Aphrodite, also. But Kore had brushed aside their questions, feigning happiness, even as her heart felt like it was fracturing into a million pieces. For Hades no longer came to her temple. He no longer waited in her forests. They had not kissed or touched for two months, since that beautiful night when he had loved her so sweetly._

_Leaping off a branch, she landed in front of him, confrontation blazing like fire in her vibrant irises._

" _What is the matter?" she demanded, ashamed to be unable to keep her voice from trembling from the magnitude of her emotions. "Why are you avoiding me?"_

_He was silent, stared at her with eyes that were far too cold, reminded her far too much of how he had looked so disdainfully at her before they'd known each other so intimately._

_She dared to move closer. He watched her with an impersonal degree of detachment that made her feel icy inside. When she reached him, she lifted a hand, hoping again, against hope, that her touch would somehow warm him. That he would let her in, would help her to understand why it seemed like he was pushing her away, all of a sudden._

_His left hand was quick to whip up and grasp her wrist in a hold that was almost painful. Kore gasped, alarmed._

" _Go back to your temple," he ordered. His voice was hollow._

_Tears welled in her eyes. "Why are you doing this?" she got out shakily. "Why will you not speak to me? Is it because of what I said before? About eloping? Did I anger you?" When he did not respond, but continued to grip her wrist, she went on, "I did not mean it, Hades. We can remain as we were- I am happy as long as we are together-"_

_He released her abruptly, flinging her arm away as if it scalded him. But Kore persevered, stepped forward and before he could stop her, grabbed his face between her palms._

" _Tell me what is happening," she begged. "Do not shut me out!"_

" _Let go." The hardness in his tone chilled her to the bone and Kore could not keep back her tears any longer. They rolled down her cheeks. Hades averted his gaze._

" _What has happened to you, Hades? Why won't you tell me anything?"_

" _There is nothing," he replied frostily, "to tell."_

" _You are lying," she stepped closer, bridging the remaining distance between them. "I know you are lying to me. I have done nothing wrong. And yet you are casting me aside._ _Why_ _? Why do you no longer come to see me? Why are you so distant?" She bowed her head, resting it against his chest. It did not heave for her, like it once had. "Where is the love that we have shared?" she whispered, distraught._

_Hades was silent. Still._

" _Do you pretend that it is gone?" She looked up at him again, words unsteady. "Why would you seek to hurt me like this? Did I not give you everything? Have you-" she felt nauseous voicing her fears. "Have you tired of me? Am I not enough? Is_ _that_ _it?"_

_Still he said nothing. His expression remained unfathomable._

" _Answer me!" Frustrated, Kore's hands lowered to push at him, desperate to get a reaction – any emotional response, even anger. To her despair, he remained infuriatingly callous as she pushed him back against a tree trunk._

 _She could feel an asphyxiating sense of panic creeping over her. "You can't-" she gulped. "You cannot do this to me! You cannot leave me hanging like this, without reason or explanation; tell me what I have done wrong to injure you, and I will remedy it! Please!" Choking back a sob, she implored, "_ _Please!_ _" Then she stepped closer again, cupped his face again, willing the Hades she had known for the last year to return to her._

" _Please…" she whispered tearfully, and resorting to the last thing she could think of to remind him of the passion that had existed between them, tiptoed up to press her lips to his._

_Her heart felt as though it was being clawed to shreds, and then encased in thick ice, and her gut felt like it was being hauled out of her by spiked metal hooks, when he intentionally turned his face away from her kiss._

_That night, she locked herself in the private chamber of her temple and sobbed until her eyes were red-rimmed from shedding tears, until her heaving lungs were spent of breath and her body exhausted from the shuddering force of her misery._

_And it was on that night, that Kore began to realise and accept at last that Hades was slipping through her fingers, that she was losing him – and finally began to understand, far too late, what her mother meant when she'd warned her to keep away from heartless young gods who only wanted one thing from a woman._

* * *

_She witnessed an argument between him and Apollo from the trees a week later. She had never seen Hades so angry, and it frightened her, to see how changed and dangerous he became when incensed. The darkness surrounding him became so much more potent and perilous, crackling like an ominous, suffocating storm cloud charged with negative current. Apollo seemed taken aback, also, but still he persisted, demanding what was wrong, what was happening to his friend, echoing the very worries that had plagued Kore for so many nights and stolen all attempts at sleeping._

_She lifted a shaky hand to her lips, pressing her palm against her mouth to keep the strangled sob from escaping her throat as she watched them fight one another, screaming and yelling, until they were both bloodied and bruised. Her heart pounded hard when Hades then shoved him roughly away and abruptly vanished._

* * *

_It had been over a month since she had last confronted him. He was surprised to come across her in a forest that did not belong to her, or her mother, or even to Hestia. It was perhaps a cruel irony, a testament of just how far from the path of obedience he had made her swerve._

_But Kore stood there without fear of being discovered, for she had somehow anticipated his coming, sensed the route that he might take that night._

_Hades, wrapped from head to feet in a flowing black cloak once again, stopped at the unexpected sight of her. She was dressed in a knee-length, cream chiton adorned with flowers. Her body language was closed, her shoulders hunched, openly communicating her inner sadness._

_They stared at each other. Kore held his gaze as steadily as she could. Hades blinked, and was the first to break the tense silence._

" _Why are your prowling around here in the middle of the night?" he asked, his voice monotone._

_She lifted a shoulder, in a half shrug. "I knew you would have to take this path, if you were to head to Apollo's temple, tonight," she answered softly. "So I just waited here…"_

_He seemed to consider the significance of this. Then he uttered flatly, "This forest is beyond your borders."_

_The ghost of a tiny, pained smile graced her lips. "You taught me to make my own decisions," she reminded him quietly._

"…" _Hades eyed her for a moment – and then lowered his gaze, stepping forward to pass her nonchalantly. "Get out of here," he commanded. "Go back to your temple."_

_Kore bit her lower lip, listened to the sound of his footsteps as they stepped over twigs and leaves and soil, carrying him farther away from her. Before she knew it, her entire body was trembling, and hot tears were slipping down her cheeks._

_It had been his intention for them to part ways without another word. Her voice, however, reached him again. And for some reason, his feet compelled him to stop._

" _Why…?" she whispered, turning to cast a forlorn look over her shoulder at his back. "Why won't you say anything to me, anymore? Why do you always keep so quiet?"_

" _I told you before," he replied flatly. "There is nothing to tell."_

"…" _Kore's eyes lowered, vision blurred with tears. Her heart was already broken. She wondered whether she had mattered at all to him, whether she had imagined everything, fancifully conjured up the all-consuming, fiery passion that had made them both burn, roaring flames that had snuffed out so suddenly, without any explanation on his part. A glum little smile touched her lips. And still she was the love-struck fool who pined for him, even now. Still she could not let him go._

"…" _Hades remained still for another moment. Then he stirred, made to continue walking. Once again, her voice stopped him from leaving._

" _You must truly hate me, now," she murmured, turning fully to him. "To never say a word to me."_

"…" _He did not speak._

" _You remember, don't you?" she whispered, still looking at the soil beneath her bare feet. "When we first met alone, in a forest just like this one. You asked me about my gift. You told me death was superior to life. You were so angry when I ran away. Do you remember, Hades?"_

_A pause. And then, "I don't remember that."_

"… _!" Her eyes widened and returned to his back. She swallowed thickly, tried to take the blow as best as she could. But it stung. So much. That he had even forgotten the first time they had properly interacted alone, without anybody else around._

" _Hah…" she released a weak sound that was a phantom rendition of a laugh. She could not remember the last time she_ _had_ _laughed. Hades had been her dearest happiness. And now he was tearing that joy from her. "I suppose you are right. That was a long time ago in the past, wasn't it?" She shook her head. "That was when it all began, though," she went on, looking down at her hands. How pale and small and fragile they seemed, in the way they finely tremored, despite all the power they commanded._

" _That was the first time we were truly alone. And after we started meeting with Apollo, and although his antics almost got us into trouble… I still enjoyed it, the time we all spent together. And then, you and I…" her throat clogged with emotion. She did not think she could talk about the relationship they had shared. It hurt too much to recall it. How in love she had believed them to be._

_Was this what it was like, to fly too close to the flame? Was this how the moth felt, so powerless to save itself, when it was helplessly drawn to the very thing that it knew would destroy it? Kore knew she had realised it, too late. It seemed that she had been blind all along._

" _I saw you arguing with Apollo," she informed him. "I do not know what is happening between you two, but I know something must be responsible to make you change like this. To make you turn away all of a sudden-"_

" _I already know," he interjected._

"… _?!" Kore exhaled._

" _I am different to you both," Hades spoke quietly. "I am an Underworld dweller. My path cannot be the same as yours." He paused, before continuing, "I will never be like you and Apollo."_

" _Why?" Her voice wobbled. "Why would you bring all of this up, now? The past year that we spent together… have you forgotten it all? Did it really mean nothing to you, Hades? All the nights we shared…" she trailed off, sniffling, fresh tears forming._

"…" _He was silent once more. She did not see the way his hands, beneath his cloak, clenched to form tight fists._

" _I may have friends and a mother who loves me…" she said. "But without you… it would be as if I am alone! You made me see the world in a different light. You taught me that the night is not to be feared – that there is beauty, too, in darkness! You taught me to believe in myself, to have the courage to do as I please, to think for myself and make my own decisions, instead of being dictated to by everyone else!" She inhaled quickly._ _"_ _And just as suddenly as you gave that to me, now you take it all away._ _You do not know," she shook her head, "the pain I have endured without you. Not knowing why you will not speak to me. Why you no longer come to see me. Why…" she gulped back a sob, "you will not let me close to you."_

_There was another pause. What he said next crushed her heart. Pulverised it into bloody tatters. It was as though he had not heard her poignant plea at all._

" _From this point on, you and I will take different paths."_

_From that point on. The sickening realisation that he was meaning to leave her forever slammed into Kore, left her winded. Horrified. Distressed beyond comfort._

" _Do not do this…" she whispered._

" _New paths, goddess," he went on ruthlessly, "that cannot intersect."_

" _Goddess_ _?" she spluttered in disbelief. How cold and formal he sounded! As if they were strangers, as if they had never been lovers! "You will not even call me by my name, now?"_

" _What did you expect?" His voice was cutting. A knife. As if he had lost patience with her. "That I would indulge your foolish fantasies of romance, forever?"_

_She gasped, holding a hand over her pierced chest. His stabbing words sliced into her, leaving gaping, weeping wounds that Kore knew would never heal._

" _A fantasy?" she repeated shakily. Suddenly, the simple act of speaking seemed an unbearable feat. "Is that- is that all it was to you? Was I-! Was I just a way to pass time? A_ _game_ _, Hades?"_

_Again, he did not respond._

" _You are lying," she exclaimed, feeling hysteria tugging at her fragile composure. "You are lying to me! The Hades I know would never be so heartless-"_

" _This is what I am," he interrupted pitilessly. "A god born in the shadows. In darkness. Away from the light paths you and Apollo tread. The darkness alone is where I belong."_

" _No," Kore trembled so violently, she felt sick. "No, there is goodness in you, too. I have seen it. I have known it in your love!"_

_She did not glimpse the way his jaw clenched. "You have been blind, goddess." He then answered coldly. "I have never had any reason to love you."_

_Those words were akin to a physical blow. As though he was wielding the sharpest dagger and carving out the chambers of her heart, inch by inch. Kore could feel her breaths growing shallower. She was rapidly losing the will to remain standing as the last frayed tatters of her composure splintered. She was dying. Dying like a flower deprived of the light and warmth it craved._

_Dying like a flower wilting in the darkness of the all-encompassing shadows Hades cast._

" _You- you do not mean that," she stammered. How could he be so unfeeling, so remote, after everything they had shared? Had she truly been sightless and gullible, fallen so deeply in love that she had not even noticed the warning signs? But Kore was certain there had been no warnings. And perhaps that was what was destroying her the most. He had felt so close to her. A part of her very soul. They had been_ _happy_ _._

_And now, all of a sudden, it was as though he was far beyond her grasp. No matter what she did, no matter how desperately she chased him, he remained out of reach._

_She sucked in a ragged breath. "Has someone discovered us? Is that why you are doing this?" Unhappily, she cried, "Won't you even_ _look_ _at me?!"_

" _We are finished, goddess," Hades's voice was mercilessly sharp, ruled with a devastating, unmistakeable line of finality. Still he kept his back turned callously toward her._

_Utter desolation and sheer desperation swelled inside Kore's chest. It hurt. It hurt so much, to experience such a grievous loss. The love she had seemingly imagined had made her flourish and completed her, and now his cold-hearted rejection was making her wither. To Kore, it felt like her very essence was being brutally wrenched from her body – like she was losing what had become such a fundamental part of her being._

_She could not remember what her existence had been like before she had been with him. She could not even begin to imagine – did not wish to envisage – a future without him._

_Crippled by anguish, by mounting hysteria, by the very real terror of being left behind for good and never seeing Hades again, Kore stepped forward, clutching her hands over her shattered heart._

" _I…!" She did not want to say the words. To confess. To leave herself open and vulnerable to greater injury, or allow herself to be humiliated any further. But she could not help them from flying from her tongue, regardless. She could not help how she felt about him, even as he wounded her with each cruel insult, each dismissing remark akin to a jagged rock being flung at her._

" _I love you so much, I cannot stand it…! I know that if you would only confide in me, if you would only tell me what it is that has made you become like this, then we could find a way to overcome any barriers, to make this work! I know there must be something I can do, to help you! I_ _know_ _this isn't you! I know that you and I… we could not have been a lie!"_

 _A pause. And then, a harsh whisper, "You know_ _nothing_ _."_

 _A broken cry tore from her throat, the naïve, trusting part of her that had fallen so hard, so terribly for him, still clinging onto foolish denial. Her shoulders heaved from the force of the wracking sobs that were assaulting her body. "I would do anything you ask of me, Hades!_ _Anything!_ _There is nothing I would not do for you! So please, stay with me! If you were to come back to me, I swear upon my immortal soul that you will be happy! Every day would be different! I have already given you everything," she wept pitifully. "Everything I have, but I- I will find another way, somehow, to make you happy, again, I promise you! So please…!" she beseeched. "_ _Please_ _, do not leave me!"_

_An awful, weighty silence followed, punctuated only by her unsteady breaths and shuddering sniffles. Her heart hammered as she awaited his response, and for a long, agonisingly torturous minute, Hades was deadly still._

_Finally, he shifted, to angle a glance back over his shoulder. His expression sent the air fleeing from her lungs. It was no longer icy or indifferent, but so heartbreakingly familiar. His half-smirk taunted Kore, reminded her too much of the god who had stolen her heart and made her his, so many times. There were heavy shadows beneath his eyes. His dark eyebrows were drawn slightly together, creasing his forehead. Almost as if he was troubled, or pained._

_Almost as if in regret._

" _You really are…" he intoned smoothly, "a damned annoyance."_

_Kore's eyes widened in shock. He did not give her a moment to process the significance or irony of his words, for he then turned his back to her once more and proceeded to walk away again._

_No._ _The echo reverberated deafeningly in her skull, synchronising with the rushing of blood in her ears._ _No!_ _Her entire world was falling apart. She had never felt so powerless, so out of control._

" _Do not leave me!" She shrieked, and somehow,_ _somehow_ _, she forced her quaking legs to drive her forward after him. "If you go, I will scream, and-!" Her breath caught in her throat and her heart violently lurched as Hades abruptly blinked out of existence before her very eyes. Panic-stricken, half out of her mind with sorrow, she thought he had left – when a split second later, she felt the telling shift of air pressure directly behind her, as Hades blurred into being at her back._

_Trembling uncontrollably, Kore stared mutely ahead. Shock began to render her numb. She had given her all, tried everything to appeal to him to reconsider._

_But it wasn't enough. What more could she say or do? She was feeble. A helpless puppet in his hands, tied to him by a red string of fate that had turned out to be a chained manacle, an ensnaring, barbed wire trap. He had misled her. He had crushed her. He had broken her to fragmented pieces, and never again would she be whole. Her shoulders slumped in open defeat as the tears continued to trail silently down her cheeks._

_Around them, the leaves from the trees were starting to fall. Shedding, as if directly affected by their mistress's suffering. As if they, too, were crying._

_Kore sniffled quietly, unevenly, as it dawned on her that this was likely to be the very last time she would ever feel Hades this near to her. Near enough for her to feel his warmth and strength, the darkness of his aura, which had seduced her so completely. Perhaps it was that same darkness that had been responsible for clouding her vision, for stealing her mind and senses. For turning her into a fool._

_She had lied for him. Gone against her mother's wishes, behind her mother's back. For him. For love. She knew she would never love again. He had been her only. Her everything. She would never recover from such a trauma. Not even Aphrodite would be able to heal her._

" _Persephone."_

_She blinked, too numbed to register that he was addressing her personally again, too inconsolable to acknowledge the gentleness of his voice, so close behind her, so at odds with the harshness of his previous words. With her back to him, she did not see the way Hades hesitated and uncharacteristically faltered. She did not see how he sunk his teeth down hard into his lower lip, as if biting back the things he could not say._

_Another lengthy pause ensued, in which she waited for the finishing blow, the killing lunge to her jugular._

_When it came, it wasn't quite what she expected._

" _Thank you," he murmured softly._

_Kore's breath hitched and her eyes widened, her grief-stricken mind struggling to understand the meaning behind his strange choice of parting words. Her gaze fixed onto the twig-strewn, grass tangled ground in muddled confusion, her heart never ceasing in its relentless, erratic racing._

_Thank you…? Her tumultuous thoughts were flung into disarray. Why would he express gratitude, after all of the awful things he had said to her? How could he continue to so maliciously inflict havoc upon her overwhelmed emotions?_

_And yet, his tone…_

_A falling leaf was the last thing Kore saw before she felt a sudden, stinging pressure at the base of her neck, and then her entire world faded, descended into endless darkness._

* * *

After waiting a very long duration of time, Sasuke had finally risked returning her to the Underworld. His heart had pounded the entire time, the very real fear of taking her away from the surface triggering dreadful consequences again, at the forefront of his mind. But perhaps the Fates had taken pity on his plight at last, for Sakura remained sleeping peacefully in his arms. He'd carried her straight to her chamber, tucked her into bed - with an awkwardness that had felt so foreign to him - then proceeded to pace in front of the fireplace for a while in agitation, before he'd finally plucked one of the arm-chairs that rested by the hearth and taken stubborn sentry by her bedside.

Broodingly, he waited for her to wake up. He waited and waited, growing increasingly frustrated and restless with each passing minute. Patience had never been one of his strongest qualities. He wasn't _used_ to being made to wait. And yet here he was. Once again, Sakura was making a complete mockery of his long-upheld values and traditions. But he could not remain displeased with her, not when she remained so disturbingly motionless and silent; the only sounds escaping her were those of her steady breaths. Sasuke's gaze scarcely left her face. Her eyeballs were moving rapidly behind her eyelids, indicating that she was dreaming continuously. The death deity found himself wondering what she was seeing.

When time began to stretch on for far too long, he leant forward to prop his arms upon the bedside. Bending to rest his forehead atop the hands that clasped Sakura's right one, he squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled quietly, as a thousand worries bounced maddeningly around inside his skull. He half wished he could make them evaporate, but they enthusiastically continued to repeat themselves, over and over.

_She's never been asleep for this long._

_Why isn't she waking up?_

_Damn it._

_What am I supposed to do?_

_How much longer is it going to take?_

"Eheheheh…" a dry, cackling laugh sounded behind him. "What a momentous occasion in history this is, to witness a once fierce and proud king reduced to such a wallowing state of defeated melancholy."

Sasuke's eyes flew open, and his shoulders immediately tensed. Resisting the overwhelming urge to bolt defensively out of his seat, he instead exercised self-restraint and, gritting his teeth, slowly lifted his head. There was no point moving. She had already seen him.

Internally, he was somewhat unsettled by her unanticipated arrival. It had been a very, very long time since Chiyo had visited the palace, and when she last had, Sasuke had not been the ruler of the Underworld.

Without bothering to turn around and acknowledge her – for he had never been one to honour polite formalities - he deadpanned, "Why are you here, old crone?"

"Ever so welcoming," Chiyo clucked her tongue. "Your hospitality would turn your brother in his grave." She seemed to consider this, for she then amended, "If he did, indeed, have one."

Rage flared inside Sasuke. Was she making a _joke_ at the expense of his deceased relative? He disengaged his hands gently from Sakura's, balling them into fists upon the arm-rests as he fought to remain dignified at that.

"I meant no offence," Chiyo noted the way he had stiffened at her words. "Merely that your poor hospitality puts to shame that of your good parents and Itachi."

"Then get out." Sasuke snapped.

"Ohohoho!" Chiyo hooted. "So touchy, little King!" Her tone then abruptly changed, and he could practically _feel_ her glaring at his back. "Hold that impertinent tongue of yours, young Sasuke. I did not come here to suffer your ill-mannered insults." Tapping her wooden staff upon the floor, she finished, "I came here for the girl."

Sasuke froze. His heart twisted violently. Had she come to _take_ Sakura from him?!

"I came," Chiyo clarified, as if she once again sensed his thoughts – something she had always been irritatingly accurate at doing, and not with Sasuke, alone – "to discuss her situation. You have seen with your own eyes, now, the calamitous consequences of keeping her away from the surface."

"…" Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed. "You knew," he accused. "About the Essence."

"I was there," Chiyo agreed, "and I know many things, but it is not my way to speak of them. It is not my custom to interfere with the will of the Fates."

"Then why come here." It wasn't a question.

Chiyo sighed, and he heard her shuffle forward, until he could glimpse her to the right of his peripheral vision.

"Because time is swiftly running out for the child. You know this, Sasuke. Keep her here for another month longer, and mark my words. Her soul _shall_ flee the body you see before you."

Sasuke sat rigidly in his chair. He said nothing to that.

"Her soul," Chiyo repeated thoughtfully. "But perhaps not her vessel. You do not comprehend, I think, what it is you have done."

The death deity was in no mood to tolerate her riddles. "What are you prattling about?" he demanded impatiently.

"I shall speak plainly," Chiyo croaked back. "So that even a child as sightless as you are may understand me."

Sasuke most certainly did not appreciate being belittled. He half wanted to throttle the annoying goddess, but was sensible enough to know that to be a very ill advised move.

"The Forbidden Fruit," Chiyo went on.

His grip on the arm-rests tightened. It did not surprise him that the goddess knew. After all, there was very little her eyes did not perceive.

"Six seeds," Chiyo rubbed at her chin. "They will remain rooted within this body, even if the soul was to depart. So in reality, you have bound this girl's mortal shell eternally to yourself and to your realm. It must always return here. And because of that… if the need arises… you may infuse it with another soul temporarily, to keep it alive."

Sasuke inhaled sharply, rocked by the revelation. He had not… he had not thought that such a thing was possible, but of course, it made perfect sense.

He had the power to return souls to bodies – although strictly speaking, it went against his function. He did not care for that. For Sakura, he would break all the rules, had already discarded so many. And while it was clear that he could not control the unstable Essence, or prevent it from fleeing, maybe there _was_ a way to stop Sakura's present body from being lost forever.

That gave him an unexpected life-line. If the Essence was to leave Sakura's body, then the seeds, which rendered the physical form _his_ property, afforded him the powers to keep the body alive for as long as necessary.

Then he frowned. What use was that, if Sakura's memories and personality would be gone the second her soul departed? Sealing another one inside her would be useless. It would look like Sakura. But it would not _be_ Sakura.

"What good is this physical form, alone?" he snapped.

He did not see Chiyo smile a crooked smile at that. "Ah, little King. There is still much you do not know. If this body belonged to a normal human, and did not house the Essence of Spring, then you would require another soul, yes, to keep it living. But in this case, you will likely not."

Sasuke hated being confused. It was taking all his will-power to _not_ leap out of his seat and try to shake information out of the hag.

"You have doomed this flower, tied her irreversibly to your Kingdom – and yet her curse is perhaps also a hidden boon," Chiyo added cryptically.

"What?" Sasuke's head whipped around.

Chiyo's eyes lit up with mirth. "The mechanism of the seeds means that her body cannot be absorbed back into the pool to which its previous incarnations have returned, because you now hold a degree of ownership over this coil," she explained wisely. "It cannot return to the pool, because it must return to you and the Underworld. And if that is the case, in theory, should the Essence not be compelled to return to this body? In its sealed form, its powers are compromised. It cannot create another, if its previous vessel cannot pass."

Sasuke's heart drummed as the staggering weight of what she was saying crashed into him. Wide-eyed he looked back to Sakura. His mind reeled. Had the seeds he had given her… had they inadvertently turned out to be an unexpected blessing?

Speaking suddenly seemed a laborious task. And yet Sasuke forced himself to get out, "You have seen this happen before?"

"It has never happened," Chiyo answered grimly. "Your meddling will quite upset the cycle. However," she shook her head. "There is no way for us to anticipate the consequences of the Essence returning to a deceased body. No way of knowing whether it can regenerate or whether Sakura's memories will be lost – or even if the Essence will recognise this vessel."

Sasuke glanced back at the sleeping girl.

"It could be," Chiyo contemplated, "that it becomes even more unstable. It could inflict a degree of suffering upon her that we cannot presently perceive. And because the seeds will remain in the body eternally, the cycle of rebirth cannot move on. We cannot know what will happen to her, unless we let it come to pass."

"No." Sasuke rejected sharply, immediately, narrowed gaze darting to Chiyo again. It was far too dangerous. Too unpredictable. The pomegranate seeds were obviously a double-edged sword. Even if they _did_ afford some twisted loophole that allowed the Essence to be cheated out of creating another body and forced it to return to its previous shell, there was no exact way of knowing what side-effects that would have on Sakura.

What had he done? Suddenly he began to rue ever feeding her the fruit. If his actions meant that she would be tormented forever… then it was _his_ fault. He had only wanted to keep her by his side. Not to interfere with the natural order of things. But his ignorance and selfishness had not allowed him to foresee the consequences of his actions.

He did not want Sakura to suffer. She wasn't some experiment. The unexpected hope he had felt crest within his chest diminished, replaced by the same sinking feeling of guilt and desperation. They were back to square one. He could not let her die in the first place – had to find some way to remove her seal completely. Now the need to preserve her life seemed even more urgent.

"No?" Chiyo repeated. "Then there is only one other course to take, in order to avoid this. You know, now, what you must do."

Sasuke's eyes returned to Sakura. He was silent.

"Six seeds," the ancient hag stated categorically. "For six months, every year, Sakura will return here and be yours. She will remain in your Kingdom, by your side. But for the remainder of the time…" her voice trailed off. She did not need to spell the rest of the compromise out.

"…" The death deity's jaw clenched tightly. He swallowed down the unpleasant lump that had formed in his throat. Forced into a corner from which there was no perceivable escape, Sasuke knew he had no choice. He could not think of himself alone, anymore. It was Sakura – and her life – that was the priority.

Something deep inside his chest constricted painfully. The gravity of what he was about to concede and acquiesce to dawned fully on him, at that moment.

But there was no other way. He _had_ to do this. For _her._

Sullenly, his gaze finally lowered. In reluctant, unspoken – and angry - surrender.

* * *

As the vision faded, Sakura felt herself plummeting, as though she was falling from a great height, with no end in sight. Her heart hurt – a remnant from the harrowing final vision, she tried to reassure herself – but when the pain in her chest did not abate, and she continued to plunge through a shadowy abyss, Sakura began to feel the familiar prickles of panic puncture into her.

 _Where am I?_ She worried anxiously. _What's happening to me?_

Suddenly the sensation of tumbling ceased and she hovered awkwardly in place, before her feet touched solid ground again. But she couldn't see where she had landed. Darkness still surrounded her, made it impossible to make out her own hands in front of her.

Had she woken up? Was she still asleep? It seemed like she was fully conscious of her body. But if she was, then where was Sasuke?

She hugged herself consolingly, feeling inexplicably chilly. The remnants of the dreams she'd had were still so vivid in her mind. For the first time, Sakura found that she could recall some of them with perfect clarity, rather than the obscurity with which she had struggled to remember them on previous occasions.

Something then caught her eye. A glimmer, a spark, far ahead of her. Sakura squinted. It abruptly faded. Just when she started thinking that she had imagined it, it glinted again.

 _What is that…?_ She strained to identify its source. Then she heard a fleeting whisper in her mind. Startled, she turned her head, listening closely with her ears.

' _Sakura...'_ the voice was as light and transient as a passing breeze.

"Huh?" she blinked in surprise, but everything was still dark.

' _Sakura…'_ the voice sighed again.

"Who is it?" she called out fearfully, trying to hold herself as still as possible. Her voice echoed in the shapeless shadows. Then a sudden, simultaneous, jagged flash of pain within her mind and chest made her double over briefly. Clutching at her forehead and above her heart, she forced herself to straighten again – to find the glimmering light she'd just seen hovering towards her. It split, to form two separate, sparkling orbs, which in turn split once again to form smaller ones, and continued to do so until there were at least twenty of them.

They were like celestial stars, dazzlingly beautiful, a golden colour that reminded Sakura of the sun, blending gradually to a pale green, then back to gold. The lights seemed to pulsate hypnotically – as if they possessed a life-force of their own. They swirled together before her, spiralling around each other.

To her utter astonishment, the lights then spoke, and she found it was the same, wind-chime voice she had heard in her head.

" _Sakura_ ," the voice reverberated. " _That was the blossom tree, after which mother named us_."

Sakura's mouth hung open in disbelief. "Who are you?" she finally got out.

" _Do not be afraid. We are one, you and I."_

Sakura shook her head uncertainly. What did the lights mean? Then it abruptly hit her, like a rude awakening. Drawing a sharp breath, she whispered, "You… are you the _fragment_ inside me? The fragment of the Spring Goddess…" she gulped nervously, before finishing, "Kore?"

The voice seemed to sigh. It sounded more like a collection of sighs with the strong echo that followed.

" _Kore,"_ it repeated. _"Yes. That was our name. Long ago. But no more."_

Sakura was stunned. How was it that the fragment could talk? But right then, she could only think of all the pain she had suffered, having this parasite being locked within her. Anger gave her the strength to combat her fear.

She demanded, "How are you talking to me?"

" _We are remembering. The more we remember, the more we can listen."_

"What do you mean?"

" _This vessel. It is growing weaker."_

Sakura frowned at this. "Why are you inside me? Who put you here?"

" _We did."_

"What?" she blinked stupidly. "Who is 'we'?"

" _Us…"_ the lights sparkled.

The voice wasn't making any sense. Growing frustrated, she exclaimed, "I don't understand."

" _We are one,"_ it said again _._

"No, we aren't." She rejected. "You hurt me. You almost killed me! You show me things I don't want to see. I want you to leave!"

" _Leave…?"_ Now it sounded sad. " _We cannot depart this body, until the cycle runs its course."_

"What? What cycle?" Sakura asked sharply.

" _Rebirth…"_ the lights swirled. _"We are forever bound, to this fate…"_

"What do you mean by rebirth? Who is ' _we'_?!" Sakura probed again desperately.

" _Us,"_ the lights repeated. _"You and I. Kore, we were called."_

Horror washed over her. "I am _not_ Kore," she stated fiercely. "I'm _Sakura._ I have nothing to do with you. I don't know what you mean, about creating this body! It's mine. Not yours. I don't know why you would choose to exist in me!"

" _It is ours…."_

"No." Sakura swallowed. "You can't have it!"

Another trembling sigh. _"Still we cling to denial. Because we do not wish to remember the truth…"_

Sakura listened in dismay. For some reason, she felt the senseless urge to cover her ears. She had the feeling that would do little to prevent her from hearing.

" _Because we do not wish to remember…"_

Her blood, Sakura was certain, had turned to ice. "What…?" she whispered.

The lights dimmed – as if in mourning.

" _Never should we have strayed from our mother's side."_

"Stop it," Sakura senselessly covered her ears. "Stop calling us _we_! I have nothing to do with you! You're just a parasite, sealed inside me!"

There was a pause. Then the lights echoed, with a hint of anger, " _More lies…"_

"I want you to get _out_!" Sakura cried. "I want nothing to do with you! Your memories aren't mine. What happened between you and Hades… all your feelings for him - I don't want to know them. Stop making me feel things I don't _want_ to feel!"

" _We cannot stop remembering. We cannot stop feeling. Even now, his eyes undo us..."_

"No," Sakura trembled. "No, I want you to stop talking to me! You don't belong here, in my head! Get out!"

" _I have always been here."_ The voice finally referred to itself in the first person. It seemed to echo less, grown clearer and closer, and the lights started gravitating together, merging and connecting until they formed an outline that almost resembled a human. Sakura took a startled step backwards. _"You have always listened to me."_

"No."

" _I am your inner voice."_

The lights pulsated – and then flared out brightly. Sakura was forced to shield her eyes. When she finally dared to look back again, her heart seemed to stop. Her breath lodged in her throat.

She stared, stricken speechless. The lights had taken a human form that was semi-transparent, not quite fully tangible. Like the souls she had glimpsed on the river banks in the Underworld. An ethereal glow surrounded the spirit-like figure.

She was all shimmering gold. It was impossible to distinguish the precise shade of her hair and eyes as a result. The slender girl gazing back at her had large eyes, framed by lashes so long, they tangled at the corners. Just like Sakura's - but they looked so _sad_. Her wavy hair was longer, rippled down to her waist. She was a little taller than Sakura. Her face shape was similar, her nose small and pert, like Sakura's, but her soft lips were a little fuller. A diamond mark adorned the centre of her forehead.

There was something so unsettling about her beautiful features. Like Sakura was looking into a mirror and seeing a reflection of what might have once been someone she had once known, a very long time ago – but the reflection had changed far beyond her conscious recognition, and she could not quite match the face to its correct identity.

Staggered, Sakura could only stare at the golden form in muted shock. She felt sick. She did not know why. Her heart-beat was thunderous, frantic.

Finally, she managed to whisper, aghast. "You… who _are_ you…?"

The girl then smiled. "Do you still not recognise me?" she spoke in breathy, sweet tones. The resounding echo had vanished from her voice. "In your heart, you know we are the same."

"Wh-" Sakura floundered. "Wha- no. _No._ We can't be. I'm human." She remembered everything Sasuke had told her about the fragment. "I'm _human,_ " she insisted. "You're just a fragment, living inside my body. You can't- we're not the same. You're the remnant of a goddess, and I'm _human,_ and you need to get _out._ "

But she was shaking violently. She couldn't seem to stop.

Kore's smile became even sadder – as if she knew many secrets Sakura couldn't even begin to fathom, but was forbidden from speaking them. Then it vanished. There was an alarming urgency to her tone when she next spoke. "Our time is ending. We must return to the surface. If spring cannot be fully triggered, we will perish. We cannot allow that to happen. Not this time…"

Sakura gasped, alarmed. "What do you mean, we'll perish?"

"The seal draws me to slumber again. Do what we could not do before. Flee far from him. Do not let the darkness seduce us again. Go back!" Her voice began to echo once more. "Go back, away from the shadows! Away from him! Go back to mother!"

Sakura pressed a palm to her mouth and sobbed without a sound. She didn't _understand_ what was going on. She had never felt so bewildered, so lost. And she didn't know why her heart seemed to _hurt_ so much. Kore's form began to flicker and pulsate, and little orbs of glittering gold started to disperse from her body. In a matter of seconds, she had reverted back to spiralling, shimmering lights.

" _Back to the surface…"_ the voice seemed to reverberate all around her. _"Back to the light, where it is safe…"_

Those final words seemed to singe themselves inside Sakura's skull. A command, an urgent, undeniable order. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the glistening lights diminished, fading out of existence entirely. Sakura was left alone in the blackness, again, the only sound that of her pounding heart and shuddering breaths.

Then the invisible ground beneath her feet gave way, and she was falling, falling, hurtling down into an endless chasm…

* * *

Sakura's eyelids fluttered open. It took her several blinks to clear the blur from her disorientated vision, and once the haze had finally dissolved, she found herself staring up at the familiar underside of the heavy, embroidered canopy above her bed.

Her heart was thumping wildly against her ribcage. Her entire body felt depleted of all energy, utterly drained. Her head throbbed, like someone had clubbed it with a sledge-hammer. Wincing in pain, she turned it slightly to the right, her gaze trailing instinctively to the source of light in the dimly lit room.

A figure sat hunched over in one of the arm-chairs in front of the fireplace.

Sakura blinked in sluggish confusion.

_Sasuke…?_

He was leaning forward in his seat, elbows propped atop his lap. His head was bowed, face lowered, hands raking through his raven hair, fingers gripping tightly onto the fine strands, in a gesture that openly betrayed his inner state of agitated unrest.

She watched him in numbed silence for a long minute. He almost seemed a stranger. For she had never seen his typically collected posture appear so forlorn. So _tormented_.

Was he feeling like that… over _her…?_

"Sasu…ke…" she finally managed to muster the strength to speak. Her throat felt dry, lips parched. It suddenly occurred to her how dreadfully thirsty she was.

The death deity's eyes, which had been fixed on the rug beneath his feet, widened at the call of his name. He inhaled sharply and immediately, his head snapped up. In a heartbeat, he was by her bedside.

"Sakura." His voice was quiet – hesitant, almost. Sakura was too dazed to catch the vulnerable flicker of open concern brewing in his stormy irises as he gazed down at her.

"My head hurts," she croaked, closing her eyes tiredly.

A palm pressed to her forehead at once, and she felt cooling chakra seep through her skin, numbing the pain away.

"What else?" Sasuke asked, studying her face raptly, feeling the bizarre need to be attentive, to lessen the hurt in any way he could, even when it went completely against his nature to do anything caring, anything other than destroying and maiming.

She licked her chapped lips. "Water…" she mumbled.

He poured a cup from the jug on the tray that rested on the low table by the bed, and moved to perch on the edge of the mattress beside her. Carefully, he slipped a hand under her head, supporting her as he lifted the goblet to her lips. Sakura drank thirstily, gulping it all down without interruption. As Sasuke lowered her head gently back onto the pillow, he waited for her to tell him what she needed next.

A few more minutes passed in silence. Then Sakura, feeling a little better, stirred to sit up in bed. Sasuke did not object, instead continued to watch her closely. But when her body suddenly sagged in exhaustion and she started to fall back again, he was quick to sit beside her, to allow her to rest back against his chest.

Tears blurred her vision. She closed her eyes tiredly, leaning her head against his left shoulder. "I thought… I was going to die," she confided weakly.

His left arm curved protectively around her, cradling her close. He did not tell her that he had been out of his wits, fearing the very same thing.

"I was so afraid…" she whispered.

"Sakura," he finally compelled himself to speak. His voice was low. Hoarse, almost. "I-" he hesitated. He had no right making promises that he could not keep. But he told himself that he _would_ find a way to fulfil this one. To protect her at all costs. "I will not let that happen."

She slowly exhaled, and opened her eyes. She found herself remembering the argument they'd had, prior to her attack cutting her off short. Clearly her words hadn't had any effect on the death deity. She was still in his palace, in his realm. She hadn't even said everything she'd needed to say, but what was the point? Sasuke had been utterly unapologetic. Unburdened by regret or guilt.

Anger and despair gnawed bitterly away at her, scalding her insides like acid. So Suigetsu had been right about Sasuke not listening to reason, after all…

And yet, the restrained emotion she could detect in his words…

She pushed the thought – and the way it made her heart canter faster – out of her mind. Now that she knew exactly what had transpired between Kore and _Hades –_ it made her doubt - and question - his supposed interest in her.

The lingering grogginess in her head was rapidly chased away by the turbulence of her thoughts. The more she dwelled on it, the more everything suddenly made so much more sense.

Although her body felt far too comfortable leaning against his solid warmth, Sakura forced herself to take back her weight, drawing away from him without meeting his gaze.

"I'm fine," she swallowed. But Sasuke stayed in place, like he didn't fully believe her. He made no move, however, to touch her again.

Sakura tried to make sense of her jumbled thoughts. The death deity had implied during their argument earlier that he hadn't _asked_ for this to happen. And maybe, knowing what she now did, maybe he was right. Maybe it was that he simply hadn't been able to _help_ it.

It wasn't _her_ , she thought, at a loss to comprehend why a lump seemed to form in her throat. It had to be the unknown attraction toward the remnants of a past lover, which had influenced his actions subconsciously. It could not be simply a coincidence anymore, that he had seen her and kidnapped her, when she housed a fragment that belonged to Kore.

Still, it was difficult for Sakura to envisage the present Sasuke she'd come to know pursuing a different girl, challenging for her to digest that he had once been intimate with another. Hard to see Sasuke in such an unfamiliar light, a light that once again forced her to re-evaluate her perception of him. But there was no way, she knew, the visions were figments of her imagination. They had felt so _real_ in the dream world. There was no question about it; Kore and Hades definitely had shared history. Yet for some reason, Sasuke had no recollection of it.

Why? What had happened to make him forget? Had he suppressed it himself? Or had something more catastrophic befallen him?

She recalled the meeting with the golden lights. Regardless of everything the fragment had claimed… she and Kore were _not_ the same. Sakura denied it aggressively, absolutely refused to accept it as a possibility. Because it was impossible. Kore had lived thousands of years prior, in a time long before Sakura had been born. There was no way they could be connected, other than occupying the same body.

She didn't know what the fragment had meant about them being the same, or about a seal and a cycle of rebirth. Sasuke hadn't mentioned anything about that. Surely he would have said something? But of course not. The idea was ludicrous. _Insane._

The very notion of them somehow being one, as Kore had insisted, petrified Sakura. She had experienced the memories, like she always did, as if _she_ had been Kore. Which meant she had distressingly seen everything through the deceased goddess's eyes. Known her thoughts and emotions. Felt Hades holding her and making love to her – as if it had been _Sakura's_ body. But it hadn't been – it had been a cruel trick of the mind. But her heart still fluttered, when she remembered the searing intensity of his touches.

Was that what it was like? To be desired by a god?

She could not recall every single moment – some were dimmer than others – but she did know that the passion Kore and Hades had shared had been a volatile, consuming one. It disconcerted Sakura greatly, to think of how intensely they had burned together. It was uncomfortable, embarrassing, and unsettling for her to know so intimately about a past that Sasuke claimed had never even happened. It made Sakura feel tainted. Dirty, somehow, for surely it was not her place to know such private things, and the fact she did only increased her mortification.

Her cheeks, she could sense, were starting to burn. She wished she could forget the snapshots of selected scenes that were still imprinted in her mind's eye, like she always had before.

The orb race. The ribbon. The fireflies. The clandestine meetings. Their first time. Kore giving Hades the bow. The stolen kisses and fleeing Kore's temple secretively at night. Bathing in Kore's sacred pool. Kore's tears as he had abandoned her, so heartlessly…

There had been many others. But it made her head throb to try to remember them all. In a way, Sakura was relieved. Her mind was burdened enough, already.

In the end, it had been a lie anyway, hadn't it? He had left Kore broken-hearted. And if he had done that to a goddess, who was so much more resilient than a mortal, than it only emphasised, in Sakura's mind, that Sasuke was nothing but bad news. She couldn't even begin to think what he might do to _her_ , once he tired of her.

Sakura told herself that she had to forget about the disquieting feelings the visions had kindled into being inside her. They were _not_ her own. It was imperative that she separated and distanced herself from them, and did not blur the lines between her feelings – and Kore's, locked deeply within the fragment.

However, she needed to let Sasuke know about the things she'd dreamt, even if it displeased him to hear it. She could not stay quiet anymore. Not after everything she had been forced to see.

And there was one other thing, weighing heavily upon her. Kore's words about them dying, if they did not return to the surface… she wondered if Sasuke knew anything about that, and if he did, why he had thought of skipping that significant detail.

"You say you won't let it happen, but what if this is something you can't prevent?" she asked, matter-of-factly and without preamble. He had soothed the migraine in her head, but she knew he couldn't remove the heaviness that was crushing down on her chest, nor the agonising ache in her heart.

"No," Sasuke was swift to reject. He moved to sit at an angle where he could look her in the face.

"I can feel it," she informed him, startling Sasuke with the conviction of her tone. Meeting his gaze steadily, Sakura went on, "I can feel it. Here," she raised a hand over her heart. "It spoke to me, you know. Kore's fragment. I met it, inside my mind."

Sasuke stared at her, perturbed and caught off guard by this unanticipated news. He had thought that the seal would prevent such a thing as direct communication from ever occurring, or stop Sakura from remembering, but the fact that she was starting to recall more accurately was a frightening reminder of just how unstable the Essence had become.

How much, he dreaded to verbalise, had it told her?

"It told me that if I don't go back to the surface, I'll die." Sakura stated, forcing her tone to remain level.

"…" Sasuke's eyes slipped guiltily away from her _. Damn it._ He had wanted to protect her from the terror and pain of knowing that. Her revelation threw a spanner in the works, because it infringed precariously close to the real truth.

He couldn't tell her. He feared what the trauma would do to her. He wasn't sure Sakura could survive an attack as vicious as the last one had been. And yet he could see it written all over her face; she believed he was purposefully withholding information from her because he was seeking to be manipulative.

But that wasn't the case at all.

"Is that true, Sasuke?" she asked softly. When he stayed quiet, a mounting sense of horror began to cascade over her. Suddenly, she felt chilled to the bone. If the fragment hadn't been lying about that, then what was she to make of everything _else_ Kore's remains had said? "What aren't you telling me?" she whispered, feeling another tremor beginning to creep over her.

He stirred, as if to move away from her side, but Sakura was quick to reach out and grab his right hand in her left. Holding firmly onto him, she appealed, "Sasuke. _Please_."

"Sakura-" he began shortly, and then appeared to seethe at an unfortunate spot on the floor – but let his hand remain in hers.

"Please," she repeated, leaning forward slightly, sensing he needed a further push to persuade him to talk. "I don't know what's going on. What did the fragment mean, about me dying? Please tell me, so I know what to expect. So I can prepare myself."

He closed his eyes briefly, wrestling for control. "You cannot," he ground out through his teeth, " _prepare_."

Her heart drummed erratically. "What do you mean…? If I'm in some kind of danger, then why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Sakura," his tone was thick with restraint. He didn't want her to get worked up so soon again, but she was knocking incessantly. "Not now."

"Then _when_?" her voice shook. "When will you tell me? Never? Like how you won't ever admit that taking me was _wrong_?"

She saw discontent flash across his features. He did tug at her to let go of him, then. Sakura gripped his wrist with her other hand to stop him, although she knew that wouldn't be enough if he really did want to pull away. She felt the palpable tautness of the toned muscles of his forearm as they tensed beneath her touch.

"You can't avoid this anymore, Sasuke!" she exclaimed.

She saw his jaw clench. He was silent for a long time, and made a point of refusing to make eye contact.

"Would that make you _happy_ ," he clipped rigidly, at length, "if I did?"

The air in Sakura's lungs stilled. Were her ears playing tricks on her? Was he actually _acknowledging_ that kidnapping her _had_ been wrong? Did he mean it?

Was he genuinely remorseful, or was he simply saying it to appease her, to make her drop the subject? She stared at him in uncertain, stupefied shock. Did he have a conscience deep down inside, as she'd suspected, after all?

Sasuke glanced at her briefly, searched her face for a few seconds – and then looked away again, releasing a low snarl of annoyance.

"Don't look at me like that," he snapped, and finally summoned enough force to yank his hand roughly out of a nonplussed Sakura's grasp. He hated those wide, doe-like, green, _green_ eyes she always directed at him. The way they always seemed to make his resolve falter. He absolutely _hated_ it.

Her throat burned as she watched him rise and move back to the fireplace, his body-language closed. Defensive. His unexpected, uncharacteristic concession was a staggering one – but it meant nothing if he did not take steps to actively rectify the situation.

"Do you mean it?" she whispered. "Are you really sorry?"

He placed a hand atop the fireplace, kept his back turned to her. Stubbornly, he said nothing, struggling to rein in the tempest of his feelings.

Sakura wet her lips. She guessed that was the closest thing she was getting to an apology at present – not that it changed their situation.

It did, however, whisper to her that maybe Sasuke _was_ capable of thinking of others – unlike what Suigetsu had insisted. It was certainly more than what she had gotten out of him when she'd initially confronted him about her abduction.

Still, she could not forgive him. Those words were nowhere near enough.

A long silence stretched between them. Finally, Sakura tried again, hugging herself to keep the tremors at bay. "Is it true? Will I die?"

Sasuke bit his tongue to stop the ' _yes'_ that was dangerously close to articulating itself.

When he said nothing else, did not choose to enlighten her any further, she decided it was time to tell him what she had dreamt about. "I had visions. About Kore. And…" she took a deep breath. "You."

Sasuke frowned as he watched the flames. Not this again. She'd claimed similar things before, and he hadn't liked to hear it.

"Sakura," he began, trying to keep his irritation in check. This wasn't at all what he wanted to talk about. He did not know why he felt so restless and on edge. Perhaps it was that he didn't want to get dragged into another quarrel. Not with the awful way things had ended up, the last time. He didn't want to feel so disempowered, to worry so much about her again. "I already told you-"

Sakura swallowed, but did not stand down, not caring that she was risking his temper. He _had_ to know. And she would be damned if she would let anything still her tongue ever again. "I know you don't want to hear it. But what if I could prove to you that you _did_ know her?"

Startled by this, Sasuke visibly stiffened. He hadn't anticipated their exchange to head in this direction at all.

"What." He inhaled, audibly incredulous.

Sakura pushed back the covers, swung her legs over the edge of the bed which was so high, her feet did not even touch the floor.

"I can prove it," she slid off it and stood, lifting her chin defiantly. "Right now."

He directed a cynical scowl back at her. And just how did she think she was going to do _that_?

She walked over to him. "Take me to the armoury," she said. At his dubious look, and obvious, standoffish reluctance, she pressed, "If you're so confident that you're right then this request shouldn't bother you. Please take me there."

This was preposterous, Sasuke knew. Absolutely absurd. But determined to prove her outrageous theory wrong, and silence her about the vexing matter once and for all, he reached out nevertheless, slipping a warm palm to the back of her neck. Sakura swallowed, suppressing a shudder as she tried not to dwell on the way his touch sent electrical jolts crackling down her spine.

Jerking her forward, Sasuke growled impatiently, " _Fine."_

She blinked. A second later, Sasuke had transported them in front of the armoury.

He pushed her – firmly, but not aggressively – toward the door. Sakura's heart raced. It was unlocked. As they stepped inside, she remembered the only other time she had been here. How long ago, that occasion seemed.

Her eyes bypassed the swords and shields, the spears and clubs and other equipment, seeking out the weapons she was looking for. Sasuke followed her inside, arms folded across his chest, watching her like a hawk.

"What are you looking for?" he demanded, when she took her sweet time snooping about.

"They have to be here, somewhere," she answered distractedly. "Where are they- oh, there!" She caught sight of what she wanted, resting against a row of large barrels. She knelt down, and a curious, perplexed Sasuke peered suspiciously over her shoulder.

Why was she so interested in bows, all of a sudden?

Sakura picked up bow after bow, examining them closely. Her desperation began to grow when, after searching through ten, she was unsuccessful. Behind her, Sasuke rolled his eyes in exasperation. He had no idea what the annoying girl was playing at, but he wasn't happy with having his time wasted.

"It has to be here," she said to herself. "Unless you broke it, or lost it…"

"Lost _what_." Sasuke snapped, reaching the end of his tether. He'd indulged this nonsense for long enough. Whatever she was trying to find was obviously not there, and the mess she was making, casting bows aside left and right, was starting to grate on his nerves.

Sakura shoved another bow aside and it clattered loudly onto the pile, irking the God of Death further. He _despised_ mess of any kind.

"How many bows to you need?" she huffed. Then she remembered that Sasuke's entire family had once lived in the Underworld, and so it made sense that he had so many in his arsenal.

She was just starting to despair - when her eyes were abruptly snagged by a beautifully polished bow, resting far back, close to the end of the collection. She pulled it out, and scrutinised it intently. Her heart leapt when she saw two uchiwa fans painted on the tips of each limb.

Was this it? Others had also had the emblem – but the telling sign was in the secret inscription that rested inside the grip. She raised it closely to her face. And gasped in triumph.

There it was! The smallest carving of a flower.

She jumped to her feet, and whirled victoriously to Sasuke, extending the weapon to him. "This bow!" she exclaimed. "Where did you get it from?"

He reached out and snatched it off her, glaring. Then he looked down – and his eyebrows knotted.

It was undeniably one of his, and had not belonged to another Clan member. Where had he gotten it? His mind, to his horror, drew a humming blank. Hadn't his mother given it to him? No. He couldn't remember. His heart rate began to accelerate when he realised, with a sinking feeling, that he had no clue. He knew only that he had used it often in the past. The feel and weight of it was familiar in his hands, the lustre of the wood unmistakeable.

"It has an inscription inside the grip," Sakura went on. "A tiny flower with five petals. Kore was given this bow by Artemis. She then gifted it to you."

"…" Sasuke's eyes remained lowered as he twisted his wrist to examine the grip. Sure enough, he made out the smallest carving of a flower head that was easy to miss on first glance.

It resembled a blossom.

He swallowed, deeply troubled and disturbed, a confused frown marring his features. How could Sakura know that? How could she possible pick out one of his personal bows? There was no way she could know what he did, no possible way she could accurately identify the weapon out of all the rest.

For it was no ordinary bow.

He recognised it as his favourite hunting one.

"Kore gave it to you," she repeated. "You were together, Sasuke! I don't know how or why you don't remember, but it's true. There's no other way I could know about this weapon!"

Sasuke was silent. But his mind was racing at the speed of light.

"There was something else," Sakura rubbed at her forehead. "What was it…" she strained to remember. Then it unexpectedly came to her. "A flower! A blue flower… one that never dies."

His breath stilled. There were two such flowers, and both resided in his mother's personal garden. He hadn't taken Sakura there, yet.

There was no way she could know about it.

He ran his fingers along the wood as he thought of the flower she had mentioned.

"It…" Sasuke felt oddly winded, like his lungs couldn't catch a breath. He battled to keep his tone as cool as he could. "It is an ever-bloom."

Sakura's pulse pounded. His head was bowed. His voice was so quiet. For once, he wasn't shooting her accusations down.

He was actually _listening._

"Yes," she whispered, insides quivering for reasons she could not fathom. Startled by her body's internal reaction, she leant back to sit on one of the barrels. "That's… what Kore told you."

The sickening possibility that his own memories had been tampered with began to creep over Sasuke again. He had always violently rejected the notion in the past. But suddenly, it didn't seem so far-fetched. What if some manner of seal had been placed on _him_ , too? Stunned into speechlessness, he could only stare down at the tiny flower carving in disbelief.

Sakura took a deep breath. "All of this. Being…" she hesitated for only a second, before venturing, "being drawn to me, everything about wanting me with you… Sasuke… can't you see? It all makes sense now! Have you ever thought that maybe…" she gulped. "Maybe it's what I have inside me that made you notice me at the funeral? Maybe it's the fragment that belongs to a deceased goddess who once loved you, that's responsible for all of this- this mess between us! It isn't me you want. It's _Kore_."

Sasuke inhaled sharply, bristling with anger, an inferno of rage roaring through his body. Her words were a stinging blow, an insult, a mockery of all the suffocating feelings he had for her, all the emotions that plagued and pained him.

It was one thing to imply that his memories had been meddled with. It was another thing for her to accuse him of being attracted to her _only_ because she housed an essence that belonged to who Sakura genuinely believed was another girl he just couldn't remember. Like was not her own person, in her own right, like all the time they had spent together meant _nothing_ because he was pining after a goddess who he had apparently been with _._

But she was a fool, regardless. Such a _fool,_ because her argument was completely invalid. She did not know what he did. She did not understand. She did not realise that the very girl she accused him of wanting instead of her… was, in fact, the same entity responsible for creating the Sakura who stood before him.

She did not realise that she _was_ Kore, the Spring Goddess, reborn, slumbering inside another body because her original one had been poisoned beyond healing.

If Sasuke _had_ known this 'Kore' goddess, as well as Sakura was insisting, then it only made everything explode into frightening clear perspective, if it was, indeed, true. Although it enraged the death deity beyond words to think that he, too, might have somehow been manipulated without his knowledge, it definitely accounted for the senseless attraction he'd experienced toward Sakura from the outset. But not for the reason she believed. Not because he was unconsciously searching for _another_ girl he had known in the past.

But because he had been unconsciously searching for _her._ The same Kore whose memory might have been erased from him.

He remembered Naruto, telling him that they'd met a few times. It couldn't be a coincidence. Could it? How could he refuse the possibility, now? Of course he would be utterly unaware, if his mind _had_ been altered.

The realisation left him distraught, breathless. _Sick._ Like his insides were being hauled out of his body with metal skewers. He stared at her incredulously, appalled, the closest he could ever come to outwardly _gaping_ , his lips parted slightly, eyebrows furrowed as the suddenly all too _real_ possibility fell over him like a tonne of bricks _._

Why had he not been drawn to previous incarnations, then?

He recalled Naruto's words about Sakura being the closest to her original form, in both appearance and personality, and felt even more disturbed.

A knot of dread had formed in Sakura's stomach. There was a knowing glint in the death deity's eyes that she most certainly did _not_ like. A sudden dawning look of understanding that made her edgy. Nervous.

"What?" she forced herself to ask. She could feel ice creeping along her spine. Swallowing anxiously, she said, "Why are you looking at me like that…?"

Sasuke blinked, viciously jerked from the pandemonium of his thoughts by the sound of her voice. Just like that, his expression walled off entirely. Became an infuriating blank once again. Gritting his teeth, he looked down at the bow once more.

The crashing waves of shock had caused his steel-like composure to momentarily slip. He could not afford to allow that to happen again.

Maybe it would make things easier for her, he told himself, to believe in this false theory. Because there was no way he could conceivably tell her what she really was. What it had to mean, if his recollections had indeed been stolen. Not right then. Not when she was so physically vulnerable. He had not even been able to fully accept it or process it himself.

"Nothing." He uttered curtly.

Sakura hesitated. Something told her he wasn't being entirely honest. "But you remember the bow?" she pressed.

His eyes lifted again, and met hers.

"Yes." He conceded quietly, and could not help but stare openly at her again, his eyes taking in every feature intently, as if it was the first time.

"Then…" she stood up again, and clasped her hands behind her back, looking away, feeling peculiarly flustered. The weight of his penetrating gaze was even more unnerving than usual. He seemed to be inspecting her so closely. "Then what do you think? Of what I said?"

The death deity was silent. Inside his chest, his heart was hammering. He could see, from the pulse point in her neck, that hers was doing the same.

Even though he had not touched her. Even though he had hardly said a word to her. He found himself contemplating what this had to mean. Whether, subconsciously, there was even a small chance that she was just as drawn to him, too, but was far too alarmed, far too afraid to admit it, or allow it.

It was his fault, he now acknowledged. Kidnapping her had damaged what slight chances he'd ever had of gaining her acceptance in a normal manner.

He could not change the past, the things he had already done. But he could take control of the future.

"I think," Sasuke replied, his tone terse again, "you are _wrong_ , Sakura."

Her wide eyes flew back to him as he nonchalantly tossed the bow to the ground. Before she could say or do anything else, he turned and slipped out of the armoury, leaving her staring at the discarded weapon on the floor by her feet, unable to comprehend or shift the strange, inexplicable tightness inside her chest.


	50. Chapter XLIX

**Chapter XLIX**

* * *

_The Fates continue to unravel their thread,_   
_And woe! See what turmoil falls abound!_   
_Chaos and deceit in the Land of the Dead,_   
_As secrets concealed, are unearthed - unwound,_   
_In cold blood is deadly treason spun,_   
_More callous than cutting steel of blade,_   
_Colder than winter's frost, in absence of sun,_   
_By its cruel dagger – are hearts pierced, unmade._

* * *

He gazed into the ethereally luminous pool. Its tranquil, blue-green surface rippled in the large, deep, circular basin that contained it, casting mesmerising, moving reflections upon the rocky walls. Two long-haired, graceful, feminine entities constructed from gilded white marble flanked either side of the pool, pouring continuously flowing water from slender jugs.

Nestled deep in the heart of the Underworld, the sacred spring of Mnemosyne was hidden secretively away inside a cavern that could only be revealed and accessed by the King's hand. It was Lethe's counterpart; while the River of Forgetfulness erased memories, Mnemosyne was capable of restoring them.

After leaving Sakura in the palace, Sasuke, terribly troubled by her words concerning his supposed past with Kore, had headed straight to the pool in search of answers.

She'd insisted that her visions were real. And her knowledge of his hunting bow and the ever-bloom flower in his mother's garden certainly bolstered and added credit to her argument. There was no way she could know either of those things on her own, when he had not spoken to her of them. It was disconcerting to Sasuke that she did.

A small, defiant part of him still protested at the outrageousness of it all. He was far too proud and stubborn to admit to such a significant lapse in memory, for that was a grave weakness, indeed. And yet, the more composed and logical part of him acknowledged that he could not keep denying it. There were simply far too many coincidences for him to ignore and dismiss.

When Sakura had spoken of it, with such desperation, such conviction, he'd read seen the honesty shining in her eyes. He could not accuse her of fabricating any longer.

If everything she claimed was true – that he had somehow known her in her original form way back in the past, but for some reason did not recall it – then there were really only two possibilities that could account for his marked absence of memories.

The first was that he had made himself forget – a thoroughly ludicrous notion, and one that Sasuke plainly rejected. He had suffered a tremendous deal following the passing of his Clan, and could have reached for Lethe's amnesia inducing waters at any time to ease the anguish. Yet he hadn't. So why would he do so for a goddess, when the pain of losing his family was even more punishing than that?

The other, much more troubling possibility was that someone _else_ had intentionally wanted him to hold no recollection of his acquaintance with the Goddess of Spring. Which begged the question - _why?_ Just what, exactly, had happened back then to her? Had Naruto really told him everything? Did the surface deities hold knowledge of this? It did not seem to him that they did. After all, when Naruto had spoken to him, he'd clearly expected Sasuke to recall meeting Kore on a few occasions.

What if someone had wished for him to forget because they desired for him to stay away from Sakura? If so, the plan had failed spectacularly. He had found her - seemingly again. But if steps had been taken to merely ensure that he could never remember their apparent past relationship, then Sasuke supposed that it'd been a brilliant success.

Or had it been done as another measure to protect Sakura from the very one who'd destroyed her original body in the first place? What if Sasuke had never meant to discover the truth about the seal on her, because it was a liability for him to know?

But who would go to such painstaking lengths to do that?

He swallowed, discomfort crawling up his spine. Did Chiyo know about his strange case of amnesia, too? Suspicion spiked within him. He had a nagging feeling that the old crone knew everything.

Frustrated, he stepped forward. How was he meant to answer Sakura, to defend himself, when he could not even recall a thing – when he could not tell her that _she_ was Kore, reborn? He imagined how upset she would be when she found out. He wondered if it would change how she viewed him – or whether it would make her even more afraid, drive her even further away. He contemplated what it meant for them both, if he could not recall the original Kore, and Sakura had no idea that she was the very same slumbering goddess she'd accused him of being involved with.

Sasuke dipped a hand into the glowing pool. It was cool, liquid silk, soothing against his skin, but did little to banish the cursed tension that coiled so tightly through his entire body. He wanted to be rid of it once and for all – this damned feeling of being so on edge, so entirely out of his element.

His heart raced thunderously as he cupped water into his palm. A single gulp, he knew, would be sufficient to make him remember everything he had ever forgotten in the past. But was he ready to know? To unlock anything that had been locked? If it did work, was he prepared to deal with the consequences?

The death deity almost faltered. Inexplicably nervous, an emotion he was not at all accustomed to experiencing, he furiously snapped to himself that he feared _nothing,_ that he needed to know the truth for the sake of his own sanity, and without another moment of hesitation, lifted his palm to his lips, swallowing down a mouthful of cold, tasteless water.

Sasuke waited. With baited breath and hurtling pulse, he anticipated the moment when dreadful clarity would suddenly detonate inside him, when remembrance would rush up like a flooding tidal wave and leave him adrift in memories.

A tense minute passed. A second. Three minutes, and he felt no different. Four, five, and his thoughts were unaltered, remained as he knew them, with no new recollections.

He drank again. Another mouthful. Then another. Still nothing. Sasuke stared at the pool in numbed shock. Mnemosyne's powers were absolute. The spring always returned what Lethe stole away.

And that was when the implications of the second and only other possibility slowly began to fully dawn upon him. His heart pounded so hard, it physically shook his body, as the appalling and inescapable conclusion slammed into him.

He had not drunk from the River Lethe.

Someone had clearly resorted to more meticulous measures in order to steal - or permanently seal - his memories of Kore away.

* * *

Sakura sat in the armoury for a long time after Sasuke departed, holding the bow despondently in her hands. Her mind was overrun with head-spinning thoughts as she gazed down at the beautifully constructed weapon. It seemed to almost taunt her, and her agitation escalated, until, unable to stand it any longer, she stormed out and made her way back inside the palace grounds.

Her hands balled into frustrated fists as she crossed the entrance hall. He had vanished, as usual, to avoid her. Why was Sasuke so unbelievably _stubborn?_ She had thought that he'd genuinely listened to her this time. Why would he reject what she had told him, when she knew for a fact that it was the truth?

He _had_ been involved with Kore. But for some reason, he couldn't remember it.

In a way, Sakura couldn't blame him. It had to come as a shock. After all, gods were physically perfect entities. They didn't just go around randomly forgetting things. Especially significant life experiences. It had to be a major blow to his massive ego, to accept such a thing. Which surely meant that something had to have happened to rob the Death God of his memories – unless _he_ had deliberately done something himself to permanently erase them? Maybe he had swallowed water from the river that washed away recollections – what had he called it? _Lethe,_ Sakura remembered.

The more she considered it, the more it made sense. That had to be it! What other explanation was there? And of course, if he had, then he would have no way of knowing it, because his memories were all gone.

But he had left her before she could discuss the subject with him any further.

 _Ugh!_ Sakura silently vented to herself as she finally reached her room. She knew she had woken up a mess after training and then suffering an attack. With Sasuke gone, she became extremely conscious of feeling grimy. Entering the bathing room, she hastily stripped off her dirty clothes and washed the dirt and sweat from her skin. Once she was done, she returned to her bedchamber, where she found Chizu waiting for her.

Too distracted by her thoughts to resist, she allowed the elder maid to dry and smoothen down her hair, and then assist her in changing into a full-length, long-sleeved velvet dress. It had an off-shoulder neckline, which showed off Sakura's petite bone structure, and was emerald green at the top, gradually blending to a deeper hue from the waist downwards. Delicate gold stitching adorned the neckline, sleeves and hem of the skirt. The material flattered her slender figure, emphasised her natural curves in all the right places.

Sakura gazed at her reflection in the mirror and watched as Chizu secured a matching gold and emerald necklace around her neck. Each exquisitely cut gem was surely worth the price of Sakura's home on the surface. Next, she put on matching droplet earrings. The colour brought out the beautiful green of her eyes, and she was struck by how… _regal_ she looked. But then, every gown in her massive wardrobe was fit for a princess.

Stroking back her loose hair, Chizu smiled admiringly, mirroring her thoughts.

"You look like royalty, my lady."

Those disturbing words echoed hauntingly in Sakura's head as she excused herself from her room and headed to the banqueting hall. She was simmering anew over Sasuke evading her again as she pushed open the door. _He is the most infuriating, exasperating, and utterly_ _impossible_ _-!_ She couldn't even complete the insult. There didn't seem to be an appropriate enough word to accurately describe the Lord of the Dead.

Slipping inside and closing the door quietly behind her, Sakura stood for a moment, taking in the huge stone fireplace set in the middle of the farthest wall directly opposite her, beyond the food-laden table. Her eyes then briefly rose to the humungous, square tapestry hanging over the wide, arch-shaped hearth. It depicted the Uchiha Clan emblem, stitched onto fine black cloth. She found herself arbitrarily recalling the first time she had entered this room. How confused and frightened she had been. How intimidating and daunting she had found its sheer size. Inspecting the bright, candle-lit hall at that moment, she found it was still exactly the same, had not lost any of its stately grandeur. Sakura, rather, was the one who had changed.

Slowly, she walked toward the table. It had been a while since she had eaten anything, and it suddenly occurred to Sakura that she was famished. She supposed it was all the stress of unpleasant surprises finally catching up to her. Her eager eyes roved hungrily over the rich selection of dishes on display, and she proceeded to nibble at this and that, starting off with savoury finger food that tasted absolutely divine. It didn't take long for her sweet tooth to take over, and she found herself eying a beautifully decorated vanilla, cream and strawberry sponge-cake. It seemed a shame to break off a piece and ruin the pretty presentation, but really, who else was going to eat it? Sasuke had never struck her as a fan of sweet things. She certainly couldn't imagine him munching on _cake,_ of all things.

 _Maybe_ _that's_ _what's wrong with him,_ Sakura thought moodily to herself. _Maybe he just needs to have a good slice of cake stuffed into that arrogant mouth of his, and then he might actually be less of a grouch._

She sniggered a little at the mental image and helped herself to a slice, picking off the strawberries first, before savouring the light and airy sponge. Sighing with contentment, she was just about to move onto some cream-stuffed pastry – when something glistened crimson from the corner of her vision.

Sakura swallowed down the last of the cake, and stared in mesmerised fascination at the golden bowl of pomegranates. The fruits were all unpeeled – save for one at the top of the pile, which had been broken in half to reveal the plump garnet seeds contained within, so large that only several of them would make up a single mouthful. Like gleaming, lustrous jewels they called invitingly out to her, and Sakura was powerless to resist their mysterious allure. There was something so enticing about the pomegranates in Sasuke's realm. She remembered how delectably juicy and saccharine the one she'd sampled in his room had tasted, and her mouth watered.

Plucking one half from the bowl, she lifted it eagerly to her lips, intending to take a generous bite – when steely fingers abruptly clamped around her wrist and jerked her arm forcefully down again.

A startled Sakura turned her head – to meet Sasuke's stormy eyes. She hadn't even heard him enter the room.

"Sasuke? What-?!" she began in bewilderment. The tension was palpable in the furrow of his eyebrows and his tightly set jawline. He looked angry – but that wasn't all. To Sakura's astonishment, he seemed agitated _. Anxious_ , almost. But she had to be imagining it, because Sasuke was _never_ anxious.

Without a word, he snatched the pomegranate from her hand and flung it aside with an aggression that alarmed her. It landed with a dull thud, scattering deeply hued beads upon the ground.

Sakura's pulse raced. She stared at the discarded fruit in shock for a moment, before lifting her eyes to gape, open-mouthed, up at him.

The death deity glowered down at her. She looked so beautiful – but he was far too shaken by what had almost come to pass to really dwell on how stunning the green dress was on her. Inside his chest, his heart hammered fitfully. She wasn't even conscious of what she had almost inadvertently done!

Had he arrived mere seconds later…

"Sasuke! What was that for?" she demanded. What in the world had gotten into him, to trigger such an unnecessary overreaction? She tried to disengage his hold on her, but it was useless. He was far too strong. Frustrated, she gave up, frowning. "I just wanted some fruit!"

"Do not eat from that," he ordered curtly.

"What?" Sakura's bafflement increased. The food she consumed had never been an issue before! Suspicious, she questioned, "Why _not_?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell her the truth – but to his frustration, the words suddenly did not seem to want to deploy themselves on the tip of his tongue.

He fumed at her for another few seconds, before snapping instead, "It's inedible."

"Huh?" Sakura's scowl deepened. The fruit didn't look spoiled to her; on the contrary, it appeared ripe and succulent. "But it looks just fine."

"No." Sasuke's hold on her wrist tightened. He seemed to become even more restless. Uneasy. "It," he continued stiffly, "is not."

"But Sasuke-"

"Sakura." He finally released her and turned his face away dismissively. "Enough."

She rubbed at her wrist and then folded her arms unhappily. As usual, she completely exasperated him by refusing to do what he asked, and pursued the matter instead. "First you just walk out on me, and then you suddenly reappear and randomly decide that I can't eat a pomegranate? You already let me try one before, now they're inedible?" Dubiously, she shook her head at him.

"They will spoil you," Sasuke again attempted to find a way out of the hole he had involuntarily dug for himself. It wasn't entirely a lie. The fruit _would_ spoil her… spoil her existence. He hadn't exactly stopped to think when he'd entered the banqueting hall and discovered Sakura with the pomegranate inches from her lips. Sheer panic had run rampant in his mind and fuelled him to take immediate action. He'd had only one priority – to stop her at any cost. He hadn't considered how he would explain his behaviour to her.

She pursed her lips. "I know food doesn't expire here like it does on the surface. And you've never told me not to eat anything before. What's this really about, Sasuke?" she interrogated.

It was the opportune moment to answer her – and yet, Sasuke obdurately refused to meet her scrutinising stare. He wanted to be honest. Really he did. But how could he be? She had stated before that she did not hate him – but coming clean to her about the Forbidden Fruit surely _would_ make her despise him for all eternity. She wouldn't believe that he hadn't fully understood the repercussions of his actions back when he'd seduced her into tasting it. She wouldn't believe that he genuinely regretted it, that if he could, he would go back and undo the actions he had so selfishly taken.

Sasuke had never been articulate when it came to emotional matters, and whichever way he phrased it in his mind sounded absolutely abhorrent, framed him as the very abominable fiend he knew she would think him to be – the villain she had every right to label him.

But he had never intended to harm her. He had merely been blinded by his self-centred need to keep her close. He had never intended for it to ever come to this.

_That is the Forbidden Fruit. It will damn you and tie you to the shadows of my Kingdom._

_You have already consumed six seeds. You must return here yearly, and stay here for six months. With me._

_The Food of the Dead is not meant to be consumed by the living. When you willingly accepted the fruit from my hand, you bound yourself eternally to this realm. To me._

_You belong to the darkness, now. To the Underworld. To me._

No. He couldn't say it! He _couldn't._ A long time ago, he would not have cared for the cruelty of the words, would have paid no heed to the havoc he knew they would unleash upon Sakura and her feelings. Sasuke might have even relished it, once, and smugly rejoiced in his conceited victory. But not anymore. Now, simply rehearsing those sentences in his head revolted him. He felt wretched, smothered by self-loathing and the bitterness of culpability. He wasn't anywhere near ready to confess to any of those statements – even when he knew that the time he had with her was almost up, and he would have to admit to everything before it ran out completely. She certainly could not return to the surface without knowing of her fate.

"Sakura," he swallowed, tried again to do the _right_ thing. After all, he had brought this mess raining down upon himself. After everything he had done, he supposed he _deserved_ her hatred – even as he subconsciously craved the exact opposite of that. She had already made it transparently clear during their previous argument that she didn't believe they could ever be involved. How would she react if he revealed that she had to spend six months each year of what remained of her life, in his realm, with him?

It stung, simply imagining her hysteria, her rejection. Sasuke felt even sicker. He detested, once again, the turmoil she provoked within him.

"I-" he clamped his mouth shut, grinding his teeth together. Why was speaking so _difficult?_

Sakura's heart pounded. It wasn't like Sasuke to be so hesitant. So conflicted. What was the matter with him? Alarm bells were clanging riotously in her head.

"I know," she said softly, and stepped forward, closer to him, to grip onto the left sleeve of his tunic. Her eyes found his, and she saw within them a flicker of vulnerability so foreign to her that she forgot to breathe. Something was evidently weighing crushingly on his shoulders, troubling him dreadfully – to such a great and profound extent that he was struggling to mask it and feign his usual air of indifference.

Perhaps that was what unsettled Sakura most. It was so out of character for the proud, stoic King of the Underworld, to display any manner of weakness, no matter how slight. His gaze was always so steadfast, so unwavering – and yet, right at that moment, he could barely seem to hold hers.

But why?

"There's something you aren't telling me, Sasuke. What is it?"

"…" He averted his face away once more. Sakura, however, was resolute and reached up, pressing her palm to his right cheek to force him to look back at her.

"Tell me," she insisted.

He looked into her bright green eyes – _so green_ – like the verdant flourish of springtime. So fitting for who – and what – she was. Eyes that had captivated him at a funeral, so long ago. Eyes that still ensnared him in, no matter how much he tried to battle against their irresistible magnetic pull.

Those vibrant emeralds silently implored him for answers. But he questioned whether it was the right time. He needed to secure other arrangements on the surface first, before they had this conversation. And the shameful reality was, Sasuke still needed to figure out a way to reveal the truth to her in a manner that would not result in her screaming and lunging hysterically at him – or worse.

The death deity wasn't so sure that there _was_ any way to soften the blow. He vowed that he would tell her. He _would._ He wouldn't let anybody else deliver what it was _his_ responsibility to disclose. But she would hate him. And as much as Sasuke fiercely tried to convince himself that he could handle that - that it would be justice delivered to him, still he flinched from it. Yet, her right to know surely took precedence over everything else. The longer he kept this terrible burden from her, the worse it would be once she _did_ inevitably find out.

Her hand slipped from his face when he turned his head away again. Sakura saw the tense line of his jaw. Knew from how he was evading her gaze that he had absolutely no intention of speaking any further about the subject. She recognised the inaccessible look on his features – and felt her heart sink.

Her eyes lowered and she swallowed down her own frustration.

"So that's how it is," she murmured softly. "You won't say." She made no effort to conceal the angry disappointment she felt. She'd had too many similar interactions with the God of the Dead before to know that he was obstinate to a fault, and that no amount of hounding him on the matter would get him to talk if he had fully and whole-heartedly decided to retreat back inside his titanium cocoon. She wasn't going to waste her breath. Not this time.

She was suddenly tired of the game they played. Sasuke mentally and emotionally exhausted her. She'd had enough.

Without another word, she began to turn away from him, holding her head as high as she could, trying her best to appear unaffected by his punishing silence. She would exit with dignity, she told herself. She was out of options. Sasuke hadn't agreed to return her to the surface, and was forcing her hand – forcing her to take the very route she had wanted to avoid. The only thing left to do was-

His left hand shot out, fast as a striking cobra, to grasp her upper arm, jerking her swiftly back around to face him. But his eyes remained fixed in the direction of the fireplace.

When he next spoke, his tone was abrupt. Guarded.

"Sakura…" he started, and she was perplexed and concerned in equal measures when she glimpsed the uncharacteristic way he swallowed thickly – a bad omen, surely, of what was to directly follow. It then occurred to her that he _was_ about to respond, after all, and that made her heart gallop faster.

"The pomegranate-" he seemed to internally struggle with himself for a few seconds, before forcing out, "…it is no ordinary fruit in my kingdom. When it is consumed-" he suddenly tensed and broke off, inhaling sharply, eyes widening fractionally – as if he'd all at once become aware of something that seriously disconcerted him. Sakura winced when his grip on her arm unconsciously tightened.

His face then turned, and he met her gaze directly. He stared at her with knotted eyebrows, lips slightly parted, and gave her a look so disquieting, that Sakura was immediately afraid.

"What?" she asked uncertainly. "Sasuke, what is it?!" He couldn't seem to speak right then, however, merely continued to stare at her with the same awful expression. Shaking her head, she tried to snap him out of whatever state of shock had paralysed him. "What were you saying about the pomegranate? What do you mean it's not an ordinary frui- wha-!?"

She was yanked abruptly forward, close enough to stand foot to foot with him. Alarmed, she blinked and glanced up at him – only to suck in a disjointed breath when he lowered his face to within inches of hers. His eyes, suddenly a beautiful, arresting crimson, made her freeze in place.

"Stay inside the palace," he uttered sternly, and released her arm.

"What?" Sakura's confusion and worry intensified, and she frowned at him. "Wait, why? Sasuke, what's going on _-_?"

A second later he flickered out of her sight.

She gaped at the empty spot where he had stood just seconds prior. He'd done it again! Completely disappeared before properly answering her! But something whispered to her that it hadn't been deliberate this time. _Something_ had evidently disturbed him. Had he perhaps sensed some disturbance in his realm that required his immediate attention?

Jumbled thoughts ricocheted around inside her skull. Sasuke's unnerving expression, his hasty, abrupt departure… but they all centred around one sentence that repeated itself, over and over, ringing incessantly like a damning execution bell.

' _The pomegranate, it is no ordinary fruit in my kingdom. When it is consumed…'_

She felt nauseous. What happened when it was consumed? What was it that was so horrendous, that made even breaching the subject so difficult for the King of the Underworld?

The need to know was pressing, like an incessant buzz in her head. Since Sasuke had been called away to urgent business, there was only one other person who could enlighten her.

Resembling a soldier on a fatalistic mission, Sakura marched straight back to her room. Chizu, she was relieved to discover, had finished already changing the bed linens and left. Locking herself in the toilet, Sakura turned the taps on full blast and filled the basin with water, trepidation snaking through her as she remembered the last time she had called out to the ocean deity.

Suigetsu had warned her that if she chose to go her way, he might not respond next time. She had seen for herself that Sasuke wasn't going to release her willingly. She had been foolish, to think that he might.

Fumbling to turn the taps off, she telepathically attempted to communicate with him.

' _Suigetsu! I know you can hear me.'_

Silence was her only response.

' _I know you're there!'_ Sakura continued, undeterred.

Again, she heard nothing.

' _Come on, Suigetsu! I need to talk to you!'_

No response.

She rolled her eyes. _'This is silly. I know you're mad. Just talk to me!'_

Once more, all was quiet in her head.

Sakura's features scrunched together in annoyance. _'I'm going to keep calling until you answer me.'_ She folded her arms huffily and looked unhappily down at the water. _'Even if I have to stay here for ages and Sasuke comes looking for me!'_

Another long pause. Her heart then leapt when a snarky voice _finally_ responded, ' _Well, then that really_ _would_ _be stupid_.'

' _Suigetsu!'_ she mentally gasped in relief, as his face swirled into sight on the water's surface at last. He sulked moodily up at her.

' _Y'know, you should be begging me to hear you out right now, after all the shit I had to put up with last time.'_

For the sake of smoothing things over, Sakura conceded, _'Okay. Fine. You were right.'_

This seemed to appease him somewhat. _'News flash for ya - I always am. And you've got some nerve, crawling back to me.'_ He jutted out his lower lip almost comically and narrowed his eyes at her. _'What the heck do you want? I'm not in the mood to have my time wasted by some scatter-brained little girl who won't see reason.'_

' _I won't waste your time anymore. But there's something I need to know, before we go ahead.'_

Suigetsu blinked and gave her an unconvinced look. _'Huh. Before we go ahead? So willing, all of a sudden?'_

Sakura's gaze lowered. _'I confronted him about kidnapping me.'_

Suigetsu seemed to immediately understand. _'And you finally accept that he's a heartless bastard who doesn't give a single fuck about your feelings? At last! Then we're back on the same page.'_ He grinned at her. _'Maybe I'll forgive you for being so thick. You're just a silly mortal, after all. It helps that you're looking super-hot in green, right now.'_

It was awkward, how quickly he shifted in demeanour. Just like the ocean, Sakura supposed.

He peered curiously up at her, all flirting instantly cast aside. _'So what is it? You've got that dopey look on your face. The one you wear when you're thinking too hard again. Hurry up and spill it, before I change my mind.'_

'…' She swallowed – and framed her question. _'What's the deal with the pomegranates?'_

Suigetsu looked thoroughly startled. _'Uhh…'_ he scratched his chin, and averted his gaze, seeming oddly evasive. _'Heh. Why're you asking about something so random, all of a sudden?'_

His reaction only made the alarm sirens that had started to go off in Sakura's head increase in volume. She watched his expression like a hawk. _'I tried to eat some just now…'_

Suigetsu's eyes flew back to her in alarm. He now looked shadily nervous. _'You_ _tried_ _to?'_

' _Sasuke stopped me,'_ Sakura elaborated.

The ocean deity let out a loud sigh, visibly relieved. _'Phew! Hah… you had me worried for a second there, Pinky.'_ He rubbed the side of his face. _'I guess I should've mentioned it at the start, but it's not something that's allowed to be offered to the living. That bastard is very vigilant when it comes to pomegranates.'_

Sakura's heart had begun to pound to a most unpleasant rhythm. _'What do you mean?'_

' _Ah, it's nothing to fret your pretty head about. Sasuke would commit a serious offence if he forced you to eat that fruit, but since you say he stopped you… then at least he's stuck to one rule. No harm done.'_ As if to himself, he muttered, ' _Just as well, because your mother would have fucking_ _throttled_ _me.'_

Sakura gripped tightly onto the side of the basin. _'Suigetsu…'_ she did her best to remain composed and calm. Casual. It was becoming increasingly challenging. _'What are you talking about…? What's wrong with the fruit?'_

Suigetsu tilted his head. _'Down here, it's referred to as the Food of the Dead, or the Forbidden Fruit. Like I said, it's off-limits to mortals. Sasuke can eat as much as he likes of it, because he's bound to this place anyway. It doesn't affect him.'_

' _What happens… if a mortal eats it?'_ Sakura just about managed to get out, her instinctive sense of dread heightening considerably.

And that was when Suigetsu said it. Words that made the floor vanish beneath Sakura's feet, sent her plunging and spiralling uncontrollably down into the yawning abyss of chaos.

' _What, you mean if someone is stupid enough to actually eat it of their own free will?'_ He didn't catch the way Sakura gulped at that. _'Then they become tied to this place, too.'_ He shrugged, and tapped an index finger to his chin. _'If I remember right, I think every seed is worth a surface month. So if you have one, you've gotta come back down to this shit-hole for a month in the year, if you have two it's two months, you get the drift.'_

The room spun violently. Sakura's heart plummeted to her feet. She felt chilled to the bone, struggled to remain standing, for her legs had turned to liquid jelly. The world was fracturing and falling away around her all over again. She couldn't breathe. Numb with shock, she could only remain frozen in position, hands gripping onto the basin hard. Suigetsu's face blurred in and out of focus as a debilitating wave of nausea washed over her. And in her mind, one word reverberated over and over and over again.

_No._ _ No _ _. No, no, no, no,_ _ no! _

The Sea God sniggered, oblivious to Sakura's despair. _'If you have two or three mouthfuls, you're royally screwed. I don't know all the details about how they're activated, but I heard they stay in your stomach forever, and are never digested. It's a shame, though. Rumour has it, they're really delicious.'_ He linked his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, smirking. _'Figures, for a fruit that's essentially a trap.'_

Sakura felt dizzy. Stifled. Sasuke had _offered_ the fruit to her. With his own hand! His eyes had mesmerised her, lured her into taking a bite. And she had accepted! Of her own free will, she had taken an entire mouthful, could still remember the way the ripe seeds had bled their sweet nectar on her tongue…

Her heart was ready to burst straight out of her chest. What had she _done?_

She recalled how agitated Sasuke had seemed when he'd appeared out of nowhere, just in time to smack the pomegranate out of her hand. He had known all this time. He had known it the second he'd offered the treacherous fruit. He'd even licked the residue from her lips when he'd kissed her, right afterwards.

She felt faint. Sick. Furious, distraught, devastated. Betrayed beyond consolation. All this time, he had been working to set his trap, to ensnare her. And he had done just that.

If a few mouthfuls doomed one forever… then how many seeds had _she_ swallowed? What if she could never leave?

To think, that he had kept such a secret from her for all this time… and all this time, she had grown to pity him! He had done everything that Suigetsu had warned her about; manipulated her emotions, played her for the complete fool that she had been. Never again, she swore to herself. _Never again!_ Sakura's rage was a tumultuous, destructive, unstoppable force that tore through her chest. How _could_ he? Had it not been enough for him to kidnap her? Was he not content with turning her life upside down? He had to bind her forever to this place - to _him_ \- as well?

No. _No._ She wouldn't _let_ him! She would get out – and she would find some way to reverse it, even if she had to cut the seeds out from her own belly!

He had tricked her. Deceived her. He was selfish and callous, and her heart ached, heavy with the anguish of treachery. He deserved no mercy. He deserved _nothing._ If she had ever contemplated being able to eventually forgive him once she found her way back to the surface, it seemed utterly impossible now.

It was the final push. An eye for an eye. No more guilt. She would not hesitate for another moment. She would go back to the surface, and flee from this place.

Just as Kore's Essence had warned her.

' _But like I said,'_ Suigetsu was going blithely on, as he opened his eyes again, _'Sasuke can't make you eat it, so you really don't have to worry, because that food wouldn't even be accessible to you…'_ he trailed off, when falling tear-drops rippled the surface of the water, and he looked up to find Sakura crying silently, without a sound. Her shoulders were shaking with the effort to keep her sobs contained.

But in her eyes, he did not see sadness or helplessness. He glimpsed a fierce, irrepressible fire that he had never witnessed before, an incensed flame that stunned the great water deity into silence.

Finally, he managed, ' _Shit. Please don't tell me you-'_

She interrupted, speaking aloud, fingers curling into tight fists. Her voice trembled from the force of her wrath as she met his gaze directly, and whispered with conviction, "I'm ready now."

'…' An uneasy Suigetsu watched her for a long moment, harsh realisation sinking into him. This wasn't welcome news – and he wasn't looking forward to informing Tsunade. Sakura didn't need to tell him what he could already read clearly from her distressed features. She _had_ eaten from the fruit. He didn't know how much, and he feared swaying her resolve if he pressed the issue further – but he knew that Sasuke would be made to answer for his actions.

' _Then listen closely,'_ he nodded. _'And do everything I tell you. Let's make that arrogant asshole pay.'_

* * *

They watched him melt out of the shadows, as if cloaked by them, barely perceptible in the misty darkness but for the intensely glowing crimson of his eyes. _Sharingan,_ Jiraiya noted. The dangerous, accursed blood-line of the Uchiha Clan.

He stood tall, arms folded across his strong chest, flanked by Kakashi on his right, and Sai to his left.

"A prompt reception," his voice boomed, echoing loudly against the vast cavern's rocky walls. "Perhaps your hospitality has improved, somewhat, young Sasuke."

Kakashi's visible eye drooped. He dearly hoped that Jiraiya wouldn't antagonise the volatile death deity. That was definitely the last thing they needed. He initially remained silent out of respect for the elder god, trusting that Jiraiya would secure them the outcome they desired.

Sasuke drew to a stop by the growling Cerberus. As if to remind them of the iron fist of his rule, he reached out a palm to the hound of hell, and Cerberus grew completely silent.

The Underworld King tilted his head back haughtily. So they had brought Jiraiya along this time, too.

Both sides stared each other down. Sai tried not to wince when that severe gaze turned briefly onto him. Finally, Jiraiya spoke again.

"It is our understanding that you have been keeping Tsunade's daughter in your realm. You confirmed this to Naruto, did you not?"

Sasuke did not blink. He said nothing, his left hand resting casually – but with quiet menace – upon the hilt of his sheathed blade, Kusanagi.

Undeterred by the lack of reply, Jiraiya went on, "We also understand that she has consumed of the Forbidden Fruit-"

"State your terms," Sasuke interrupted flatly. He almost sneered when he saw that he had successfully managed to capture them all off-guard. Well, the two elders, at least. Sai lacked an emotional spectrum entirely.

What had the imbeciles expected? That he would try to deny it? He hadn't come to engage in worthless small talk. They had nothing else to discuss but the arrangements for Sakura's release. Other than that, he had absolutely no interest in any of them.

Kakashi exchanged glances with Jiraiya, and began cautiously, "Sasuke. We first wish to know how many seeds Sakura has consumed."

Jiraiya expected him to smirk. To gloat. But Sasuke did quite the contrary. He continued to look austere and unforthcoming. His eyes narrowed, and for a long moment, he was quiet.

At length, he answered tersely, "Six."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. Next to him, Kakashi exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn't even realised that he'd been withholding his breath as he'd awaited Sasuke's response.

 _Six seeds!_ He heard Jiraiya communicate in his mind. _Not all hope is lost, after all, Kakashi!_

 _Yes, but that is still half the year,_ he replied. _We must be careful here. May I proceed?_

_By all means. I'd rather say as little as possible to this pompous little scoundrel._

Kakashi took over. "Sasuke, we know that Naruto told you the truth about Sakura and what Cronus did in the past. If he was to somehow learn of her true identity, we have no doubts that he would try to utilise her abilities again."

"The seal keeps her protected," Jiraiya nodded. "It keeps her powers hidden, even from eyes like yours. What we are saying to you is…" he paused, before venturing, "…we cannot allow this information to reach him at any costs. If you are allied with Cronus in any way…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Cronus," he spat out the name hatefully, "is of no interest to me."

"Then one would naturally question the motives behind your actions," Jiraiya gestured. "Is this an act of revenge, Sasuke? For the loss of your Clan? Do you seek to use her to punish us? You know the girl is innocent. She played no part in it."

Sasuke tensed at the mention of his deceased family. His fingers curled more securely around Kusanagi's hilt.

Kakashi's heart leapt. Though he was genuinely relieved to hear confirmation that Sasuke didn't seem to be in league with the Uchiha founder, he most certainly didn't want things to escalate!

"You will be called to answer for your actions, Sasuke," he intervened, trying to neutralise the tension that was rapidly escalating between them. "You know the laws of your Kingdom better than anyone. You know it is strictly forbidden to steal a mortal into your realm. If you give us your reasons now, if you help us understand that this was not done in spite to punish us, then perhaps we could attempt to negotiate on your behalf-"

"I did not come here to answer to any of you," the death deity's voice rang out frostily.

"But you will have to eventually, if not now, then when you are summoned before the High Court. You understand this, do you not?" Jiraiya informed him. "You are not completely beyond the reach of our laws, Sasuke. When you take something that is ours, you must offer explanation for it."

Sasuke lifted his nose disdainfully at him. He appeared entirely bored by the lecture. "I said, state your terms, _sage_ ," the final word was loaded with weighty, discourteous sarcasm.

Jiraiya's eyebrows twitched as he became increasingly irked. Sasuke was arrogant and completely unapologetic. He had always been ridiculously obstinate, but he seemed to have gotten even worse over the ages. It was rather infuriating.

"Do you acknowledge that your actions have had serious consequences on the earth?" he demanded, in a manner that resembled an angry adult berating a wayward teenager. "Do you even _comprehend_ what it is that you have done? Crops have failed to grow in abundance this year! Many have perished, and Tsunade will not bless the harvest without Sakura. If the girl is not restored to the surface before the end of summer, she and many more will die!"

Sasuke angled his head slightly. "Have you finished, old man?"

"Why, you insolent little brat," Jiraiya muttered. "I'm of a mind to discipline you, right now."

In a second, Sasuke had drawn his sword. Holding his arms out, he mockingly goaded, " _Try."_

"Stop this!" Kakashi intercepted, once more trying to avoid confrontation. He knew from past experience that it was the wrong way to handle Sasuke. "We did not come here to fight, Sasuke, but to negotiate."

"A pity," Jiraiya rued. "He could do with a good hiding. He has absolutely no respect for his elders, even you, his old sparring partner and teacher, Kakashi."

One corner of Sasuke's lips curled back. Not quite a smirk. Not quite a sneer. He had never battled Jiraiya before. The eager warrior within him who was always searching for a fresh challenge wondered whether Jiraiya was really as legendary as Naruto had always gushed about in the long ago past.

Kakashi, desperate to keep them on track, attempted another route. "Do we have your word, Sasuke? That Sakura will come to no harm while she is in your world?"

Sasuke was silent. They half expected him not to respond. But he surprised them, by clipping matter-of-factly, "Yes."

Jiraiya and Kakashi exchanged uncertain glances again, and the death deity knew they were communicating telepathically in their minds. Finally, Kakashi nodded at him.

"Then these are our terms. Sakura must be on the surface in order for springtime to be triggered each year. We propose that she spends the spring and summer months with her mother. We will watch over her, as we have always done, and keep her hidden from Cronus and his spies."

"Then, when autumn falls, and all through the winter, she will return here," Jiraiya finished gruffly, wishing that such a compromise didn't have to be made. "Her powers are dormant in those seasons. While she is on the surface, she is to be free, and live as she lived before she came to this place. You are to have no interaction with her. Are these terms acceptable to you?"

Sasuke considered this. Then he said, "I accept. On one condition."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows. "And what might that be…?"

"While she is here, none of _you_ will interfere."

Jiraiya sighed, and conceded, "I suppose that is only fair." To Kakashi, he muttered, "Although that intolerable shrew will likely have both our heads for this."

Kakashi dreaded to envisage Tsunade's rage once she found out. But they were trying to make the best of a very awful situation. It could have been much worse, however. Sakura could have eaten more seeds. She could have been cursed to remain trapped in the shades of Sasuke's realm forever. What would the repercussions of that have been?

As he looked upon the stoic King of the Dead, Kakashi found himself bewilderedly questioning just what Sasuke was really after. What were his true reasons for abducting Sakura? If not to strike out at them, then what else? He could not possibly have an interest in the girl. That just wasn't like Sasuke at all.

Was it…?

A sliver of apprehension filled him. Kakashi supposed they would find out once Sakura was returned to them, and when Sasuke came to account for his behaviour in front of the High Court.

"Then it is decided," Jiraiya declared. "But before this can come into effect, it must be settled and formally decreed by the High Court. Sakura must be returned to us before summer's end. You know this, Sasuke."

This was it. The point of no return. But Sasuke reminded himself that he was doing it for Sakura's sake. It gave him no pleasure to respond, "I'll see to it."

"How will we know when to come for her?"

"…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed once again. Wasn't the answer to that obvious? "You will be contacted."

Jiraiya nodded, satisfied. Kakashi, relieved that they had managed to reach some sort of settlement with all their limbs intact, added one last point.

"There's just one other thing. When do the seeds activate, Sasuke? Do you hold any influence over this, or is the countdown to six months effective as soon as she sets foot on the surface? Because as it stands now, the timing of our agreement is reversed. She cannot come here in spring."

Sasuke decided that he had lingered for long enough. He already knew precisely how he would handle the so-called 'High Court'.

"You will find out," he informed them cryptically, nonchalantly, as he turned dismissively away, signalling that their exchange was over. "Now leave," he said ominously, "Before I fulfil my word, and slay your _Messenger_ for returning here."

Sai tensed at that. With those words, the death deity blurred out of sight, leaving them to depart alone.

* * *

When he next alighted, it was before the imposing front doors to his palace. Entering into it, Sasuke came across Sakura's personal handmaids, both carrying laundry baskets.

"Your Majesty," they curtsied low.

"Sakura," he said expectantly, an indirect question about her whereabouts and well-being.

"She is resting, My Lord," Chizu kept her head reverentially bowed. "In her chamber, Majesty."

Sasuke nodded briefly. Then he stunned them both with what he instructed next.

"Gather her surface belongings."

Chizu blinked rapidly at the ground, taken aback. Ume had to fight back a gasp of astonishment, and wrestle back the urge to question why their king would issue such an order.

Was Sakura _leaving_ them? But she barely had any surface belongings, save for the clothes she'd arrived in, and the bracelet the Master had gifted to her.

Chizu was the first of them to recover. "Yes, at once, My King," she curtsied again. Ume mirrored the action, and both women then bustled quickly away, disappearing through the door that led toward the laundry room.

Sasuke turned, and looked up at the staircase, meaning to head straight to Sakura's room to tell her everything, when he suddenly halted, detecting an unanticipated presence moments before the front doors behind him parted again.

He stared askance at the new arrival, suspicious and displeased in equal measures. What did she think she was doing, turning up out of the blue, unannounced? She had no place setting foot inside his palace. How impertinent! She hadn't even thought to request his explicit permission to enter.

But something about her anxious and flustered expression gave Sasuke pause. She seemed breathless. Like she had rushed to arrive in time to find him. The doors closed again with a resounding thud, and they stood for a stretching moment in heavy silence, regarding one another.

Seeing him standing in the halls of his resplendent abode was almost too much for Karin to handle. So majestic. So magnificent. She gawked in awe at their surroundings – before returning her gaze to gape at him. She had to make herself focus, to remind herself why she was there, to keep from openly salivating over how darkly alluring and handsome he looked.

Sasuke let her know just what he thought of her disrespectful, unabashed staring, and glared daggers at her.

"Why have you left your post?" he demanded icily. "Karin."

The river nymph, still cloaked entirely in the black robe of her uniform, took a deep breath.

"My King," she addressed him formally, straightening her spectacles. "I am your loyal subject, and I've come to warn you!"

"…" Sasuke frowned. What was she saying? Why hadn't she called to him, instead of daring to come to him, uninvited and without appointment?

What she uttered next, however, caused him to swivel his entire body toward her, attention fully caught.

"There is something you need to know," Karin said, internally relishing her trouble-making words. "About that girl you brought here. About Sakura."

* * *

Sakura secured the final straps of her black sandals around her calves, before straightening up to tie her belt. She had swapped her velvet dress for a sparring outfit. The sleeveless top was crimson, had a sweetheart neckline. It moulded closely to her upper form. The short skirt reached halfway down her thighs, was constructed from strips of black leather pleated together. On her forearms were matching leather arm guards. Hastily, she pulled her long hair back into a ponytail.

She had changed for practicality. In order to be able to move around freely. Slotting her sword into the sheath that was attached to the belt at her waist, she stared resolutely at her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, but she had long since spent all her tears. In place of despair remained only iron-will and the steady blaze of anger.

Suigetsu's instructions rang clearly in her head. She knew what she needed to do. There would be no faltering. No hesitating. Not this time.

Nodding to herself, she turned away from the mirror and strode with purpose toward the doors. She had no belongings, nothing that she wished to take with her. Sasuke could keep his riches and his gifts.

She did not want any of them.

As she walked through the warmly lit hallways, she was hyper-aware of the small poison phial which she had tucked down her top, nestled snugly in the space between her breasts. It was the safest place to conceal it. She hoped that she wouldn't have to make use of any more of the venom. She dearly prayed that the strategy she'd assured Suigetsu would work with Sasuke being none the wiser would unravel smoothly, without a hitch. Even if the manner in which she intended to execute it was utterly despicable.

She hadn't told Suigetsu what it was. She had simply just reassured him that it would be more surreptitious and less dicey than spiking Sasuke's drink. The ocean deity had nodded, trusting her to deliver.

Sakura was determined – but that didn't mean she wasn't edgy or frightened inside. Her heart raced, fully conscious of the peril she was in. She was about to partake in treason against the Lord of the Underworld, the King of the Dead. Who _wouldn't_ be apprehensive about that? She was defying and betraying a _god._ And not just any god; the very one who had the power to fling her into the scorching pits of hell for all eternity if he somehow caught on. If her plan backfired.

The risks were substantial. And yet, somehow, she drew strength and courage from her fury and hurt, from the sense of betrayal she, too, felt.

After everything Sasuke had done to her, this seemed inconsequential in comparison. He would recover from the poison. She, however, would never recover from her ordeal.

And there were still no guarantees that he would not follow her once she returned to the surface. Sakura supposed she hoped that her mother and the other deities would be able to protect her, somehow. Though deep inside her heart, she knew that nothing could escape from Sasuke's terrifying powers. If Death came again for her and sought to end her life, not even her mother could prevent it.

Sakura swallowed. She couldn't give into defeatist thoughts. There was no sense in worrying about the future while she was in the present. She had to concentrate on the here and now. As long as she played her cards right and remained level-headed, she stood a decent chance of implementing the plan, and stealing Kusanagi.

She was still required to act for a little longer. Although it seemed harder than ever to mask her true emotions, to pretend that everything was normal between her and Sasuke, after she had found out the truth about the Forbidden Fruit. What if he was able to read her right away?

She wondered how much longer he would have buried it from her. Perhaps he really had been about to tell her in the banqueting hall, before he'd gotten preoccupied by an outside matter. But even by that point, it had been far too late.

As she took a left, the corridor wall opened out on the right hand side, forming gilded columns as Sakura finally neared the majestic staircase. She would hurry to the training arena, as agreed. But she drew to an abrupt, surprised stop at the sound of a voice she could not initially place, echoing up from the entrance hall below.

"-pretending all along! She's been planning to betray you from the start!"

The blood in Sakura's veins instantly froze over. Every muscle in her body locked, and she stood, rooted to the spot in shock.

 _No_ , her thundering heart jolted painfully. No, it _couldn't_ be-!

Forcing her feet to move, she inched forward so that she could peer between the columns that flanked the top of the staircase. And what she saw confirmed her fears, caused her heart to plunge to her feet, as she stared down at a scene from her nightmares in abject, open-mouthed horror.

 _Karin_ was leaning into Sasuke, speaking words that openly framed her treachery.

"Forget about her, Sasuke," the red-head was purring. "She's nothing but an untrustworthy backstabber! As soon as that idiot Suigetsu told me about what they were planning, I waited for the right moment to tell you." She slid a sensual hand up his left arm, slowly, carefully. The God of Death did not move or push her away.

 _No. This_ _wasn't_ _happening. NO!_ The blood in Sakura's ears roared. She felt sick, and her entire body began to tremble. Karin had ratted on them at the final moment! Right before they had been about to carry out their plan! Her eyes fell onto Sasuke. He stood in silence at the bottom of the steps, with his back turned to her, but she could clearly detect the tightly coiled tension in his shoulders.

Even from her height above him, she could sense the tempestuous fury of his unbridled _rage._

She lifted a shaking hand to her mouth, horrified. This had been the last thing she'd planned for! Hatred for the interfering Karin exploded inside her, mingling with the fear. Suigetsu had assured her that Karin would cooperate-!

 _Now_ what did she do? Frantically her mind raced, trying to find some way to salvage the disaster that was unfolding. Would it be best to make her presence known? To try to deny it?

What Karin said next, however, damned Sakura even further.

"Search her. She'll have the poison on her for sure! She wants to use it to steal your sword away, so she and Suigetsu can open the gates and escape from the Underworld!"

That… that double-crossing _bitch_! She'd participated too! But there was no way Sasuke was going to believe Sakura. Aghast, she shook her head, unable to tear her gaze away from Karin, who was now daring to latch her other arm around the motionless death deity.

Disgusted and appalled, a stricken Sakura found herself wishing that she could break those arms. She had never wished ill on anyone as much as she wished it on Karin, right at that moment. She had ruined _everything_ before Sakura had even had the chance to _try_ and execute her strategy.

Karin's gaze suddenly shifted and she caught sight of Sakura watching them. She directed a small, smug, satisfied, gleeful smile over Sasuke's left shoulder. Like the cat that got the cream, she cooed at the death god, her eyes not leaving Sakura, "Such a traitor isn't worthy of your high favour."

Sakura's eyes pooled with furious tears. She swallowed them back. Her hands closed to form enraged fists.

"I…" Karin angled her head to whisper seductively into his ear, "...have _always_ been loyal to you, for all these years… I would never let anything harm you, Sasuke…"

Sakura, sickened, could not bear to see any more. She didn't want to watch Karin throwing herself at Sasuke, simpering and fawning all over him. But Sasuke suddenly moved, reaching up to untangle Karin's arms from around his neck. Firmly he pushed her back.

Then he turned his head slightly - and angled an impaling, deadly glare directly up at her.

The air abandoned Sakura's lungs. His eyes were bloody crimson. The cold rage she could glimpse within them chilled her to the bone. She felt like that dreadful, intimidating gaze was physically skewering straight through her chest, searing right through her soul. Her heart had never drummed so hard and fast.

Her legs seemed to move of their own accord, then. Shaking her head, she backed away from the banister – and bolted straight back down the hallway. She wasn't thinking about it. In her frenzied state of panic, she sought only to place distance between herself and Sasuke. Even when she knew that he could hunt her down and close the space between them quicker than she could draw a breath. If he wanted to, he could flicker into sight before her, and intercept her right at that second.

The awareness of that only made her legs wobble even more unstably. Like dead-weights they were beneath her, obstructing her movements. She felt like she stumbled and tripped over her own two feet all the way back to her room, and when she entered it, she senselessly locked the doors.

As if they could keep him out. As if they could somehow protect her from the immense strength of a god.

Her brain was overrun with discord, in a scattered state of utter pandemonium. She needed to talk to Suigetsu- to tell him what had happened- she needed to- she needed to get _out_! She had to- what did she _do?_ Sasuke was coming to _kill_ her. She wouldn't even have a chance to pull off what she'd intended. He wouldn't let her. She had never seen him so angry before- the moment he got his hands on her, it was all over.

The window! She thought wildly to herself. She had to climb down the balcony-

The rattle of the door-handle, however, informed her that her time was up. Sasuke had already arrived.

 _No_ , she thought to herself in despair, heart palpitating unpleasantly. Now that she had finally gathered the guts to go ahead with the escape attempt, everything was going catastrophically wrong!

A small voice then suddenly reached her through the chaos of her thoughts. It was the voice of logic. The same one that had helped her stay focused on previous occasions.

_Calm down, Sakura! Calm down_ _right now_ _!_

Like a deer caught in headlights, she halted, listening.

 _Yes, he's here._ The voice of reason grew in volume. _He_ _knows_ _. There's nothing else you can do! At the very least, keep your dignity in tact! Maybe, just maybe, you can find an opening and_ _try_ _, if he doesn't kill you first. You've had your moment to freak out, now get it together! Don't you_ _dare_ _let him see that you're afraid!_

She gulped, as a sense of impending doom settled over her. It was worse if she fought against it. Perhaps, if she just accepted her situation, instead…

It worked. She fought to steady her shallow breathing, to _think._

 _It's what he's expecting_ , she told herself, and once more, anger gave her courage, the mettle to find strength from within again. _He's expecting me to be terrified. It's what he wants! But I'll show him! I won't go down without a fight!_

The sound of the doors unlocking made a strange sense of composure snap over Sakura. She turned her back to the doors, faced toward the fireplace, and acknowledged that there was no use in fighting against the tide, no physical way she could evade him. No way out of this horrible confrontation.

She would not… she would _not_ grovel and beg for her life before him!

She remained resolutely in place at the sound of the doors parting and closing as Sasuke stepped inside.

She waited, heart hammering against her ribcage, for him to break the smothering silence, to act first. The crackling tension that hung in the air between them was so thick that Sakura was convinced it could be cut up with a knife and served on a platter.

Sasuke, who had been standing by the doors and staring at the floor, finally lifted his eyes to her. He could see the fine tremors that afflicted her body. But he felt no pity. No compassion. There were no words to describe the breaking feeling inside his chest. The splintering, fracturing sensation of having his heart feel like it was being squeezed mercilessly by a sharp clawed, iron fist, shredded and punctured and ruptured beyond what he could physically withstand.

And above the crippling shattering, was a frightful emotion he _could_ deal with. The turbulent storm of incensed wrath. He feared that he could not control it, this time. He could not recall the last time he had felt such damaging, dangerous rage.

For all this time, she had been communicating with Suigetsu. Oh, he had expected such a thing from the Lord of the Oceans – he was the conniving and underhanded sort, after all. Sasuke was not at all surprised.

But Sakura. _Sakura,_ who was everything light and innocent and good in his mind; at least, she _had_ been – until Karin had told him the unpleasant truth. A truth he had still foolishly hoped was false, a mistake – but he had known, the moment his eyes had found Sakura at the top of the staircase – he had known, from the way something had _sunk_ and snapped into a million fragments inside him – that it was no lie.

She wasn't the demure, harmless flower he'd first thought her to be. In many ways, she had proven him right – but in the most painful fashion. She was a rose. A rose with sharp thorns. In her desperation to get away, she had been prepared to resort to treachery. To physically harm him.

A grave error and misjudgement she had made, indeed. To think, that he had left her to secure the terms for her release – that he had returned and intended to go straight to her and tell her that he was willingly going to take her back to the surface – only to learn of this _treason!_ She was ready to poison him, just to get her hands on Kusanagi! All this time, she had faked compliance, cooperated with an ulterior motive in mind. Her laughter, her interest in his world, all the emotions he had seen sparkling in her eyes… had they been nothing but lies?

She had played him - the mighty King of the Underworld - for a fool! And he'd been so taken by her light that he had turned a blind eye to her scheming, had lowered the guard he'd been so careful to maintain at first – when he ought to have anticipated such duplicity at any moment. Instead he had let her close. She had gotten _in,_ wormed her way, somehow, past his defences, and he had afforded her a degree of trust.

He had shown her the Blessed Isles! He had taken her to Elysium! He had shared pieces of his past with her, told her things he'd never spoken to anyone else. And now… for him to realise, that she had been plotting to betray him all along…

The death deity's eyes narrowed into slits. He _hated_ her. At that moment, he hated Sakura with every fibre of his being, for what she had done to him. What she had been prepared to do. What she was doing to him, even now.

The ringing, distinctive sound of metal scraping against metal resonated in Sakura's ears. Sasuke had drawn his blade from its case.

She exhaled a tremoring breath. He was going to run her through, without as much as a single spoken word-!

Her eyes widened and she gulped at the cold kiss of steel pressing against the vulnerable skin of her throat, as Sasuke held the sword directly above her jugular vein.

" _This_ ," he hissed emphatically into her left ear, and she could hear, all too clearly, the alarming depth of his ire, "is the blade you would betray me for."

Sakura kept as still as she could manage, continued to stare into the hearth. As if the flames could somehow return warmth to her chilled body. As if she could somehow absorb strength directly from the fire. She felt the front of his torso brushing against her back, and this close, was overwhelmed by the rumbling, malevolent aura of his potent chakra signature. It was malicious, unstable. A volatile force that filled the air with electricity. Perilous. Devastating. _Deadly._

"How ironic," he continued, "if it delivered _your_ end."

Sakura released a quivering breath.

"Do you know?" Sasuke intoned, his lips brushing against her earlobe, summoning hateful tingles there. "What the penalty is for treason, Sakura…?"

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. "Go ahead," she whispered. A part of her just wanted to get it over with. "Do it. Kill me."

One corner of his lips curled back to form a derisive sneer as he pressed the sharp sword more firmly into her skin. Sakura bit her tongue to keep herself from whimpering fearfully as she anticipated the sting of metal slicing across her throat.

It never came. In a split-second, the death deity had lowered his arm and grasped her shoulder, spinning her roughly around to face him.

Their bodies were mere inches apart. The King of the Dead glowered down at her, his crimson eyes fiery, blistering. A glare so menacingly scorching and intense, that any ordinary person on its receiving end would have shrivelled away, reduced to little more than a pile of ashes.

It was a marvel, then, that Sakura even remained standing.

"Do you think I need this blade?" he snarled. "Do you think I need _any_ weapon? Have you forgotten who I am, Sakura?" He extended his right hand to her neck, as if he sought to wind his fingers around her throat in a choking hold - but did not touch her. "Have you forgotten," he went on, his voice lowering balefully, and somehow, the quieter tone was even more intimidating, "what I can do…?"

Sakura bravely held his ferocious eyes. As he raised Kusanagi under her chin and forced her face to tilt further upwards, she _refused_ to cower before him.

"You were willing," he seethed, "to jeopardise your life, in order to return to the surface. And what if you had succeeded?" He angled the slicing blade across her throat again. "Did you think there would be no retribution?" His intense eyes singed through her skull, made her mind feel like it was on fire. "Tell me, Sakura," he uttered coldly, "Where would you run? Where could you hide, that would shield you from me?" She swallowed again, as he finished, "There is no place in this world, where I cannot find you."

She didn't dare to talk, out of fear of his sword drawing blood.

"You risked everything," he sneered, lifting his free hand, ghosting his fingers just above her left cheek, "for a blade."

A moment later Sakura felt a sharp stab of pain radiate deep inside her chest. All at once, she could not draw a breath. Within seconds, she was gasping for air. Automatically, she reached out to Sasuke in alarm, clutching thoughtlessly at his black cloak. Her vision was rapidly greying. Becoming a blur. Distantly, she realised that he was strangling her – without even touching her. It was a ruthless reminder of the fatal power that flowed through his veins. When his merciless grip on her windpipe did not abate, she could not keep her knees from buckling underneath her, and she crumpled to the floor, wheezing for oxygen at his feet.

But still she did not plead for mercy. She would not.

Sasuke's features contorted. He wanted to end her. To be free of her shackles. Just a little more pressure and she would perish. But he could not. By Elysium, how weak and pathetic had he become! He just _couldn't._ In a brief moment of uncharacteristic unguardedness, all the pain that was tearing him to tatters inside passed across his face.

Bent over and close to hyperventilating, Sakura did not glimpse it.

"I need _nothing_ ," he whispered bitterly, "but a passing thought to finish you."

She knew it all too well. She knew he was stronger than any weapon constructed by man. Asphyxiated, she clawed at the ground, telling herself that if this was indeed her premature demise then she would endure it in silence, without the humiliation of begging to be spared.

Sasuke held her prisoner for another few debilitating seconds – and then finally released her. Sakura immediately gasped and sucked in greedy gulps of air, eyes watering. Slowly her aching lungs regained their normal function. When she felt that she could, she pushed herself up and got back to her feet.

Sasuke watched her stand again, eyes narrowed into resentful slits. Just looking at her made him livid. He wanted to maim something. He knew it ought to be her. But his sword remained lowered, and he did not touch her again.

Sakura, meanwhile, couldn't believe she was still alive. Her gaze found his. "I admit it," she panted. Too angry and upset to stay quiet for any longer, she burst out, "Everything Karin told you is true! I have been communicating with Suigetsu all this time. He insisted that the only way to escape was to use poison to knock you out. I agreed to it at the start, because I was afraid and desperate. I just wanted to go back home. I didn't care how!"

He hadn't slain her. _Yet._ That made her grow a little braver.

"But the more time I spent with you, the more I began to hesitate. Because I was _stupid_! Stupid to think that maybe you had a heart, a conscience, somewhere underneath that stony exterior! But you don't," Sakura pointed an index finger at him. "You're just as dead inside as the souls you rule, Sasuke! And I can't believe," her voice trembled from the staggering intensity of her emotions, "that I almost started believing you. That I almost started feeling _sorry_ for you, when all this time, you've been toying with me, and stringing me along!"

Everything she was saying was making him even madder. Sasuke half wanted to strangle her at that very moment. He wanted to rip out her heart, in the same way she was doing to him. She didn't even _know._ She had no idea of the destructive magnitude of the earthquake that had rumbled inside him and displaced the very plates of his being, the second he had found out about her plan to stab him in the back.

"You-" he bit out, infuriated. " _You_ accuse _me_ of deception? I gave you knowledge, showed you places forbidden to mortals." He pointed Kusanagi at her throat again. "I told you the truth about the power you hold within you and _you_ …" he shook his head at her in disgust. "You pretended to take an interest in this realm, while weaving your own deceit, all along."

"It wasn't all pretend," she said in hushed tones. "I really _did_ want to know more about your world, really did start thinking of you as a person _._ When I learnt about what happened to your clan, I… I almost started to care about your feelings." Her features were awash with anguish. "And because of that, I kept stalling Suigetsu's plan. I kept hoping that maybe I could get through to you another way! A way that could've avoided this!"

"You lie _,_ " he downright rejected.

"I wish it was a lie!" she retaliated. "I wish it really had been a game, like how you treated me… maybe then I would've accepted a lot sooner that you care about nobody and nothing but yourself! Just like Suigetsu warned me from the start! I should have listened and done this a long time ago!"

A _game_? How she mocked him! She dared to taunt him, when she had _no clue_ of what pain he endured for her. His eyes widened, rage absolute. As swift as striking lightning, he lunged forward, and Sakura fumbled to draw her sword, heart battering inside her so hard that she could feel her entire body pulsating to its frantic beat.

This wasn't a training session. This was real _._ Wrathful Death was even deadlier than the Kraken they had faced together _._

But at full speed, he was far too quick for her to defend against in time. Before she could even blink, Sasuke's blade had viciously parried hers aside and sent her weapon flying from her grasp. She gasped when she felt his hand snatch roughly at the neckline of her top. A moment later, she realised what he had done. He'd taken the phial she had hidden there. She clutched at her chest and whirled around, just in time to see him hurl the small ampoule aggressively into the hearth. The glass shattered, and the flames, reacting with the liquid, flared and exploded wildly behind him, forming a wall of fire around his profile.

Sakura stared at him, horror-struck. How had he known, right away?! Dread trickled through her. She no longer had a back-up supply of venom! Nothing but what she had already made use of, which meant that she absolutely _had_ to find a way to make her initial plan work, somehow. It was either that, or she would die.

Her thoughts spun in a riotous cyclone. She had to try and shift the dynamic between them. Shaking with her own fury, she said, "You have no right. No right to stand there and judge me after everything _you've_ done to me!" Genuine tears pooled into her eyes, and she exclaimed, "When were you going to tell me, Sasuke?"

The death deity, caught somewhat off-guard by this outburst, stiffened. He could only listen, as she demanded, " _When were you going to tell me the truth about the pomegranate?!"_

He inhaled sharply. A knot of jagged ice formed in his gut. Suigetsu. He had told her. There was no other way she could possibly know. He had wanted to do it himself, damn it! He had intended to in the banqueting hall, but then his unannounced _guests_ had shown up at the most inconvenient time possible…

Quickly noticing that she now had _him_ on the defensive, Sakura did not hesitate to continue her verbal onslaught, "It wasn't enough for you to kidnap me. To turn my entire life upside down! You planned this all planned to trap me here!" She bravely closed the gap, and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, even when she knew that any second could be her last. He did not stop her.

"Didn't you?" Sasuke could see that she was inconsolable. " _Didn't you_?!" Letting out an unsteady breath, she went on, "And then _you_ judge _me,_ when _you_ forced me to do this, when you're the one who gave me no other choice! I tried to ask you to let me go!" she advanced at him. He swivelled fluidly around to avoid the fireplace, and she followed, her eyes alight with anger. "I tried to reason with you. Nothing worked! You manipulated me. Preyed on my confusion! And you probably only told me the truth about my mother and the others because you wanted to turn me against my family and friends!"

The last statement wasn't entirely accurate, but Sasuke couldn't deny the rest. Because the disgraceful reality was, he had intended precisely that at one point – to bind her regardless of her feelings. It had definitely started out that way, when he'd seen her as little more than a possession. He had come to view her as so much more, however, and his feelings on the matter had quite altered.

And as for the mouthful of pomegranate he had allowed her to take… he had been a fool, back then. But she affected him so much, that he couldn't contemplate parting from her forever. As selfish as it was, he had only wanted to ensure that regardless of what happened, there would be a way for him to see her again, a way for her to return to him.

" _You_ did all of this," she said, "and you still think that you have the right to be angry at me?!" She pushed at his chest unthinkingly, and he deflected her blows with his free hand, irritated.

"Stop," he grimaced. He had never seen her so angry, either. Through the buzzing haze of his discontent, he was still conscious that another attack would come over her.

"You have no right," she vented, "no right to accuse me of betraying you, when you did the same to me and so much worse! You knew what the seeds meant!" she sobbed. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you offered me the fruit!" She shook her head. "How many seeds did you give me?"

He bristled. " _I_ did not," he ground out. " _You_ tasted it of your own free will."

Sakura almost released a hysterical laugh at that. "I didn't know what it meant. I thought it was just like any other food here! You tricked me! You think if you'd told me beforehand, I would have eaten from it?"

Her words were akin to a physical slap. They merely highlighted to Sasuke, again, what he found so difficult to accept - that she desired nothing to do with him or his realm.

When he simply stared mutely down at her, she pushed him back again. " _How many, Sasuke?"_

"Six," he snapped irately. He couldn't quite believe that their confrontation was turning into this – his fury being nullified and him having to fend her off – but he knew that everything she was saying was valid. She, too, was understandably upset, had every right to be outraged at him.

 _Six!_ Sakura didn't know whether to wail or count her lucky blessings that it hadn't been more. If each seed bound her for a month like Suigetsu had informed her, then that meant fifty-fifty; she would be tied to Sasuke's kingdom for half the year, and free for the rest.

But she still wanted to hear it from Sasuke.

"Suigetsu told me that every seed is worth a month in the year. Is that true?"

His eyes slunk away from her. "Yes."

"So I have to come back here for six months?" she relentlessly interrogated. "Every year?"

"…" He said nothing.

"Sasuke, every year?!"she pressed.

For someone who had gotten what he'd been after from the outset, Sasuke looked oddly subdued. Unhappy, almost.

"Yes."

Sakura was horrified. " _Forever_?"

He swallowed. Still made a point of avoiding eye-contact. He seemed to wrestle with himself, for his answer was uttered with great effort. "…Yes."

Sakura's face crumpled and she did wail, then. It was an awful, heart-breaking sound. Sasuke closed his eyes briefly. Her reaction was everything he had dreaded – and so much worse.

"No!" she choked out. He'd seduced her into eating from a fruit that would bind her to the Underworld – to _him_ – for the rest of her life! He'd taken the liberty to decide her future! "No, how could you _do_ this to me?" She covered her face with a despairing hand. "Why?" she wept. " _Why?"_ Turning hysterical eyes back to him, she cried, "What do you _want_ from me? Tell me what you want!"

He did not look at her.

"Are you doing this to get back at my mother and the others?" she confronted. "Sasuke, is that what this is all about?!"

"No." He rebuffed sharply, his eyes darting back to her again.

"Then _why?"_

The death deity's blood was boiling. Didn't she _get_ it? Did he have to spell it out?! As a living mortal, she could not remain in his world. The fruit had been the only way to allow her the option of returning to his realm in the future.

It was now apparent to him that it was an option Sakura did not want. Or perhaps it was the manner in which he had bound her, without her knowledge, which was the real root of the problem, rather than the concept of coming back.

"If you really cared even a little about me," she went on tearfully, solidifying the latter theory, "you would've been honest about the fruit. You wouldn't have let me eat it – not without knowing the consequences! If you did it because you wanted me to come back here, then you should've given me that choice, Sasuke! But you didn't!"

Sasuke's gaze fell away from her again. He wrestled to retain composure. It was always a battle when Sakura was in front of him.

"It was," he finally erupted through clenched teeth, pride taking a massive blow as he conceded, "a _mistake_."

Sakura's breath hitched. "A mistake?" she echoed in disbelief. "Now you're telling me you didn't _mean_ for it to happen?!"

His tongue felt like it had been tied with barbed wire. His mind couldn't supply the words he needed. He could only manage an inarticulate, resentful, "No."

Sakura recoiled, taking a step away from him. Did he actually expect her to believe him?

"I don't believe you," she exhaled.

This didn't surprise Sasuke.

Her brain was anxiously trying to find a loophole, a way to overcome the dreadful situation.

"I've already been here for almost five months," she said. "If I stay one more, will that count? Will I be free until next year?"

 _Free._ Like staying with him was a prison sentence. This wasn't… this wasn't at all what he had wanted! This wasn't the way he had envisaged it would turn out.

But who else did he have to blame, other than himself? Self-loathing gnawed away at Sasuke. _He_ had made Sakura hate him. His actions had damaged any possibility of winning her over. But he'd seen it far too late. Because he hadn't even realised, from the beginning, that winning her over was what he'd come to yearn for, so terribly. His fury at her, at her willingness to betray him, turned completely onto himself.

 _He_ was the one who had done this.

"It doesn't work that way," he answered dully.

"Then how?" Sakura exclaimed. When he did not respond, she stepped forward and pushed at him again. "You- you _jerk!_ You're so much trouble! Kore's fragment was right about you!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. The Essence had _mentioned_ him?

"I should run far away from here," Sakura went on. "You're nothing but trouble! You think you can do anything you want, without thinking of the consequences your actions have on others! You've ruined my _life!_ "

He lashed out, unable to stand it anymore. "Is this place so unbearable to you, Sakura?"

"It isn't the place!" she retorted. "It's _you!_ How can you ever expect me to forgive you? Maybe… maybe I might have eventually found it in my heart to hold no further grudges, if you'd just taken me back to the surface. Because I thought I understood why you took me, even if your methods were completely wrong. But this…" she shook her head at him. "This is something you can't justify! You want to force me to return here, without even _asking_ me for my opinion on the matter!"

"You would have refused," he accused. "And as a mortal, you _cannot_ return here!"

"If you really cared, you would respect my decisions!" she shot back. What she said next stunned him. "Not make them for me! How does that make you any different to my mother or my friends, if you try and control everything that I do?"

The death deity, thoroughly perturbed by this thought and the staggering truth behind her words, could only stare at her, appalled.

"It isn't this place," she repeated sincerely, making Sasuke feel even more wretched. "It's dark and gloomy and some areas are frightening, but there's so much beauty in this world, too. Did you think that I'd just go back to the surface, and forget all about everything I've seen here, about a secret kingdom I never even realised existed before?" She laughed sadly, a short, abrupt sound. "Who wouldn't want to see Elysium again? It's not like I'm going to get anywhere near it now when I die. You'll throw me into Tartarus for what I've done!"

Sasuke's eyes widened incredulously. The possibility of Sakura _wanting_ to come back of her own free will had never crossed his mind.

Suddenly he found himself questioning _why._ What if he had relented and returned her to the surface sooner? What if he had offered the seeds to her and let her have as many as she wanted _before_ they parted, instead of doing what he'd done? Would Sakura have accepted? Would she have agreed to consume them, if he'd made it clear that it was the only way for her to be able to come back?

The errors of his ways were now so obvious to him, they were practically blinding. It was strange, how for all his supposed wisdom, he had failed to see the shortcomings at the time. When he'd offered her the pomegranate, he'd thought only of binding her to him. He hadn't wanted to lose her.

But now, he was losing her anyway. What good would it be, if Sakura returned to him every year, unwilling and unhappy? He could almost envisage it. She would lock herself in her room and refuse to come out. That most certainly wasn't the future he'd had in mind when he'd watched her bite into the Forbidden Fruit.

Which begged the question… what could he do to fix this mess? Because surely he had to fix it. Somehow, he had to find a way – as implausible as the odds seemed.

"But you chose not to tell me," she spoke in a hushed voice. "And I won't ever forgive you. Not unless you undo it!"

He clenched his teeth tightly. Closing his eyes again, he confessed, "It cannot be undone."

Sakura stared at his face. Her brain refused to acknowledge and accept the words. They were gibberish to her. Abruptly she grabbed his left hand, the one that still held Kusanagi, and pressed the tip of the sword above her gut.

"Get them out of me!" she cried. "I don't care how, if you have to cut me open and bleed out my insides, I want them _out_!"

She could see that she had visibly unsettled him. The tables of power had turned entirely. Sasuke looked disturbed. More than that, he almost looked… she blinked up at him, the red of her vision clearing enough for her to register his disconsolate expression, the way he was still avoiding her eyes.

He looked… _guilty._

But Sakura didn't feel any satisfaction. For some reason, it only made her cry harder.

She pressed the tip more forcefully against her stomach. "Do it," she wept. "Free us both!"

He opened his mouth. Could not seem to form any words. Like the words she had hurled at him had reached his very core and rattled him greatly.

"Sakura-"

"Do it!" she urged. "You're going to kill me anyway! So do it!"

"I-" he swallowed. "I _can't."_

That wasn't what she wanted to hear. "You can," she insisted.

He finally met her gaze. "No." He repeated glumly. "I can't."

Sakura gaped at him in dismay. What was he saying? That it was permanent? Tears streamed down her cheeks. How could he let this happen to her? Had he no heart? She already knew the answer to that question.

But then he spoke. His voice was oddly thick. Strained. As if he was struggling to get words out.

"This isn't-" he simmered in silence for a second. "This isn't how I- not what I-," he growled in frustration, "…it wasn't _meant_ to be this way."

She searched his face, bewildered to find what appeared to be genuine dissatisfaction – genuine remorse. Thrown by it, she exhaled shakily once again.

"You made it this way," she finally whispered. "You have to undo it."

She still didn't understand. Sasuke didn't recognise the sinking sensation in his chest as sadness. He could not comprehend it, right then.

"I can't," he muttered again, moving to draw back his arm.

"You're the God of Death!" Sakura insisted, holding fast onto his arm, keeping the tip of the sword angled at her belly. "You can do anything!"

His eyes locked onto hers. She watched as the Sharingan receded, blending back into the familiar dark irises that had sucked her in so many times. It was as if the last of his anger had just drained away. Snuffed out. He shook his head slightly in negative of her statement. And all of a sudden, to her, he looked…

He looked so tired. So _defeated._

Sakura was stunned speechless.

"I am not capable of anything." He inhaled deeply. What he forced himself to articulate next was monumental. Sakura would have thought she was imagining it entirely- were it not for the sullen, sincere look of dejected guilt on his face. "I cannot undo my past actions."

Fresh tears welled in her eyes. The corners of his lips turned down marginally upon witnessing this.

"I cannot force you to accept this," he continued quietly.

She released a quivering breath. What cruel manner of emotional manipulation was he spinning, now? Her entire body felt like it was on the verge of collapsing.

"Don't…" she was all at once the one finding it difficult to talk. "Don't pretend you're sorry… like you actually care… you should hate me now. You- you should want to kill me…"

"I cannot make you believe me," he added, disregarding her words entirely, and Sakura felt smothered. Dizzy. Sick. He was apologising, in his own indirect way, and she didn't _want_ to hear it.

He was turning then, reversing their positions. She scarcely realised it. Could not tear her eyes from his. Confusion muddled her mind. He was looking at her so intently. Like she was all that mattered in the world.

 _No_ , she yelled at herself. _No, he's just doing it again; trying to make you hesitate, to lose focus…_

Don't listen. _Don't!_

"And I cannot…" he finished harshly, jerking his arm out of her grasp, angling the blade away from her, before he tossed it aside to the floor, " _kill you_."

She blinked down at the discarded sword – only to look up again, inhaling sharply as Sasuke's hands lifted to her shoulders. Before she knew it, he had her pushed back against the wall beside the four-poster bed.

Sakura's heart thundered. She had a split second, in which she clearly read the intention in his eyes – to act, to warn him, to prevent what would follow. And in that fraction, all time seemed to suspend between them, and she was pierced once again by a guilt she furiously told herself she should _not_ be feeling.

She placed a palm against his chest, looked up at him with wide eyes. "Sasuke," she started hoarsely. "Wait-"

But she broke off, did nothing else to stop him, as his head dipped and his lips found hers, and he kissed her passionately, with a senseless desperation that stole the very strength from her bones. Like he could not breathe without her, like she was the water he needed to live, as if she was formed from the most basic elements he required to survive. His lips moved feverishly against hers, and Sakura, knowing that it was already far, far too late to change the course of fate, squeezed her eyes shut and finally yielded to his touch, lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pressing her body against his.

And for the first – and she told herself, _last_ time – she kissed him back, just as deeply and wildly, with trembling, reckless abandon, like they had kissed many times before, like they were not warring enemies but long lost lovers who belonged together, reunited after a heart-breaking separation. She kissed him angrily, without reservation; her hands raked through his silky hair – so soft, so fine beneath her fingertips - and her blood was kindled from the spark of his touch. The death deity's strong arms wound around her, crushing her to him, and when his tongue probed her oral cavern for entry, Sakura did not deny it, allowing him to plunge into her mouth, to drink her up, to _consume._

Everything else seemed to disappear around them. Sakura kept telling herself, _ten more seconds._ But now that she was really reciprocating, she couldn't seem to halt the hazardous chemical reaction that accompanied the meeting of their lips. His proficient mouth was making her come undone, and she dazedly thought that it would be quite easy for a girl to lose herself entirely to such impassioned kisses.

They broke apart briefly, and Sasuke dragged the tip of his nose along the bridge of hers, as he exhaled, "Sakura…" the anger all but drained from him, replaced by a gladness and confused wonder that made her heart constrict. His hands lifted to cradle her cheeks, in a gesture of such unexpected tenderness, that fresh tears blurred her vision. She could only stare in bewilderment at him as he traced a thumb over her lower lip, wiped away at her tears.

"I…" she swallowed thickly, distressed by how fast her pulse was hurtling. She could feel his heart too, beating fitfully inside his chest.

"Enough," he breathed against her lips. He did not need to say anymore. She understood what he meant.

Enough fighting. Enough _war._

He kissed her again, more slowly, more sensually, and she felt him tug her hair free from its ponytail, felt her tresses tumble loose around her, and then his hand was in it, fingers lacing through her long locks. Everywhere he touched tingled and tantalised, was crackling lightning, molten fire, numbing ice.

"Mmph…" she whimpered, as he deepened the kiss once more. Again it became ravenous, hungry. Terrifying in its intensity. What was this potent, explosive force that flowed between them? She gasped when his mouth abruptly moved away from hers and trailed along her jawline, sending sweet shocks of electricity pulsating through her. When his lips then brushed against her neck, she gulped. A moment later, his rough tongue was sliding over her throat, licking, sucking, devouring. He could feel her pulse there, racing erratically – and his heart swelled and soared.

She could not deny it. For all her words, she could not resist the attraction between them any more than he could. He _knew_ his touch affected her. And all the pain and darkness and fury he'd experienced when learning of her backstabbing intentions fizzled out, replaced by liquid sunshine that poured in an enraptured rush through him. The sweetness of it hurt dreadfully, but somehow, the splintered fragments of his shattered heart were regrouping, slowly mending.

She said she could not forgive him. Claimed she wanted no involvement with him. But how could she mean it, how could he take her word, when she kissed him back this way, when she melted in his arms and filled him to the brim with her warmth and light, to the point that she made him ache so terribly inside?

Did she not see? That it was useless to fight against the devastating tsunami raging around them. They could not swim. Only go under, and drown together.

 _Just a little more…!_ Sakura's eyes were open. She knew she had to stop this soon. But her limbs felt like dead-weights. It was all she could do to clutch onto him. She was quickly losing track of everything, mind unravelling, descending into a dizzying spiral. She frantically wondered if Kore's fragment had something to do with her sudden paralysis. Were old feelings that were not hers somehow resurfacing? What else could explain the way her body just seemed to _fit_ against Sasuke's so perfectly? The way they seemed to merge together? The undeniable _sparks_ flying between them?

Her eyelids fluttered shut again and her head fell back when he pulled at her hair, exposing her vulnerable neck more openly to his seeking lips. Sakura lost herself to the dark, disarming seduction of his electrifying touches, and only snapped back to awareness when she felt the softness of a mattress beneath her. Her eyes flew open in alarm. Sasuke had moved them to the bed-!

Things were suddenly moving way too fast.

Her lungs strained for air. She could see that his chest was heaving, too. There was a wild light in his eyes. Raw, predatory lust.

"Sasuke-" she began nervously.

"Be quiet," he commanded. His hands encircled her wrists, pinning them atop her head as he lowered his face to within inches of hers. "You really are…" he rained small kisses upon her cheek, "…so annoying," he whispered angrily – and then claimed her lips gluttonously once again.

The sense of déjà vu, of hearing those exact words before, slammed into her, and Sakura was sent reeling from it.

 _Stop_ , a small voice spoke feebly in her mind. _Stop him… that's enough… surely he's taken enough!_

When he released her hands, however, her arms wrapped around his neck and she yanked him more closely down on top of her. This was, she furiously insisted to herself, _goodbye_. She'd allow just one more minute, for good measure.

His hands trailed down her sides. Down the smooth, exposed skin of her legs as his hot, swirling tongue danced with hers. She was warm and soft and pliant under him. By the heavens! She was a drug, an intoxicating addiction. She made him crave every inch of her and he could never have enough. The death deity, at that moment, was completely absorbed by her. Completely unguarded. Completely vulnerable.

"You asked," Sasuke breathed raggedly, in between blazing, bruising kisses, " _why._ Does _this_ …" he kissed her deeply, long and hard, "answer you _?"_

She felt his fingertips trail underneath her skirt, tracing the outer contour of her left thigh, and foreign, throbbing warmth started to pool into the lower depths of her belly. Her back arched, pushing her body more firmly against his as she released a throaty moan against his lips.

This was wrong, Sakura knew guiltily. So _wrong_. The chemistry they shared was utterly terrifying. Like an unstoppable force of nature that had the power to destroy them both. And she knew, at that second, that this was perhaps what she had feared most all along.

But she fiercely told herself that he was simply receiving a taste of his own medicine. That she had every right to manipulate his feelings – just as he had done so cruelly to hers.

 _Enough!_ The order roared inside her head deafeningly. _That's more than enough!_

Focus and steely resolve slammed viciously back into her, chasing the fogging cobwebs of physical longing out of her mind. She redirected her hands to his chest – and shoved _hard._ The force of her push caught Sasuke by surprise, made him lift his weight off her. He stared down at her face, blinking through the swarming haze of desire, his breathing laboured.

"Stop!" Sakura panted. "This- this is insane!"

If it was madness, then Sasuke never wanted to be rational again. He wanted her so much – no – he _needed_ her, and gripped her wrists once more in an unbreakable hold. The eagerness with which she had reciprocated convinced him that she needed him, too.

For a sickening, petrifying moment, Sakura panicked. She didn't know what she would do, what she _could_ do, if he did not cease.

"Please," she gasped in alarm, as his head began to lower greedily again. "Sasuke-!" She resisted and turned her face away from the lips that tried to capture hers in another fervent, sanity-stealing kiss. "No! Stop it!" She struggled, writhing under him, trying to get away, as the terrifying possibility of her losing something _other_ than her life suddenly flashed across her mind, and she summoned the last of her strength to push at him again. "You're _scaring_ me!"

Those final words seemed to reach him at last, for he released a frustrated growl, and with great reluctance and mighty effort, tore himself away from her. He sat tensely at the edge of the bed, hands balled into tight fists. Fighting to regain control over his displaced senses. His blood was like gasoline, strewn alight, making his body burn.

Shakily, she sat up. Her heart was ready to burst out of her chest as she watched him intently with apprehensive eyes. His own were closed. She could see that he was wrestling to restore restraint.

Sakura counted the seconds. She wondered how long it would take.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Sasuke's eyelids lifted as his breathing gradually settled. He scowled lightly. _Sorry…?_ What was the irritating girl apologising for? She had plotted to betray him, yes. But she hadn't actually done it. He couldn't even recall why he'd been so furious to begin with. Not when her words had more than justified her intentions. It was the least he deserved, wasn't it? For all the atrocious things he'd done. And he certainly couldn't maintain anger after she'd kissed him like that, and robbed him of his logical thinking.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I shouldn't be. But I am. I'm sorry that I had no other choice. That it had to end this way."

He heard the words – but could not seem to process them. His head turned, to glance confusedly back at her – and then he saw her expression, so transparent.

He read the sadness. The regret.

The tangible _guilt._

"…!" Immediate alarm detonated inside him. He stiffened and leapt to his feet, taking a step back away from the bed, his armour fully raised once more. He told himself he never should have lowered his guard. Not around _her._ He couldn't afford to underestimate _Sakura,_ of all people. Sakura, who he was just newly discovering could get closest to him, could hurt him most, more than anyone else…

But he could tell from her face that the damage had already been inflicted.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again. "But I have to leave."

Uncertainly, he shook his head slightly at her, an instinctive sense of foreboding washing over him. And then, with a devastating suddenness that made his breath hitch in his throat, Sasuke felt it. The first stab of pulsating pain inside his chest. It seemed to radiate directly from the chambers of his heart, and flowed jaggedly throughout his entire body.

Sakura slipped off the bed. She watched him with wide eyes that shimmered with fresh tears. Her jaw, however, was firmly set.

Within seconds, Sasuke's bloodstream was scorching, a deadly, sizzling inferno of heat. But it was nothing like the exhilarating, euphoric flames of passion that had consumed him just minutes earlier. _No_. He recognised it far too late. The excruciating, blistering sensation was unmistakeable.

The merciless, incessant, biting sting of _venom._ It coursed through his veins like icy fire, freezing and searing, crippling eyes lifted to her face. Focused on her lips as horrific realisation dawned upon him.

And the heart that had begun to tentatively mend cracked and shattered all over again as the King of the Dead understood, at last, what Sakura had done. The full, devastating extent of her treachery.

She had kissed him with tasteless, invisible poison applied to her lips. It had been her intention, all along, to lure him in, to proceed with her treacherous plan. And like a fool, he had fallen for it, played right into her hands. He'd hungrily tasted her and doing so had transferred the venom into his mouth. It was evidently a greatly potent kind, dangerous to immortals alone, because simply kissing her had been enough to make it seep into his bloodstream and contaminate him.

From where had they acquired such a poison? He had underestimated just how intelligent and cunning Sakura was. How ruthless and unwavering she had it in her to be. Even though Karin had clearly thrown a spanner in the works by bringing the treason to light, Sakura had kept a level head, had rallied herself and waited for the opportune moment to tilt the tables back in her favour. The ampoule she'd hidden had been a backup. He understood that now. _This_ had been her true plan, all along, to exploit his one and only weakness - _her_ \- and use it against him.

And in that moment, Sasuke realised the extent to which she had grown and was continuously changing. The Sakura he had first kidnapped would never have possessed the mettle to execute such a perilous act.

He had taught her to fight. Encouraged her to channel the feisty spirit he knew slumbered within her. And she had done just that. She had proven, right then and there, that she was no weak pushover. She had it inside herself to be a _warrior –_ to summon the courage required to do what was necessary to defend herself and act in what she deemed were her best interests. He might have been thoroughly impressed, in any other situation - but it paradoxically and cruelly turned out that she'd finally passed the rite of passage and become truly initiated in the art of battle at _his_ expense.

She claimed she'd had no other choice. He hadn't even had the chance to _tell_ her. That he'd arranged for her release and had been about to take her back himself…

His eyes, ablaze with wrath, met hers, incensed beyond reconciliation.

"You-" he began to hiss, enraged, but even speaking felt like an unbearable chore. He stepped forward toward her, meaning to reach out to her, to grab her – but his entire body screamed in protest. He ground his teeth and doubled over, clawing at his chest as if he sought to scratch himself open and bleed the poison out.

The pain constricted his windpipe. Made every nerve-ending inside him scream in agony. He had never experienced anything so physically tormenting. Within minutes, his body was shutting down. His feet stumbled, and he began to cough.

Sakura's frantically pounding heart palpitated wildly. She told herself he deserved to hurt as much as she had after everything he'd done. But it made the fall of this magnificent god no easier to watch. She drew no satisfaction, in witnessing his physical suffering.

All at once, she felt oddly hollow.

When he fell to his knees, fingers digging into the floor, she felt strangely numb. Like she wasn't really experiencing this at all. Like she was watching everything as it unfolded from a safe distance. She gazed down at him, a proud, fierce king, reduced to his knees by a mortal girl. It was a deplorable sight, and at that moment, she pitied him.

But he had taken advantage of her goodness. Of her compassion. He had brought this punishment hailing down upon himself.

Her legs carried her to where his sword lay on the ground. Sasuke's left hand shot out, clamping around her ankle as she passed him. He gripped tightly onto her, wheezing, but could not summon the strength required to do anything else. His surroundings had become a miasma of throbbing, crimson pain, and his vision was starting to blur. He could not seem to focus no matter how many times he blinked. His head throbbed and nausea made it impossible to move without making the room whirl violently around him.

He tried in vain to talk. To say something. Anything.

But the torturous pain stole away the very air in his lungs, and the only sounds he could summon were tortured grunts.

"Ghn…!" He was completely disabled. Powerless. Could do nothing but bend over, curling up in pure anguish, as the scalding venom choked him, ran its raging, brutal course through his helpless body.

Sakura continued to stare at him for a long moment. He was still holding onto her – though whether it was in distress or because it was a final, desperate attempt to stop her from leaving, she could not tell. "You did this to yourself, Sasuke," her voice was a hushed murmur, and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She did not know if he could hear her, but ventured regardless, "You made me do this; you gave me no other choice. What you're feeling now…" she shook her head. "It's nothing compared to the way you've hurt me…!"

She shoved aside the guilt, the insane little whispers that pleaded with her to drop to her knees and offer him comfort as he released another strangled groan. It was done. She could not go back. Could only move forward. She focused, instead, on everything he'd done to her. That gave her the courage she needed to soldier onwards. With little trouble, she jerked her ankle out of his severely weakened grasp, scooped up Kusanagi, and without looking back - for she feared she might hesitate if she did - exited the room.

And she ran. She ran faster than she had ever run in her life. Her entire body was shaking badly, but fuelled by adrenaline, she did not slow down. She passed startled servants, almost knocked into Karin as she rounded the corridor that led toward the staircase.

The nymph blinked at her in surprise. Sakura halted, equally shocked to find her still lingering about in the palace. They both stared each other down.

Then Karin noticed Kusanagi, and shrieked in shock, pointing a finger at her. "You- you little traitor! You actually did it? Have you hurt him?!" Her hands flew to her cheeks. "Where's Sasuke?!"

Sakura glared but did not respond. Karin could go and tend to the very king who had absolutely no interest in her. She merely shoved the nymph bodily aside and continued steadfastly along her way.

She nearly knocked Ume over as she crossed the entrance hall.

"Mistress?!" Ume gasped in alarm. Her eyes widened when she saw the tears on Sakura's face, and Sasuke's sword in her hands.

"I'm sorry!" Sakura shook her head but did not stop. "But I can't stay here anymore!" She regretted leaving without a proper goodbye, but knew she had no time to waste. If Sasuke was to somehow recover sooner than expected… she knew that he would change his mind about killing her for sure. Ignoring her maid's desperate calls she rushed straight to the stables, to her horse, Eos. The same stable-boy she'd seen before had thankfully saddled her up already. A stroke of fortune for Sakura.

The boy blinked at her in surprise as she grabbed the reins from him without a word.

"M-my Lady?"

She ignored him and clambered hastily onto her mount. Behind her, Sasuke's steeds were kicking up a fuss. As if they sensed their master's plight. As if they knew of her treachery.

"Take me to Suigetsu's cell," she cried. "Quickly!"

Eos dutifully obeyed. The world passed in a stream of movement as her horse departed the stables and carried her to the stretching, tree-lined front path that led up to Sasuke's palace. The deafening rush of blood in her ears and the thundering of hooves was all Sakura could hear as her mount tore through the towering gates and galloped into the mist beyond.

* * *

**Author's note**

_More reaction from Sakura next chapter, which will be even more dramatic, and feature an explosive battle between ocean and an incapacitated death god._

_I'd absolutely LOVE to hear your opinion on what I hope was an action-packed and exciting chapter. Please, if you have a minute or two to spare, I'd really appreciate some feedback._

_Thank you for reading, and see you next update._


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